The Season so far...Part Deux!

[MJF]

Wow. That's quite the statement. The season's still young but as of now I'll easily take 1993, 2002, 2015 and 2016.

1993 was pretty poor until February. After that it got interesting.

 

[Le Grec]

Funnest?

Sorry -- couldn't ignore that one.

Sometimes I let my inner child express itself...but yes, I really enjoy watching this team.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

Those teams where not as fun to me as they were not as consistent...

This season is barely 4 months old. Let's see what happens. If they fail to make the playoffs it won't be much fun. I'll take winning in the spring over being "consistent" in December anytime.

 

[Bones45]

Sometimes I let my inner child express itself...but yes, I really enjoy watching this team.

Without a doubt -- a fantastic change from the boring, miserable, uninsipired play for the past 20 years.

 

[seafoam]

Somewhere between A and C.

The powerplay is embarassing and the organization before and after Lou’s arrival invested a lot of coin into penalty killing personnel, and they currently sit in 23rd/24th.

 

[ML19]

How can anyone give the team an "A?" I agree that they have overachieved a exceeded expectations but this is still a league where you are competing against other teams. I would think that an "A" team would be in first place and truly elite. If the Islanders get an A, what does Tampa Bay get? A++++++++?

I give the Islanders a B minus right now.

It's like giving out a 10 on the rating scale. Once you give a 10 you're stuck.

 

[Le Grec]

This season is barely 4 months old. Let's see what happens. If they fail to make the playoffs it won't be much fun. I'll take winning in the spring over being "consistent" in December anytime.

And I'm only judging the first half, which has been the most consistent half in 30 years...in my eyes at least.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Just curious, why didn’t you give F’s to NJ, Detroit and Chicago? I think they deserve them, especially NJ.

I started thinking about the expectations which was backtracking on my original criteria of results only.

You're right though, Detroit is probably a D and then NJ & Chicago are F's

 

[Doshell Propivo]

And I'm only judging the first half, which has been the most consistent half in 30 years...in my eyes at least.

On January 9 2015 they were in 1st place and 27-13-1

 

[crasherino]

It's like giving out a 10 on the rating scale. Once you give a 10 you're stuck.

But this one goes to 11!

Its one higher, isn't it?

 

[Le Grec]

On January 9 2015 they were in 1st place and 27-13-1

Don't care, that team was not as enjoyable.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

Don't care, that team was not as enjoyable.

I guess I don't see it. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled they are where they are but outside of Barzal, I'm not sure there's anything here that I would classify in the "best I've seen in 30 years" category.

 

[Le Grec]

I guess I don't see it. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled they are where they are but outside of Barzal, I'm not sure there's anything here that I would classify in the "best I've seen in 30 years" category.

You're looking at things the wrong way...
Even if the 2015 team had better personnel and a better record, they never played a consistent 60 minutes...which was mostly Cappy's fault.
When this team loses, they play a solid game.
Does this team have a better chance at winning the cup, maybe, maybe not...but they are more stable, which I believe will lead to proper growth in the next couple of years.

Let's put it another way, it's not a coincidence that Nelson, Pulock, Mayfield, MDC, Toews, and even JHS are looking good.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

You're looking at things the wrong way...
Even if the 2015 team had better personnel and a better record, they never played a consistent 60 minutes...which was mostly Cappy's fault.
When this team loses, they play a solid game.
Does this team have a better chance at winning the cup, maybe, maybe not...but they are more stable, which I believe will lead to proper growth in the next couple of years.

Let's put it another way, it's not a coincidence that Nelson, Pulock, Mayfield, MDC, Toews, and even JHS are looking good.

Fair enough. By I want to see those players "look good" in April/May before I start handing out accolades.

 

[Le Grec]

Fair enough. By I want to see those players "look good" in April/May before I start handing out accolades.

So would I, we'll discuss it when we get there...

 

[doublechili]

Ill do a thesis -- "The troubling logistics of Cupholders in todays arenas" --- would that help?

It might. Or how about "The troubling logistics of relocating a major professional sports franchise to Ronkonkoma, New York"?

 

[MikeyMike01]

1 Tampa Bay	A+
2 Calgary	A
3 Vegas	A
4 San Jose	A
5 Toronto	A
6 Winnipeg	A
7 Washington	A
8 Nashville	A
9 Boston	B+
10 Pittsburgh	B+
11 Buffalo	B+
12 Columbus	B+
13 Montréal	B+
14 NY Islanders	B+
15 Dallas	B
16 Colorado	B
17 Minnesota	B
18 Carolina	B
19 Anaheim	B
20 Vancouver	B
21 Edmonton	C+
22 Florida	C+
23 NY Rangers	C+
24 Arizona	C+
25 New Jersey	D
26 Chicago	D
27 Detroit	D
28 St. Louis	F
29 Los Angeles	F
30 Philadelphia	F
31 Ottawa	F

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

This is how you grade on a curve.

 

[Bones45]

It might. Or how about "The troubling logistics of relocating a major professional sports franchise to Ronkonkoma, New York"?

I think that is going to be a much smaller body of work than realized. I'll have to put in a fair amount of fluff.

 

[LeapOnOver]

How can anyone give the team an "A?" I agree that they have overachieved a exceeded expectations but this is still a league where you are competing against other teams. I would think that an "A" team would be in first place and truly elite. If the Islanders get an A, what does Tampa Bay get? A++++++++?

I give the Islanders a B minus right now.

See MJF's answer. I could bring up so many anaologies right now on why people are graded on a mixture of expectations and results, but the only one I can think of is a wife and oral satisfaction. Just because you don't get that every day doesn't mean your wife isn't elite and shouldn't get an A.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Wow. That's quite the statement. The season's still young but as of now I'll easily take 1993, 2002, 2015 and 2016.

1993 still takes the cake for me over this team and those others you mentioned. The OT's alone had me loving hockey and looking forward to every playoff game. They had the perfect combination of speed and skill upfront. Sure they were an adventure defensively, but they were so much fun to watch.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

It's like giving out a 10 on the rating scale. Once you give a 10 you're stuck.

Try going to music sites. Like, PJ Harvey albums get a 10.

 

[Hunn]

If C is for bubble (e. g. Anaheim, Buffalo) and B – for the teams firmly in the playoffs picture, but not "elite" enough to be considered cup contenders (e. g. ... I don't know, seems this grade is empty right now), then the Isles are somewhere between C+ and B-.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

In light of the "Tavares File" and the almost universal bottom 5 finish prophesied by pundits around the league before the season, we should be giving this team a real nice A/A-.

Alas, I'm giving it a B for the sole purpose that the players continue to make simple mistakes or poor judgements on a number of little things that just shouldn't be happening at the NHL level.

There are still far too many blueline errors or icings made 'cause a player doesn't take one more step to reach the red line or the passes/dumps are "too cute" and end up being turnovers.

This team still allows opponents to spend an awful amount of time in its own zone on the tail end of inconsequent puck handling in situations where a guy had a 100% out opt and failed to get the biscuit out.

In addition, the errors made on the PP and overall the trouble the team has in setting up is absolutely disturbing. And it's shocking that the guys haven't gotten their act together in this department, because with a strong PP, this team could do A LOT of damage.

Maybe they'll iron these things out over the second half of the season?

But it remains a B for now.

 

[aronjudge11]

I'd go with a b but the rate these other teams win is off the charts. It's turning into baseball this year with the Yankees red Sox then the rest of the division which only exists so the yanks and sox have someone to play against. Even the cup Islanders didn't win like the caps and Tampa do.

 

[MatthewBarnabysTears]

1993 still takes the cake for me over this team and those others you mentioned. The OT's alone had me loving hockey and looking forward to every playoff game. They had the perfect combination of speed and skill upfront. Sure they were an adventure defensively, but they were so much fun to watch.

Right now this team reminds me a bit of the 07-08 team. We knew going in that they didn’t necessarily have the talent, but they stayed competitive for a long time (maybe until a DiPietro injury? But they all run together for me).

Barzal is a thousand times better than anyone on that team and Lehner hopefully won’t spontaneously combust, though. So hopefully the ingredients for a better outcome are there.