The Youth Movement Arrives and Dubie is Done

Today in Newsday, Islanders beat reporter Greg Logan revealed that the team does not plan to bring back unrestricted free agent forwards Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Josef Vasicek for the 2008-09 season. In addition, backup goaltender and fan favorite Wade Dubielewicz rejected what GM Garth Snow described as a "signficant offer" to remain an Islander.

The writing was clearly on the wall for Dubielewicz as far back as April 10th when Logan first reported Snow's dissatisfaction with the goalie's early season conditioning (discussed in this Islanders Outsider post). It's not a stretch to speculate that Snow's mind was made up even earlier, given the presence of Joey MacDonald and the one-way, two-year deal he signed last July.

It is unfortunate that Snow found it necessary to comment publicly on the team's early-season lack of confidence in Dublielewicz. Such talk is better kept to internal conversations. Having the organization sell them out to the press isn't a good selling point to players the Islanders are courting. Just make the decision and leave it alone, even if you do believe that the player put the team in a weakened position.

As for the contract offer to Dubielewicz, Logan states that it was likely a multi-year deal but the first year had a two-way clause that would have destined Dubielewicz to spend most of the upcoming season in Bridgeport rather than in Uniondale. After finally earning his first one-year deal and a full-time job in the NHL last season, you can't blame Dubie if he interpreted the offer as an instruction to get lost. In fact, it's somewhat akin to Joe Torre's exit from the Yankees last fall (with .001% of the media interest).

Dubielewicz was a very capable backup. With him on the roster, his position was one you didn't have to worry about. MacDonald certainly hasn't established himself to that degree. His 17 NHL appearances with the Bruins, Red Wings, and Islanders are not enough to gauge how well he will fill the role, but his play at least suggests that the Islanders aren't being reckless here. And, of course, there's no guarantee that another goalie doesn't enter the picture.

On a personal note, I'll miss Dubie in the locker room. He came across as appreciative of the attention but never the least bit intimidated by being the focus of it. He wasn't afraid to give non cookie-cutter answers and had a good sense of humor about himself and the game.

Snow's comments regarding Satan, Fedotenko, and Vasicek do not preclude the team from making any of them an offer before the July 1 free agency period, but his words strongly suggest that no offers will be forthcoming. The Islanders appear ready to hand over the roles filled by those veterans to young players like Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau, and Sean Bergenheim.

According to Snow, Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Ben Walter, and Jeremy Colliton will also be in the mix. His quotes to Logan are a strong indication that finding ice time for young players will be a priority.

This development should be welcome news to Islanders fans. Satan brought with him the hopes of being a consistent scoring threat, but his production has decreased each year he has been on Long Island. He will turn 34 in October and there is little chance that the downward trend will reverse itself.

Fedotenko and Vasicek were brought in to play at a level that they can only achieve in fits and starts. While they each demonstrated the ability to play an important role, they only surfaced as impact players for short stretches. The truth is that Snow could make free agent signings of this caliber just about every summer if needed.

So rather than trying to patch together a quality product, Snow is following through on his plan to build a quality team. I don't see how watching the likes of Okposo, Comeau, Bergenheim, and Tambellini fight to make their mark on the NHL could be any less enjoyable than watching last year's team lurch and hesitate.

In fact, it should be far more exciting. I know there's the little matter of awarding this season's Stanley Cup, but can't we start next season now?

Whither Tambellini?

It's a good thing Steve Tambellini didn't name his son Duncan. By now he might have a Chris Berman-caliber nickname like Duncan "Yo-Yo" Tambellini.

Ted Nolan said all the right things about the most recent demotion of the Islanders' not-so-next star forward:

“Jeff didn’t do anything wrong, but he needs to be on a top line to be effective. And with Ruslan coming back, we felt it would be best for Jeff to get those consistent minutes in Bridgeport for his development.” --newyorkislanders.com

The return of Fedotenko made it very convenient for Nolan to evaluate the situation this way. But doesn't a not-so-small part of you get the feeling that the coach has seen enough? More and more it seems like Nolan doesn't believe that Tambellini has what it takes to blossom in the NHL, or at the very least, under a Ted Nolan regime. And if he can't find the minutes to give Tambellini an extended look, then he obviously doesn't deserve the minutes. For what it's worth, I don't consider this recent five-game stretch an extended look.

If we are to assume that Nolan is going to be around for a while (seems like a safe assumption), and that Tambellini is unlikely to fit into Nolan's system, then it makes sense to convert Tambellini into another asset before he gets labeled as a marginal prospect. You can definitely get away with being 23 years old and in the AHL without losing your luster. But as each year passes and you haven't established yourself as a regular NHLer, words like fringe player start to surface.

I'd still love to see Tambellini develop into an exciting player for the Islanders. I hope I'm wrong and he really does need more consistent minutes at Bridgeport until the time is right to step into the Islanders lineup on a regular basis again. I just don't know how many more times we can watch him go up and down.

A couple of thoughts on last night's game...I spent the first 30 minutes of the game wondering why the Islanders never look dangerous or the least bit creative in the offensive zone. It seemed like no one was capable of making a move that created open space, a passing lane, or a path to the goal. I swear I see players on other teams to do this. They use their creativity and skill to create chances and make themselves difficult to contain. Even against a weak Coyotes team, albeit with improved goaltending, the Islanders once again seemed incapable of dazzling, or even amusing, anyone.

Fortunately, Bill Guerin went to the net and got some clean-up goals (garbage goals sounds too negative), and Marc-Andre Bergeron found the far side with a cannon shot on the power play. Billy Jaffe enthusiastically pointed out how, in that instance, Bergeron did use his feet to create the open space necessary to make a play. Still, I'm in the corner with those who say a win is a win, but this was not a great win. I'll let the team take the positives out of it. I'm looking for something more convincing against the Penguins on Saturday night.



Update: The Ducks have traded Andy McDonald to the Blues for Doug Weight, Michal Birner, and a 7th rounder in 2008. It looks like the Ducks have cleared the necessary cap space for Scott Niedermayer to return without giving up Mathieu Schneider, Francois Beauchemin, or Corey Perry. That's not to say that McDonald wasn't a major contributor to the Ducks' Cup team, but any of those guys could have helped the Isles in a trade. Perhaps another one of them will become available if Teemu Selanne decides that he's not done yet either.