Confirmed Signing with Link: [NYI] Islanders re-sign Eric Boulton [1 year]

[Bleedred]

As a Rangers fan, I'm glad to see the Isles sign a guy didn't put up a point last year. He's a real legend because he did it in 2012-13, as well as in 2011-12 with the Devils. I hope he plays until he's 50, at this rate.

I would feel the same way, though he doesn't play enough games to really make a negative impact. Although if he was dressed for a game against the Devils, I would want him out there as much as possible, because he's an AWFUL player and a 40 year old player that's gotta be pretty rusty from lack of constant playing and in game action, on top of that. Not to mention he has a tendency to take terrible penalties that put his team shorthanded. It's kind of like how I wanted Steve Ott on the ice against the Sharks in the series against in the Blues in this past WCF, since Ott is a terrible player at this point. And there's a good chance he was either gonna take a dumb penalty and put his team shorthanded, or that he would cause a pretty great scoring chance against.

Time for my Eric Boulton story!

Back when the Thrashers were in Atlanta if you got to the games during the warmup you used to be able to go down to the glass and players would flick pucks to you while they were warming up. One time I took my 6 year old nephew. My nephew is a huge hockey fan and was all decked out in Thrashers gear, so the players loved him. He got so many pucks.

In fact, he got so many that he thought he should share with other people. That's when Eric Boulton flicked him a puck and started skating in a circle. My nephew decided to share the puck with an older guy that was also hanging around the glass looking for pucks. So, as Boulton completes his circle all he sees is this guy grabbing the puck out of my nephew's hand.

He proceeds to go completely ******* banging against the glass and screaming at the guy that he better not steal the kids puck. Poor guy looks terrified and quickly hands my nephew the puck back...

That's cool.

I mean, he's probably a cool guy and all. I just think he's an awful, awful player at this point. But he wasn't a bad 4th liner on the Thrashers.

 

[Jeremy2020]

Is he the guy on the right or the left?

 

[Man Bear Pig]

It's actually pretty amazing that general managers still give guys like him contracts. Meanwhile, guys like Vetsteeg are forced to go to Europe or have to get a PTO. Tavares can love him all he wants, he's an absolute waste of a roster spot.

 

[Vitto79]

This is a minors deal right ?

 

[IslesNorway]

This is a minors deal right ?

Yup. He'll go the Bridge port for most of the season

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

That's his biggest weakness IMO. He tries to elevate himself to even higher levels, but it usually just leads to him trying to do too many things. There's nothing wrong with asking for help and I think a good coach would be able to correct this issue. Kinda like Ovi and Trotz, but with different bad habits. Instead we get "battle hahd"

Tavares has been carrying the Isles for years now, but he can only do it for so long until he gets discouraged. He was incredible in the playoffs this year, and it still wasn't enough to get past a Stamkos-less TB team.

Ovi never complained about the Caps' staff publicly, but he got BB fired. The two clearly didn't see eye to eye anymore, and BB was losing control of the team so he got fired. A few coaches later, we find ourselves with Trotz, which the team seems to like.

Unfortunately for you, I think the majority of Islanders players don't mind Capuano being their coach, and that includes Tavares.

The "battle hahd" thing is just as bad as Michel Therrien talking about "character". Such a cliche, old-school hockey mentality. These old farts will never win anything as long as they refuse to face the reality: you need a lot more than "character" or "battle level" to win the Cup.

 

[Jester9881]

For all the heat he's taken in this thread, you could do a whole lot worse with a guy only looked at to play a handful of games a year. When he does play, he fills in on the 4th line and adds some muscle. He's also loved in the locker room.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I seriously thought this guy retired like 4 years ago.

Same

 

[SenzZen]

He's got photos of someone, for sure.

Sweetest job in the country is to be willing to take multiple punches from mammoths for other people? Do you live in Somalia or something?

This is an impressive post.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I've come to look forward to this thread every summer. Good on ya, Eric.

 

[IODCPiper]

It's actually pretty amazing that general managers still give guys like him contracts. Meanwhile, guys like Vetsteeg are forced to go to Europe or have to get a PTO. Tavares can love him all he wants, he's an absolute waste of a roster spot.

Do you even read the deal before you run your mouth? Christ man.

 

[boredmale]

Do you even read the deal before you run your mouth? Christ man.

it's sort of funny the amount of people who actually think this deal will have much effect on our team. I put the over under of amount games played Boulton gets this season at 3.5 Games(and chances are 2 of those games will be the last 2 games of the season when Islanders have nothing to play for when their either already set in their playoff spot or out of the playoffs)

It's obvious that Boulton has found a way to extend his career a bit and the Islanders see something in what he has to offer on and more importantly off the ice that it was worth it to the Islanders to give him (at least) 200K for this season. If they need him to come up and play 1 game to beat the hell out of Tom Wilson or Radko Gudas, it's money well spent in my books

 

[lazycop]

Signing Eric Boulton will have an exactly 0% impact on how the Isles do next year.

So who cares? If it makes Taveras happy, so be it.

 

[rt]

I seriously thought this guy retired like 4 years ago.

Came here to post this

 

[Beville]

Not being funny I thought he'd already retired

Can't complain, easy money.

 

[Bleedred]

I didn't realize this was a two way deal, so now I understand it.

 

[Yog S'loth]

This has to be like, some Dan Cleary thing where he has incriminating pictures of the GM.

I mean, right? Do you really spend that kind of money to have an extra guy in the locker room to like, fold towels and stuff?

 

[periferal]

The Isles are grooming him to be their next coach. And you know for the Islanders the best experience for front office work is continually playing.

 

[Bleedred]

The Isles are grooming him to be their next coach. And you know for the Islanders the best experience for front office work is continually playing.

It would really scream a typical Islanders management move (or at least typical over the last 25 years) to see Garth Snow canned after this season or promoted to a presidential position like Holmgren and Tallon recently, and by this date next year seeing the thread

''Confirmed with link: Eric Boulton named new general manager of New York Islanders''

Their current GM was hired as a first year retired 37 year old crap goaltender. Although I'm not even sure if Garth was quite as bad to the goaltending position as Boulton has been to skaters for the past 5 years. I'm gonna say no.

 

[seafoam]

It's actually pretty amazing that general managers still give guys like him contracts. Meanwhile, guys like Vetsteeg are forced to go to Europe or have to get a PTO. Tavares can love him all he wants, he's an absolute waste of a roster spot.

He might get a game or two with NYI, but he's going to spend the year in Bridgeport in a player/coach role similar to Matt Carkner last season (who's now an assistant with NYI's AHL affiliate).

Also, in his career here, he was a much smarter player than he apparently used to be. Slow, but didn't really hurt his line out there (albeit didn't help it either).

 

[oilersfan87]

Why don't the Islanders just sign this guy as a coach already? He has clearly been finished as a hockey player for at least five years.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Probably still trying to fight Tom Wilson.

 

[CodeE]

Eberle for hamonic

Hall for Larsson

 

[Bossy Mike]

Are there any other players like him on other teams? Meaning a guy presumably paid league minimum who knows he will play very rarely and is pretty much just on stand-by for the season.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Probably still trying to fight Tom Wilson.

Wilson probably still hiding