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[PK Cronin]

It doesn’t happen pal. Everyone would have to be on board to tank, and there is too much at stake. For example, telling Lee, Ebs and Nelson to ease up won’t happen. To tell Lehner to let goals in won’t happen. They are playing for millions on their next contracts. You cannot bench them. Someone point out how a team goes about tanking? I can see sitting a key player the last game of the season, but how exactly do you tank in November - March? Doesn’t happen.

GM's can put a roster together devoid of talent to ensure they'll be at the bottom of the league. It has happened, it will continue to happen. Players themselves do not tank.

 

[pursuit81]

It doesn’t happen pal. Everyone would have to be on board to tank, and there is too much at stake. For example, telling Lee, Ebs and Nelson to ease up won’t happen. To tell Lehner to let goals in won’t happen. They are playing for millions on their next contracts. You cannot bench them. Someone point out how a team goes about tanking? I can see sitting a key player the last game of the season, but how exactly do you tank in November - March? Doesn’t happen.

It absolutely happens. Every February teams that have no chance to make the playoffs trade or sell valuable assets that could otherwise help their team win. That's tanking. It's something we should have done last year but our mgmt. team was too chicken sh*t (and had their heads so far up PB's ass) to pull the trigger. But to say that tanking doesn't happen is just plain ridiculous, bordering on ignorant, pal.

 

[pursuit81]

It doesn’t happen pal. Everyone would have to be on board to tank, and there is too much at stake. For example, telling Lee, Ebs and Nelson to ease up won’t happen. To tell Lehner to let goals in won’t happen. They are playing for millions on their next contracts. You cannot bench them. Someone point out how a team goes about tanking? I can see sitting a key player the last game of the season, but how exactly do you tank in November - March? Doesn’t happen.

And no, nobody tells professional hockey players to ease up. That is not how it's done.

As for your November-March, comment, those kinds of tanks are rare, but it does happen. Let me ask you, what would you call what the Rags have done? You want to call it a rebuild, fine. It's a tank. Building a roster that has no chance to make the playoffs with the ultimate goal of getting favorable draft picks is a tank.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Rebuilding and tanking are two different things.

Trading players who will not sign a contract or are not in future plans for younger players and draft picks to get better in the future is rebuilding.

Tanking is letting other teams win, is unethical and rarely if ever happens.
It is not even guaranteed to achieve the goal of getting the #1 pick overall.

Trading JT had it happened last season is not tanking.
The Rag$ are rebuilding.

There is a difference.

 

[PK Cronin]

Rebuilding and tanking are two different things.

Trading players who will not sign a contract or are not in future plans for younger players and draft picks to get better in the future is rebuilding.

Tanking is letting other teams win, is unethical and rarely if ever happens.
It is not even guaranteed to achieve the goal of getting the #1 pick overall.

Trading JT had it happened last season is not tanking.
The Rag$ are rebuilding.

There is a difference.

There's only a difference in the way you're perceiving it.

A team is trying to get better in the future by getting younger players through the draft at a better position than they otherwise would have by intentionally playing a less talented roster. That's tanking.

 

[Big L]

Weren’t the Senators of like 20 years ago accused of throwing the last handful of games to secure the #1 pick? That’s tanking.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

There's only a difference in the way you're perceiving it.

A team is trying to get better in the future by getting younger players through the draft at a better position than they otherwise would have by intentionally playing a less talented roster. That's tanking.

So the Islanders should trade Lee, Eberle, Nelson, others in October, November like some on these boards were stating to get draft picks and prospects and play lesser players to try and get a number one pick. You call it a tank and I still call it a rebuild.

The Ownership and front office are trying to change the culture, build excitement, add fans, fill seats, make it a destination for UFAs, convince top prospects to come from overseas, perhaps extend their superstar Barzal while building a new arena. They brought in a coach to win and I am fairly sure the first question he asked before signing is are we going to rebuild.

They should have kept Snow and Weight to follow that plan. It’s so ridiculous and never going to happen here.

 

[PK Cronin]

So the Islanders should trade Lee, Eberle, Nelson, others in October, November like some on these boards were stating to get draft picks and prospects and play lesser players to try and get a number one pick. You call it a tank and I still call it a rebuild.

The Ownership and front office are trying to change the culture, build excitement, add fans, fill seats, make it a destination for UFAs, convince top prospects to come from overseas, perhaps extend their superstar Barzal while building a new arena. They brought in a coach to win and I am fairly sure the first question he asked before signing is are we going to rebuild.

They should have kept Snow and Weight to follow that plan. It’s so ridiculous and never going to happen here.

The objective is to win, via tanking for some teams. You don't need to keep bad coaches or GM's around in order to accomplish that goal. The idea is that Lamoriello and Trotz, if they decided to tank (I don't think they currently are, I think they're attempting to change the culture first), will have a better structure in place and a better ability to maximize the assets gained from tanking. They won't part with integral pieces that are going to be needed after a tank.

I don't mean this in a belittling way at all, but you just seem really confused about what it means to tank. Good GM's can decide to tank and remove any excess from their roster in order to acquire more assets, and allow their team to struggle in the short term (tanking) in order to ensure success later on via the assets gained from the tank. A coach, like Trotz, can continue to try to get the depleted or lesser roster to win. That doesn't mean that they will or that it hurts the tank. I think you're just viewing it as everyone pulling together to intentionally lose, which isn't really what tanking is. Players won't tank and coaches won't tank. Trotz will work with the lesser roster to ensure that they're following a structure that in the future, after the tank is complete, the team will succeed.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Trotz would not have come if the objective was to rebuild. He said as much.
I can see the new Rangers coach being fine to rebuild.

Yes I view tank as intentionally trying to lose or making extremely bad decisions purposely to lose which is poor sportsmanship in my opinion and should be punished with losing draft picks as an example.

 

[PK Cronin]

Trotz would not have come if the objective was to rebuild. He said as much.

I'm just speaking generally, not specific to the Islanders.

I think the Islanders are evaluating their roster and changing the culture right now. After that, and it can be this season, they'll determine what course of action was next. Trotz saying he wouldn't come if it were a re-build can just be lip service, because he might call it a re-tool or something else.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

What a poor message to send to your fans and season ticket holders. We are going to go for it a few years from now. Keep paying but see you next year or so. I think the moves the Rangers made last season were ridiculous. Their rebuild could backfire badly.

 

[PK Cronin]

What a poor message to send to your fans and season ticket holders. We are going to go for it a few years from now. Keep paying but see you next year or so. I think the moves the Rangers made last season were ridiculous. Their rebuild could backfire badly.

Or it can lead to them winning multiple cups and the fans say it was worth it. Tanking isn't a guarantee that it'll work. I don't really understand what your version of tanking is I guess. Selling off veterans, in almost every scenario, will result in a team taking a step back. If you're so against tanking, should there ever be a time where a team does that? If so, why?

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Or it can lead to them winning multiple cups and the fans say it was worth it. Tanking isn't a guarantee that it'll work. I don't really understand what your version of tanking is I guess. Selling off veterans, in almost every scenario, will result in a team taking a step back. If you're so against tanking, should there ever be a time where a team does that? If so, why?

I call tanking the same as purposely losing and no, there isn’t a time that a team should do that, especially at this point in the season. I am taking objection to anyone who suggested the Islanders should have come into the season and purposely lose. They even suggested LL made the moves he did to tank. How ridiculous does that sound now?

I like the quote of The Vegas coach last season:

A lot of teams have a lot of good hockey players, but there's not many Malkins and Crosbys in the NHL. No, we don't have them," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "It's all about being a team. And we've been a team since Day 1."

Build a team. If you don’t have a superstar, make moves to acquire quality players even if they aren’t the top 50 scorers in the league and try like hell to win. Do not take on bad contracts or players that bring negativity to the team.