Back when Buffalo was the worst team, still are, in the league, the Sabres traded a star and fan favorite in Vanek for someone not seen to be as good as him in the Islanders’ Moulson along with a a 1st rd pick in 2014 and a 2nd rd pick in 2015. At the time of the trade bewilderment beset both fans of Buffalo and players alike. Rumors were abound on what player was next to go. Not if but when the next star (Miller) was going to leave.

The Vanek/Moulson trade had a big impact on not two but three different teams. Buffalo, a team in rebuilding mode sent their star and packing for seemingly his shadow. This left Buffalonians fearful of a full rebuilding mode. Buffalo was already rebuilding. They just gave Myers a hefty paycheck a couple years ago. They acquired Ehrhoff to compliment Myers. They bolstered their ‘toughness’ with Scott and Kaleta. Let us not forget this trade, these prospects, and even the firing of Ruff for a change in guards and brining in Rolston from AHL affiliate Amerks. Buffalo was already rebuilding and transitioning from one style to another, much like the coronation of Pope Benedict XVI.

As I see it Buffalo is searching for versatility.  The trade, a bold but necessary move really positions Buffalo to be a potential playoff bound team in the 2014-2015 season.  Acquiring LaFontaine and Ted Nolan (who coached Buffalo from 1995-1997) were important steps in completing a fast rebuild of the Buffalo Sabres. Moulson will be able to grow with the core group of young players as well as provide experience to lead.  Ott really isn’t a ‘C’ type player (no offense).

As for the other team in the trade, the Islanders are now a guaranteed desperate playoff-bound team. Acquiring a star like Vanek this early in the year grants them plenty of time to learn and bond with his teammates.  [stats:  4G, 5A, +5 with Islanders in 12 games].  While 9 points in 12 games is a good ratio much more was expected of both Vanek and the Islanders. The Islanders are 4-13 with Vanek on the roster compared to 4-7 without him (OT were counted as either losses or wins).  All he has netted the Islanders are six extra losses and the loss of a probable excellent first round pick. The Islanders are not living up to the expectations of many and may have issues behind the scenes (an excellent read).  Either Vanek has yet to get used to his new team or Vanek was the brightest star in a sky with little light.

Buffalo has undergone other changes to improve themselves.  Kaleta was reassigned to the Amerks where he’ll surely never see the light of day in the NHL again, or at least in Buffalo.  They have also sent down Ristolainen and Grigorenko (bold but very smart moves as neither should be on their team) and recalled Luke Adam, Alexander Sulzer, and Brayden McNabb.

Additionally they also claimed Matt D’Agostini off waivers from Pittsburgh.  As someone who adores his Penguins take it from me that acquiring D’Agostini is a sound tactical play for Buffalo.  He is and will develop to be a solid RW, bounce between 2nd and 3rd line.  Additionally he will assert defensive duties to allow his teammates to jump into offense.  He will also go for pucks in the corner and chip in offensively as needed.  He’s a smart hockey player with good vision and all-around good play.  Buffalo, being loaded with so many offensive minded players (including D-men) desire a few good all-around good players.

What Buffalo can’t do is trade away Miller. The Sabres may be rebuilding but it only has to be a rebuild for this season, a fast rebuild. With Grigorenko now in the AHL (and Jr World Championship and Ristolainen with the Amerks as well i’ll be able to evaluate their play and potential better sitting in the stands of the War Memorial as well as freezing outside at Frozen Frontier.

At least i’ll have Ristolainen and Gauthier-Leduc’s good looks to keep me warm as I tweet at the game next Friday!

Their heroes that litter the history books faded into memory of only their fans, forever slighted by the media from afar because of the arena where they achieved their triumphs or the scalawags in the stands they achieved those triumphs for. Since then, generation after generation ground to dust struggling to match the team’s bright future to the weight of its lofty past.

Perhaps their most maligned aspect of their existence is their fanbase, painted as malcontent, boorish, and wrongly perceived as ill-informed. They sing their own songs, chant their own cries, laud their own heroes. In essence, to the untrained eye, they are weird. Their fans are actually insanely passionate and defined by that early success, that commitment to excellence in past years that became a glimmering ghost sweeping across the decrepit facility that once was a feared den of champions which had become a tomb to past glories rather than a birthing ground for new ones.

From afar, the team seems defined by it’s eccentric owner, his nepotistic hiring practices, rash personnel decisions, occasional frugality, and the propensity for him to publicly look ridiculous while family members clad in team colors stand nearby.

It’s other defining characteristic is a storied and bitter rivalry with it’s nearby big city counterpart. That rival carries an air of superiority and past glories all her own, dismissing the rogue empire of the 70’s and 80’s as an afterthought. Oddly enough, nothing burns the premier franchise like losing to that ‘afterthought’ and nothing keeps them awake at night, chilling the cackles of their hearts like thought of their foes resurgence.

The outcast team expands its sphere of influence, irking their rivals fans as they traverse down the highway to a new nearby arena, too close to the enemy’s sanctum for comfort. This is viewed as an affront to their traditional supporters, but also a chance to rekindle that past glory and expand the brand to heights unseen in sometime. The vagabond outcast team once feared, then forgotten, now poised to be a force to be reckoned with once again.

Is this story that of the Autumn Wind or of Never Say Die? It is the story of John Madden, Tom Flores, Ken Stabler, Jim Otto, Jack Tatum, of George Attkinson knocking Lynn Swann out, Kenny King galloping down field, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Tim Brown and dethroning the Steelers and slapping the mighty 49ers in the face. But it is also the story of Al Arbour, Bill Torrey, Ed Westfall, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Clark Gillies knocking out Bobby Clarke, Bob Bourne flying down the wing, Pat LaFontaine, Zigmund Palffy, John Tavares, dethroning the Penguins and spitting in the eye of the New York Rangers.

It’s the story of two ancient Coliseums, and the search for hope to light the halls of these storied franchises. They are at different chapters in their rebirth after both flirting with fleeting notions of success in the new millennium. The Island Tribe is further along down this path, but the denizens of the Raider Nation are ready to enter their own resurgence. The parallels are too many. The two homes for each franchise minutes apart… the wacky machinations of an overbearing owner… the memories and hunger of a rabid fanbase for something better than mediocrity.

The long painful journey from legacy to laughingstock humbled their backers, but in spite of it all, the defining trait of DEFIANCE endures. Then, now, forever, an expectation and demand that another championship join the trophy case is the sole mandate.

The New York Islanders welcomed themselves back to the NHL last year. Again, we were told by the media and most of us believed, the team simply wasn’t ready to compete. However the stray pundit occasionally warned us, one day the fabled orange and blue monster of old lore in the Long Island Sound would awaken. That pundit would usually be mocked but there was an inkling when the time was right, we would to quote the great Sir Ben Kingsley, “never see it coming.” And lo, as one of my regular sources a dapper coliseum usher was so fond of saying, “one day we will just wake up and come to the realization we have a good hockey team.”

That’s precisely what happened down the stretch. The team bowed it’s back on the precipice of being out of the playoff race, they decided to go on an absolute tear and reveal themselves to be that aforementioned ‘good hockey team’.

The moment for a lot of the fanbase was a game in Washington, down 1-0 for 50 minutes, stealing a 2-1 win in regulation. Or the two defeats of their closest pursuer, Winnipeg, in the span of a week. Or the time they came back from down 2-0 in Montreal. Or the time they pulled the same feat in Madison Square Garden. Or in the confines of the Hockey Mecca, Toronto. Or in their house of horrors in Philadelphia. Or when they went into Pittsburgh and smacked the Penguins around. Or when they handed Boston 1 of exactly 3 home regulation losses.

These were the moments when you realized that this wasn’t the team that folded in the face of adversity. They thrived against the wind. That trait of defiance, the mentality of NEVER SAY DIE Was reborn. Eventually, the Autumn Wind will blow anew and like their on ice counterparts, the Raiders will remind everyone of who they were, what they are, and who they can be tomorrow.

The Islanders were the 3rd best team in the East on the road. The Road Warriors shined under the bright lights. Their star shined the brightest when needed the most.

Tavares would light their darkest hour time and again, even scoring the playoff clincher in the final minute against Carolina. For his work as the flag-bearer of the house on the Isle (or the House of El), he would be voted 3rd for the Hart trophy (player deemed most valuable to his team). The Danish Darkhorse, Frans Nielsen finished 12th in the Selke vote for best defensive forward. Their affable coach who looks like Fred Flintstone, the always upbeat Jack Capuano, was voted 5th best coach in the league, falling just short of a Jack Adams for his efforts (for his part, one hopes he at least received a Sam Adams).

The crafty Goalie turned GM Garth Snow was 6th in executive of the year balloting, and that’s fitting as he’s locked up 6 pieces of the core for a fraction of their worth; while stealing 6 gems off the scrap heap.

The off-ice uncertainty is over, as the organization turns it’s eyes towards Brooklyn. The on ice future is now, as the team turns its eyes towards the Stanley Cup. This is a young nucleus with it’s appetite whet by last season’s success, hungry for more. This team has upgraded it’s offensive firepower after finishing 8th in the NHL in goals scored. They have firepower and the hockey world is getting to know their names.

The era of the anonymous afterthought Islanders is over. The time for the world to gain familiarity with them is now. Soon comes contempt. And that oft battered fanbase that was told so many times over the years ‘you don’t matter anymore and you’ll never matter again’ stands ready to remind everyone exactly who they are and exactly how far they’ve come.

On the other cost, the Raider Nation spends it’s time in the darkness, awaiting their same clarion call back to action. It will come, as it did for the Island Tribe, with not even a gust of the Autumn Wind as warning. Before you realize it, that torrential maelstrom of nostalgia will erupt and they will be back, just as the Islanders are back.

The way the two legacies of the Island Tribe and the Raider Nation intermingle is a bit of serendipity. After All, the New York Islanders owe the impetus their birth to the WHA’s Raiders and both teams fanbases fly the Jolly Roger as their warning to other fans that they are in hostile waters.

The goaltending situation:

As of this writing, we actually have a guy with 9 years remaining on his contract and an .846% save percentage. That’s not good. That contract came at the behest of Charles B. Wang, in case you were wondering.  The starter is a 37 year old Evgeni Nabokov, who is CLEARLY rusty, but still the best we’ve got.  Nilsson and Poulin are seasoning at the Bridge, which is good. Then there’s Cody Rosen. Who wasn’t even supposed to be drafted by any team ever, and then because he’s the son of a business associate of our owner, was drafted. I’ll get to last week’s acquisition soon.

The Payroll:

I hear you Wang apologists whine about his lost revenue. Oh, okay. Let’s see those books then. Do you know, dating back to the dynasty era, this team has one of the best TV contracts in the NHL? 30 million per season. Actual salary payout on average has been 44 million. That means before a fan walks in or buys any merch, he’s at most lost 14 million. So his ‘20 million dollar loss a year‘ figure is crappola. This team has spent the least of any team since 2008. That’s fact.

There may be a correlation between  that and not making the playoffs.  This season’s two big ‘acquisitions’ were Lubo Visnovsky (a real nhl player!) whose cap hit is roughly 2.5 million over his actual salary. Then there’s Tim Thomas, who is retired. He is currently giving us a 5.3 million dollar cap hit with a outlay of zero dollars for our owner.  That’s called cheating the cap floor.

Craig from @Puckbuddys brilliantly dubbed the fiasco ‘The Thomas Clown Affair’. The team operates as frugally as possible. Homegrown pieces are re-signed on the cheap or jettisoned for draft picks to get cheaper labor. Our GM is his master’s voice in that regard. Nobody knows the CBA like Garth Snow. Unfortunately, our owner has him backload contracts and circumvent the cap floor at every opportunity.  That’s where our GM’s talent is put to use. The good news here is Garth dominates the waiver wire like no GM I’ve ever seen. The bad news is we are always in position to have a high waiver claim.

Talent Evaluation and Development:

When going with a young unproven GM, the proper thing to do would be to surround him with experienced hockey ops people.  Charles Wang has slashed us down to the smallest Hockey Ops staff in the NHL, with the smallest scouting department. This dearth of resources is on call for an employee learning the ropes of being a GM in the NHL.   It’s all about eliminating expenditures.  How about a President? No? Cool. Can we hire an NHL Coach? No? okay. Cool. Get more AHL level coaches and more AHL level results.

League Perception:

Our radio telecast is run by interns at Hofstra across the street. We have a cupcake vendor and a tattoo floor on our leaky arena concourse. We ostracized Pat LaFontaine and his  regional champion world class junior hockey team that plays in our backyard. Pat LaFontaine is an NHL Hall of Famer, US Olympian and genuine Long Island folk hero. Any dissenter, be it former team PR man Chris Botta or former broadcaster Billy Jaffe is dismissed at any criticism.

See that for why Pat LaFontaine is persona non grata. Players routinely express dismay at our rink. Opposing broadcasters lampoon our fans. They claim our fans don’t exist, unaware of evidence to the contrary like 12,000 people at a draft party, or 2002 where we sold out 66% of our home games on a magical run to the playoffs. The fans are just frustrated by this ownership which has many priorities,  none of those being winning hockey games. Our owner sits, walled off from humanity, immune to criticism because he has it muzzled. His legacy, aside from relocating the team two counties west, is of arrogance and frugality.