Where would you expect this line up to finish in the standings?

[13th Floor]

First time to post. Well i have been following this forum for a while and have been an Islanders fan well since the cup years as i was a kid when they won those cups. With that said i don't expect much from this team. They would probably finish 10-12 if everyone was here and healthy but that is not the case. With that said i see them finishing between 14-16 and if thats the case i hope for the worse. I don't have any expectations until this team gets to Brooklyn. When they do get there they better spend some money then i will spend some of mine.

Finishing 16th? Come on, we aren't THAT bad.

Edit: Forgot to add... welcome to the board! Always good to have new fans posting.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

people are being absolutely ridiculous
for the last 4 years isles fans were all like we need a top 4 dman and we will compete, this line up gives us a 3rd top pairing d-man and no one is satisfied

nielsen is usually around 45th in scoring among centers and with his defensive capabilities he should keep people content with him as a number 2 center, every one always loves how bailey plays on wing and now he would be getting a full season of it and he some how sucks anyway, okposo has finally learned how to put the puck on the net which everyone has been waiting for since his 19 game goalless streak a couple seasons ago and some how every one thinks he sucks too, there are absolutely no reasons why this team wouldn't be competing with the flyers this season for 3rd place in the division and in addition to that there are no rookies other than hickey as a number 7 dman who has already had a ton of time to develop

I hate doing this because, in general, I hate them. But why do some people keep thinking the Flyers are going to do bad this year? I got into the same discussion last year with a fan insisting they'd finish around the 10th or 11th seed, all because they lost Carter and Richards, without looking at their roster and seeing just how deep they actually are.

Is their defense great? No, but it wasn't very good last year either, especially after Pronger went down. Is Bryzgalov kind of hit or miss? He seems to be. But yet even with those two holes, they managed to finish with over 100 points and 5th in the conference.

Barring a major injury to Giroux, I don't think the Flyers will finish below 7th in the conference, and with a bounce back season from Bryzgalov (or whoever their goalie flavor of the month happens to be), could finish as high as 2nd or 3rd.

 

[19NYSports91]

I hate doing this because, in general, I hate them. But why do some people keep thinking the Flyers are going to do bad this year? I got into the same discussion last year with a fan insisting they'd finish around the 10th or 11th seed, all because they lost Carter and Richards, without looking at their roster and seeing just how deep they actually are.

Is their defense great? No, but it wasn't very good last year either, especially after Pronger went down. Is Bryzgalov kind of hit or miss? He seems to be. But yet even with those two holes, they managed to finish with over 100 points and 5th in the conference.

Barring a major injury to Giroux, I don't think the Flyers will finish below 7th in the conference, and with a bounce back season from Bryzgalov (or whoever their goalie flavor of the month happens to be), could finish as high as 2nd or 3rd.

I agree, imo the only team we could be ahead of in our division is the Devils.

 

[13th Floor]

I agree, imo the only team we could be ahead of in our division is the Devils.

People say this every year. Not a chance until our roster improves and there is a culture of winning here. Even if the two teams were even on paper, the Devils will win 5-10 games more a year simply because of a strong organization and knowing how to win from top to bottom.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

I agree, imo the only team we could be ahead of in our division is the Devils.

I don't agree with their direction tying the franchise to a scoring machine with significant effort issues in the other direction, but Lou's track record pulling great play from complete nobodies can't be ignored. They like the rest of the did will finish ahead of us barring a complete meltdown by the other clubs. I think Lou threatens them with torture before each game. I bet you think I am kidding.

 

[A Pointed Stick]

Like many have said, we haven't improved the roster except through it's aging. Our defense is still sad lacking even one true top pair player. Streit takes three months to warm up based on history, so hopefully playing in the Swiss league got the crud out, but it is an inferior league to the NHL, so I am not counting on it. Travis will get better, so that is good. MacDonald is a mixed bag, some games impressive, some mistake prone, and only as effective as a 3/4 on his best night, so pencil him as a solid 3rd pair, Carkner is a 6... That sucks but it is reality. If you add Vis and he doesn't play like a complete pissy baby at least our pp points will have sharp teeth, but that is a huge if. I consider him gone for now, so that leaves us with Martinek who is a guaranteed injury though effective when here as a good 2nd par player as well. That leaves 1 spot for a kid. Call me unimpressed because when Martinek is finally gone, and Carkner and/or Hamonic are sitting out or injured, when Streit gets his couple of games or worse injury, Combos of those situations will lead to solid losses. So 15 or 16 to start in the conference. If Vis returns and plays well that takes a ton of pressure off the defense and improves the PP enough to see a rise of at least three spots and possibly threaten for a PO spot.

Or Wang relents, and Snow agrees to trade for a real defenseman without any injuries, baggage, or age related question marks. That would change everything.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

12th.
11th if we are lucky.

The big question (as always) is Cappy.

Does he have what it takes to be an NHL coach?

That's the least of their concerns. Ice an NHL caliber lineup and then worry about an NHL caliber coach.

I don't believe that there is a coach in the NHL that can win with this team.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Honestly, bottom-5 finish. Again, management has inadequately addressed glaring issues, even with the Vis acquisition. Vis was a start, but certainly not enough (his dicking around non withstanding).

The best thing to happen to NYI this year is the Bkln. announcement. I do believe ownership will invest greater funds into the roster with the move (whether that be due to new ownership or increased revenues generated) and I do believe better players will be attracted to NYI upon the relocation. In the mean time, stay tuned to the development of the prospects and younger NHL'ers to bridge the gap.

 

[TheWhiteWhale30]

13th - 15th, whether you add Redden, Gomez, Visnovsky, or anyone else that's already in the system.

If the stars align, the Isles can make the playoffs, if ALL this happens:
- Nabby is spectacular
- They have no injuries to JT, Streit, Nabby
- Okposo and Bailey have career years
- Grabner plays like early 2011
- Boyes scores 35+ goals

JT will probably be a 55-60 pt player over the 48 games but that won't get them out of the cellar on its own. They need balance from the other lines, health and lots of luck.

If all those things happen the Islanders win the divison...we dont ned things to go that well to make the playoffs.

 

[Twine Seeking Missle]

First off, grammar is your friend. Use it.

Second, people here are not being ridiculous. You're being ridiculous for being overly optimistic.

Seriously. Optimism is one thing. BLIND optimism with ZERO basis is another thing and is quite annoying.

 

[redbull]

If all those things happen the Islanders win the divison...we dont ned things to go that well to make the playoffs.

Very true. I think the Isles can make the playoffs if they can get secondary scoring, goaltending, stay healthy AND commit to team defense. I think they have one of the best top lines in the NHL in Tavares - Moulson and Okposo (or whomever) and they'll get goals. But they absolutely need to prevent goals and stay healthy - two things they haven't shown since the 80s.

I hate doing this because, in general, I hate them. But why do some people keep thinking the Flyers are going to do bad this year? I got into the same discussion last year with a fan insisting they'd finish around the 10th or 11th seed, all because they lost Carter and Richards, without looking at their roster and seeing just how deep they actually are.

Is their defense great? No, but it wasn't very good last year either, especially after Pronger went down. Is Bryzgalov kind of hit or miss? He seems to be. But yet even with those two holes, they managed to finish with over 100 points and 5th in the conference.

Barring a major injury to Giroux, I don't think the Flyers will finish below 7th in the conference, and with a bounce back season from Bryzgalov (or whoever their goalie flavor of the month happens to be), could finish as high as 2nd or 3rd.

I thought Philly would take a step back last year as well. This year, I think their defense is a little bit worse and they'll be relying on increased minutes to both B.Schenn and Couturier (that comes with risk, just like if the Isles were relying on key minutes to Strome and Niederreiter), but they still have a pretty strong team. What I like most about their team is how they're built, they have great balance throughout the lineup and really strong players that play without the puck, can win battles and score the ugly goals: Hartnell, Fedotenko, Simmonds, Talbot and the biggest one - GIROUX who's one of the best in the game.

They are a fun team to watch and an easy team to hate. Just like the Pens