The Hockey PDOcast - Episode 272: Feeling Prolific Today

Episode Date: January 11, 2019

Arthur Staple joins the show to discuss the New York Islanders, The Barry Trotz System, Mat Barzal taking on the lion's share of the offensive burden, the resurgent goalie tandem that no one saw coming, balancing the risk versus reward with Josh Ho-Sang, and how they've managed to navigate the early stages of life without John Tavares. Sponsoring today’s show is SeatGeek, which is making it easier than ever before to buy and sell sports and concert tickets. They’re giving our listeners a $10 rebate off of their first purchase. All you have to do is download the free SeatGeek app and enter the promo code PDO to get started. A reminder that we’re hosting a daily fantasy listener league contest over at FanDuel every Thursday this season. While you wait for the next opportunity to play to come around, go over to fanduel.com/PDO and tell them we’ve sent you. They’ll hook you up with a bonus $5 to play with after your first deposit, which will surely come in handy throughout the year. See you there! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Are you ready for the most ridiculous internet sports show you have ever seen? Welcome to React, home of the most outrageous and hilarious videos the web has to offer. So join me, Rocky Theas, and my co-host, Raiders Pro Bowl Defensive Inn, Max Crosby, as we invite your favorite athletes, celebrities, influencers, entertainers in for an episode of games, laughs, and, of course, the funniest reactions to the wildest web clips out there. Catch React on YouTube, and that is React, R-E-A-X-X. Don't miss it. This podcast episode is brought to you by Coors Light.

These days, everything is go, go, go. It's non-stop hustle all the time. Work, friends, family. Expect you to be on 24-7? Well, sometimes you just need to reach for a Coors Light because it's made to chill. Coors Light is cold-loggered, cold-filtered, and cold-packaged. It's as crisp and refreshing as the Colorado Rockies. It is literally made to chill.

Coors Light is the one I choose when I need to unwind. So when you want to hit reset, reach for the beer that's made to chill. Get Coors Light and the new look delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado. Pressing to the mean since 2015. It's the HockeyPedioCast. With your host, Dimitri...

Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. My name is Dimitri Philopovich. and joining me for an illustrious fourth time on the Hockey-Ocast. It's my good friend Arthur Staple, Arthur. What's going on, man? I'm good, Dimitri. How are you? I'm great. I'm excited. I'm actually having you on for once, I feel like, under pretty positive, optimistic circumstances. One time I had you on, and we were talking about John Francois Barubei,

who, by the way, is back in the league today after Sir Gibovsky's little dust up with the blue jackets. And, you know, I had you on when the whole DeVaris mess was going on after he left. this summer and it feels like whenever we've been talking and this is probably kind of reflective of what it's been like covering this islanders team and being a fan of the islanders but it's always been some sort of turmoil or some sort of a circus and it feels like this year it's been you know I don't know what the right word is but but definitely encouraging or at least you know there's reason to be cautiously optimistic or or things to point to as reasons to be excited moving forward so I'm excited to finally have you on under these types of circumstances not the ones that we've had

before. Encouraging, I think, is the key word. That's a good one to describe what's going on. So I'm encouraged to be here and talk about that situation as well. Yeah, I think, yeah, I keep pointing to cautiously optimistic because obviously there's, you know, there's certain things you can point to and go like, okay, you know, this is a bit alarming or this is a bit of a red flag. But at the same time, I feel like the good does outweigh the bad.

And I guess, I don't know, what's the most logical place to start with covering this Islanders team this year? it's probably got to be the effect Barry Trots and his coaching staff, along with Mitch Coren, that they've had on this team, right? For sure, for sure. That was, you know, I think when people look back at this summer, obviously they're going to look at July 1 and Tavaris's decision. But I think, I guess it was about 10 days earlier,

really will end up being probably the most momentous decision for the islanders at least going forward because that's when it got Barry Trott. and certainly didn't seem like he was going to be available when they went out to, when that week began, he was still coming off the high of winning a Stanley Cup with the Capitals, and then, lo and behold, he was here. And so Lou Lamarillo managed to work his magic. He didn't manage to work quite as well with Tavares. But, yeah, it's definitely been from day one, a very different situation for a team that really didn't,

outside of Tavis, didn't have a ton of turnover coming off of the last few days. years. And I think that that may be the biggest compliment you can pay to Trots and Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn is that the founders are doing this with essentially the same roster that they had last year, minus obviously a big star player in Tavares and minus maybe Calvin Dahan. But what they've done is pretty remarkable. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a similar situation in the last couple decades in the NHL. Yeah. No, I agree. I wish to let the listeners know that that sound year in the background is Arthur's reporting the... Islanders game from MSG against the Rangers and I guess they're testing the sounds for the game

back there? They are, they are. I just find a little quieter spot underneath the stand. But never a dull moment here at the guard. Yeah, no, I mean, you're right. Listen, everything you said there about Barry Trots is completely bang on. And I think that even the most optimistic of people about this team's outlook during the summer would have, you know, had to concede the fact that at the very least this was kind of like going to be a net neutral. And if anything, it was obviously going to be a bit of a a net negative in terms of what they were losing versus what they were bringing in to replace the guys

that were headed out the door. And that's why, you know, when you point to, when you talk about the Jack Adams, and obviously we're still a bit of a ways away from award season, but we're getting to the point now, midway point where people are at least starting to kind of discuss a little bit. And, you know, John Cooper, obviously, just because of the Lightning's dominant season. And there's

certainly other guys like Claude Julian who have put their fingerprints on the team and have a discernible effect on what's going on with their roster. But we can look at this. Islanders team last year and sort of the defensive abomination they were and how porous they were and all of the pitfalls they had. And then you can point to what's going on right now, but this year under Barry Trots. And it's not like they added all these defensive stalwarts that would explain

the big turnaround. It really is a coaching impact. I think sometimes in, in, in, in H.L, it's a little difficult to quantify that or really figure out how much of an impact the coach is having on its roster because there's obviously only so much you can do with the personnel you have. But in this case, you know, Barry Trondes's fingerprints are all over this just in terms of how they're playing and sort of all of the underlying profiles. And it really has been amazing to see this turnaround, which has happened pretty quickly. Yeah, you know, I think when Barry talks, he's talked since we're kind of at the midway point here of the season, he's talked recently about what he saw coming in. And he felt like this team was capable of this when he saw the pieces that were laid out, you know, even after July, the rest of July 1.

Tavares leaves, and Lou goes out and gets guys that really left a lot of people scratching their heads. You know, Leo Kamrov getting four years, Val Sopo, getting a no-move clause on a one-year deal. Ross Johnston getting four years. I think that was the last time we spoke was right around the time Ross Johnson got four years. And I think that was, those were moves that didn't seem like they made a lot of sense. They made sense to Lamarillo because he's trying to, you know, sweep some things out and bring some new things in. not necessarily looking at X's and O's, but Barry Trots is making it work because, you know,

right from the first minutes of training camp, he came in and he, you know, has been doing this a long time, and it's a very unique situation. As far as the Islanders are concerned, a lot of guys here have not had this sort of this level of coaching expertise, of coaching discipline really in a long time, and that's not a knock against Jack Capuano,

who's a much better coach than people giving credit for. But his message, discipline has not always been great during his time here. And then you look at Doug Wade and the mess that was last year, and you kind of just throw that entirely out the window. So, yeah, it's just been from day one, their ability to stay with what they've been taught. And, you know, there were a few hiccups, I think, at the beginning,

the first three weeks or so this season, they were a little bit back and forth. But I think ever since they won five in a row and really kind of those back-to-back wins they had at the end of October over the penguins. I think that was the moment that the light went on for a lot of the guys in the room, and I think even for the coaches that this could be a season that they surprised some people. And, you know, really, Josh Hossang, who I'm sure we'll get to in a minute,

told me the other day that came in Toronto that they had after Christmas where they shut out the leaves and kind of a big moment to them, was really the moment that he discovered how frustrating they can be to play against, that they took a very talented team and completely bottled them up and frustrated them. And I think that's been the mantra, that it's not only the us against the world, which has been an Islander's rallying point for decades now, considering all the other stuff that's been going on with this organization. But I think even Barry's message has been do what I tell you to do

and what we can teach you to do and you're going to be successful. And it's been working so far. Yeah, no, I mean, the turnaround's been staggering pretty much anyway you slice. I mean, last year they were, what, 31st in the league and attempts against, 30th and shots against, 31st and goals against 29th and say percentage, but like pretty much any way you looked at it, they were bottom two or three in every defensive category. And this year, they're up to eighth, seventh, first, and fifth in those four. And, you know, it's, it's tough to, to kind of separate this stuff because they kind of go hand in hand and, you know, it's chicken or

the egg. But obviously the goaltending itself and the job Mitch Corrin has done in, in, you know, teaching these guys up and the bounce back seasons that both Thomas Grice and Robin Leonard have high into this. But also, if you look at just what's going on in front of them, that buried shots effect is very clear because they've at the very least gone from being historically bad defensively to competent, if not in middle of the pack and maybe even a little bit above average in some metrics. So that's obviously how to pronounce the effect. But I don't know, like at the same time, when you look at this and take a bigger picture of you of it, how much credits should we be giving to the Barry Trots defensive system and how much of it is just

two goalies, especially Robin Leonard lately, just standing on their heads and playing out of their minds and carrying this team a little bit even when things aren't going great in front of them. Yeah, I mean, that's been a big factor for sure. You know, Grice more early and Lennar more lately, you know, it's hard to imagine any scenario with these two goalies with their track records and leading aside all of the off-hife stuff that Robin Lennar's been trying to handle in conjunction with having a pro career over the last year to think that they'd be playing to 935, 925, even strength A percentage is was even more unsathomable than this team going from worst to first and goals again.

You know, I think Leonard, maybe, and he's been talking about it a lot, that he's, you know, he felt like even last year before he really started what he called his crash right around the new year last year, he was about a 9-17, 918 goalie. And that's, you know, that's pretty good for the current NHL for these last couple years. And obviously, the Sabres were not a good team last. last year and that has an effect. But now he's playing in front of, you know, behind rather, like he said, a competent team and a team that's being very opportunistic at the other end as well with their shooting

percentage and the chances that they generate. So, you know, I think he's been certainly better than expected and maybe not in a sustainable way for a whole season, but it's not, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that Leonard could have had this kind of year. Bryce, I think, is starting to regress a little bit, playing a little bit less. And it seems right now that it's a clear Lenners that prefer a guy. I think however far they can go with that with the schedules they've got coming up before the All-Star break, which doesn't include a lot of playoff teams.

I think the key thing, too, is that even if they regress to what their career averages have been, they maybe have banked enough points to outlast some of those. teams at the tail end of the Eastern Conference Playoff race. They've got a few games in hand on Montreal and Buffalo. They don't really play either of those teams until we get back after the All-Star break. So, you know, I think even if it's not sustainable, it may have already been enough that Leonard and Grace have done to put this team in the conversation. Yeah, no,

I mean, they've been remarkable. They're, I think, combined fifth and C percentage at all strengths. Third at 5-1-5, last I checked. They were both top 10 in goals saved according to Corsica. And, you know, I about this today at ESPN, but they've been right up there with, I think, you know, the Bruins guys and the Dallas Stars goalies as the best tandem in the league. And I guess it really speaks to maybe last year was an even bigger mess defensively than we probably thought at the time. Just if you look at how Grice has performed this year and how Yaroslavalak has performed in a different setting in Boston and the effect that last year's defensive effort in front of them had on those two

guys in their numbers is pretty staggering when you look at compared to what they've done this year. Sure. And, you know, I think the way that Yara has, finished last year, there was a question whether he'd get another NHL contract, just not only because of the way that the team played in front of him, the way that kind of broke him down, but with the previous year, you know, getting demoted for a few months and just all about other baggage that he seemed to bring with him, but it was good that at least one team saw through that and saw that there were still a talented guy in there, and he certainly is dedicated himself. and I thought he was actually pretty good last year

when you're facing 40 shots a game and over 15 high-dangered chances every game, nobody's going to look good. So he too is benefiting from being in an organization and with a team that's showing a lot more competence defensively. So yeah, I think last year is already even halfway through this year shown to be, like you said, possibly a bigger mess even than it looked on the ice

and in hearing whispers from guys that were part of it. Nobody's really saying a whole lot, but I think the implication certainly is that there was a lot going on behind the scenes, not just with the Tavares situation, but with a coaching staff that wasn't always on the same page, general manager who was on the hot scene, and a young budding star wookie player who love to score goals and create chances, but they weren't really creating a foundation for him to be a two.

200-foot player, as they like to say. And I think that's another aspect that very is brought to the table as far as Matthew Barzal is concerned. Yeah, well, we'll get to Barzal more in a second here, but I did want to just, you know, one final thing on the team as a whole. You know, we're getting to the point of the season now where every door everyone's played around 40, 45 games and we're starting to really take stock of the playoff picture and try to figure out and suss out what's real and what's not. And I think this is a testament to how far the Islanders come and sort of the success they've had this year that they're capturing people's attention nationally beyond just their own fan base. and it seems like they're going to be this year's, at least for now, the battleground of, you know, the great PDO Wars of 2019,

and people are going to be wondering how good they really are, whether their place in the standings is a bit of a mirage. And something I keep coming back to and pointing out, I mean, first of all, and we'll get into this a bit later as well. There's been a pretty dramatic and pronounced uptick in underlying performance as the year's gone along. But I think people just need to kind of keep, you know, a mind of context and sort of relative factors here, right? I think even the most optimistic people in the summer would have had them as, you know, maybe possibly a bottom five team. And so far, they've performed as the 11th best even point percentage.

And I feel like there's a middle ground there where even if they're not necessarily as good as they've looked so far in the standings, if they fall back a little bit and the goaltending isn't as great as it's been so far, there's still enough wiggle room here to view this season as, you know, an overwhelming success and actually keep them in the playoff fund, even if they do fall off a bit. For sure, for sure. I think we just look at them. They're playing at 100-point pace right now, and if they catch up in games played and don't move up in the standings,

they're still looking at 97, 98 points and not making the playoffs. I think that's not terribly sustainable to some of the teams that are ahead of them. Like I said, the Canadians and the Sabres. And now I certainly think you have to throw the bluejack into the mix, considering what went down there today. But, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, I think the numbers are certainly skewed by how wildly unrepresentative, I guess you could say, or for the first 15 games or so where they were just giving up tons more attempts and chances

and still capitalizing at a 11, 11.1 and a half percent clip in terms of their own scoring chances. But I think what you see now over the last couple months, and I'm sure we'll get into it, but you see them swinging the pendulum a bit in terms of chances, not necessarily. terms of overall attempts, but that really speaks to Barry Trotz's philosophy. And, you know, he implemented it in Washington and they were not a high-coursey percentage team and they still were, you know, obviously had some more elite scores than the Islanders do. But I think he's, he may be, you know, turning the kind of the coursey philosophy on its head a bit if it's already, it's not already been turned on its head about NHL players, even if you don't have an Alex

Ovechkin and a Nick Baxter in the lineup that you can still wait for, for good chances to try to convert as opposed to just, you know, being volume shooters and the fact that he's now been able to do it with a team that's being led by, you know, a couple of 15 goals scorers at the break is is even more remarkable. I think that how they're winning games is such a throwback to a different era, you know, an era that I think the NHL would have loved to have set by to already, you know, a team that wins 3-1 or 3-2 or 4-1 if they're feeling prolific.

on a certain night is really, it's really interesting and maybe not as entertaining as some other teams. And maybe that is another factor in why the Islanders aren't getting a ton of respect is because they're not so much fun to watch most nights. But I think for their fans who have suffered through a lot of fun hockey, way too exciting, I think this is probably preferable. I like that, feeling prolific on certain nights, aren't we all? All right, let's take a quick break here from a sponsor, and then we're going to dive a bit

deeper into that and sort of look at some of the reasons for that success. and how sustainable this is after the break. Sponsoring today's episode of the HockeyPedio cast is Seekek. Getting tickets online can be far too complicated. With hundreds of websites and varying levels of reliability, it's hard to know who to trust out there. That's why Seekek's the way to go, because they do all the work for you by pulling millions of tickets

in one place so you can easily find the seats you want for a price you're willing to pay. There's nothing quite like being there in person, and Seekkeek gets you closer to action for a great value. Seekek's designed to make your ticket buying experience easier than ever before by searching multiple ticket sites in grading every ticket based on value, Seekkeek helps you identify the best seats that fit your budget.

Plus, every purchase is fully guaranteed, so you can shop for tickets on Seekek with supreme confidence knowing that what you're paying for is exactly what you're going to get. Make Zique your go-to ticket source for everything from sports and concerts to comedy and theater. I have the Seek app on my phone, and I actually use it the other day

to get some tickets to go see the Rkels coming up in February. They're one of my favorite bands. They're a Canadian band, so you obviously got to represent, and show some love and support, and I'm looking forward to going to see them. And when I got those tickets, it was the easiest way possible to shopper tickets. I just opened the Siki Cap on my phone, a couple clicks, searched it up, found the best value based on their color-coded map, which green is good, red is bad, and bada-bing, butabum,

I was in and out, and it was that easy. It honestly took a couple minutes. So as my listener, you can take advantage of that, but also, because you're listening to today's episode of the Hockey P.D.O. guest, Seekek is going to throw you an extra 10 bucks off your first CKkeek purchase to help sweeten the pot and encourage you to check them out. So to claim that, all you have to do is download Seekek app and enter the promo code PDO today. That's promo code PDO for $10 off your first Seek purchase. And before we get back to Art Staple, I also wanted to quickly give some love to Fandul who's helping make today's show possible as well. We've been doing these daily contests over a Fandul all season, roughly once a week, and they've been a blast.

Sometimes we do them Tuesdays, sometimes Thursdays. Those are typically the busiest days in the schedule when there's 10, 11, 12 games on and a bunch of players to choose from. For those of you that haven't played along yet, it's really easy. Just go to fandole.com slash PDO. You sign up. If you let them know we sent you, they'll even give you some spending cash to play along with once you make your first deposit. And then you just wait for me to tweet out the link to the contest when I set it up the morning of. And you get in there.

We're typically doing 20-person pools. So it is on a first-come-first-serve basis. And you sign up. You get in there, you pick your team based on who's playing on that given night, and then you compete against the rest of the listeners. And we're typically only playing for a couple bucks here or there, so it's mostly for bragging rights and competition and sort of, you know, giving you something else to cheer for beyond your team and your favorite players on that given night.

So I hope to see all you there. And remember, just go to fandal.com slash pedio and let them always hint you, and they're going to give you some extra cash to play with. So with that out of the way, let's get back to Arthur Staples on the Hockeyedio cast. Okay. You know, I mean, you mentioned the first 15 games there, and I broke it down by month, and obviously, there's a bit of wiggle room there, and it seems like kind of, you know, arbitrary cutoffs, obviously, but if you just look at October, they played 11 games there, and they were 29th in shot attempts

and 30th in shot share, and they were around a 40, 41, 42 percent team in that regard, and, you know, since then it's been steadily climbing. They were a 51% team at around 16th or 17th in the league in November, and then if you look at December and January now, which is nearly 20 games, they're around. a 52% shot share team. And, you know, obviously you alluded to the fact about, you know, how Barry Trots has typically had his teams, you know, focus on quality over quantity, I guess you could say, and sort of they've generally outperformed their expected goals. And it's a lot easier to do that when you do have the backs from Zenovetkins and Kuznets off of the world where their talent

can sometimes one shot from them is as good as two from someone else. But I look at this team, I do think there's a lot of encouraging factors. And I'm wondering, you know, in your perspective, in your opinion covering this team, how much of that has to do with them just taking some time to warm up or really embrace Barry Trots' system and learn all the details of it and how much of it is the fact that they're finally starting to use their best personnel and their best lineup by calling up a guy like Devon Taves and obviously Josh Hossang, although he's down now, but the effect that two of those young players had on this team is pretty pronounced from an underlying perspective. And I just wonder how much of it is a combination of that and then how much of it

is one more so than the other. You know, I think the call-ups have definitely helped and like you said, you know, Hossang being back down, you know, kind of maybe reduces that a little bit, but I think the system that Barry teaches is not

revolutionary. I don't think anybody's system really is, but I think the discipline and the accountability those are big coaching team watchwords. You know, I don't think there was a lot of that And I think you saw some games with this team. If you watched closely enough early in the air,

when Matthew Barzell was not on the ice with his regular line mates because he had failed in some aspects for Barry Trots. And Barry sat him down. He said, I'm going to keep doing this until you get it right. I think Barzal's hot streak from the last couple of weeks is evidence that he's embracing it and also figuring out that he can incorporate those kind of plays away from the puck and the way that they want to be structured, you know, in their zones into his incredibly creative game. You know, I think it took a little while five on five for them to figure out not just how to play,

but how to play with one another. I think, you know, even with all the familiarity they had, there was some mixing and matching bars all, and Anthony Beauvilliers weren't really together, and Bovilliers started off the season very slowly. Andrewsley and Brock Nelson had pretty much been together a while, but, you know, that was kind of a decision about which was going to be the primary line of those top two. And, you know, I think it's been quite clear that Brock Nelson's line is the number one line that they have. And Brock Nelson may not be a number one center in anyone's eyes, but he's been one of their, you know, one of their MEPs this first half,

the guy whose role was incredibly reduced last year and came back in a one-year deal and tied for the team leading goals. And also, you know, playing a lot of hard minutes and taking a ton of big face. offs and we certainly can't discount what the case is Matt Martin, Calcutterbuck line has been, which not, you know, very consistent from the start of the year that their possession numbers were quite good, playing a lot of low event hockey on their shifts, but that's obviously for them probably a win each time out, especially in their matchst up against the opposing top two line. So, you know, I think the interesting thing

to me, too, is that the Valhopo, Leo Komarov pair, which was getting paved in possession-wise, but was somehow producing tons of holes early in the year. I mean, Boko was sitting with 19 points. I think he's only had about two or three in the last 12 game. Right. I think that we all knew was not sustainable,

but I think it also set a little bit of a tone and set a benchmark for some of these other guys who are more skilled to say, you know, these guys can do it, and they're both brand new, then we do it too. I think that forward group is not an imposing one in the least,

but the way that they're all playing together and then when you have bars, they'll have nights like the guy in Toronto, where he can take over a game. It's pretty formidable. I think the feeling in that room and even talking to some opposing players is that the Islanders have more skill

than they're given credit for. And there's not going to be a top 20 score on this team. It's just not the way that they're structured. But but they do seem to spread the wealth a little bit, and I think they've figured out how they can incorporate that, especially at five-on-five, into what Barry wants them to do.

Yeah, we got to get into the Josh Hoseng thing, because it is, I'm sure you're probably tired of talking about it at this point, but it's such a tricky situation from the perspective of, like, I get that he's an imperfect player. I get that guys like him can be sometimes frustrating because he looks like he's passing up opportunities, and I definitely agree that he needs to shoot the puck more, if only just to maintain that threat

or the illusion of that threat against opposing defenses. I mean, I think he had 12 shot attempts and like eight shots on goal in 10 games, and that's clearly not going to be enough. But at the same time, you look at the effect that he had on the guys like Val Philpil and Leo Komarob, and the fact that in those 10 games, the Islanders were just dominating every time he was out on the ice,

and he finally gave them, you know, really kind of, I thought helped fill out their lineup and eliminate some of the more glaring holes that they had. And so now that he's backed down, it might just be a temporary thing for a couple games, and it might be a moot point ultimately. But I just want to see this guy play for like 40 straight games in a solid lineup role and see what he can do and acknowledging that there's certain areas of the game that he can improve on. But I think, you know, the positives with him clearly outweigh the negatives.

And I don't know, like, are you sick about talking about at this point? Like, is there anything new to add to this entire discussion? No, I think it's a fascinating. It's much more compelling of a situation than it was either the last two years. You know, two years ago, he came up when they were, you know, after the coaching change, they were desperate for some sort of jolt offensively, and he gave it to them. But those are games, you know, that's a team that was 10 points out of a playhouse spot, 12 points out of a playhouse spot.

You know, you get the dead cat bounce. Any team gets it. And, you know, coaching change, teams taking them for granted. He certainly was in a low-pressure situation, you could say. Last year, he starts with the team out of camp. There's nobody's, they're not playing any structure at all. they're just running and gunning, which I'm sure he loves, but somehow, since he's the one with options, he gets sent down when the team starts to try to focus on defense and they lose a couple

guys and then the wheels fall off. So this year, I think, you know, he really had no sniff at a training camp, and it seemed like he's even going to be part of this organization going forward when he got sent down pretty quickly in camp, played, you know, to dominate, you know, statistically the way that you would expect a guy like him to dominate at the age. level. Right. And came back up and,

you know, I think those first six or seven games he was up. He was doing exactly what, uh, he, he would think Barry Trots would want. Shifts were really short. Um, you know,

he punted a lot on, on some possessions that, uh, clearly weren't going to work out. Had a nice goal from a crazy angle in Arizona. That was a big goal in that game. And every goal, like I said to this team is big when they're only scoring two or three a game.

Um, but I think, like you said, the shots, uh, the shot attempts are not great. And I think when his details start to slip, when he gets a,

you know, maybe gets a little bored with trying to stay disciplined all the time, you know, it's much more noticeable than it is for a Brock Nelson or even a Matthew Barzal. You know, that's the level that I think they want to be at, and they maybe feel he's still capable of.

I'm not so sure that that he is capable of that, that maybe he's going to be, you know, a top nine NHL winger and a power play guy and produce, you know, 15 goals and maybe in a good year, 40 or 50 assists, but that's certainly worth having in your lineup. And certainly the way that he possesses the puck. And if he can be a bit harder on the puck,

a bit more of a puck hound, you know, especially on the power play, because his power play is really bereft, especially the unit that Matthew Barz off not on it. There's no cohesion. And when he was up, he did make it work. He was playing second unit a little bit, and they produced a goal, moved up to the first unit when Jordan Eberley was out,

and they produced a couple of goals. So I think he makes things run smoother, but from the team perspective, they want more. You want more consistency. They want more Josh Hossang than he's been given. And I'm sure he's tired of hearing that because it's a cumulative for him over three years, but now this is a whole different set of circumstances, and Lou talks often about everybody, you know, I don't care what happened before I was here,

but now that I'm here, you do what I say. I think to that end he's been good, and I think from the playing-wise doing what Barry Trots wanted, he was good for a little while, but it's still not a finished product, and that's hard for a lot of fans to hear because they see the skill, and they see the ability to make everybody around them better, and certainly, you know, I've tweeted it out plenty of the record of, you know, I think it's 30, to 16 and 4 with him in the lineup and then maybe a couple games over

500 without him the last two plus years and those things don't necessarily correlate directly but he's got to have some impact if it's that big a difference and I have to feel that he's going to be back sooner rather than later whether it's an injury, whether they

decide to move on from Everley before the trade deadline you know I don't think Barry Trots or Lou Amaro or any sort of modern thinking guys where they're they're going to coddle anyone. I think it's going to be tough love for Josh for as long as he's here. And if he's upset about being sent down, I think they want to see him channel it into working towards getting back. And the way he played, first time he went down, he certainly did that. So I'm hopeful. I'm sure they're hopeful that he does it again.

Yeah. I mean, it's pretty clear that he makes the guys around him better and the performance is better when he's on the ice for a lot of these guys than when he's not. And I get that, you know, there's sometimes you leaving stuff on the table. And it can be frustrating just because he is so talented. But it is also tantalizing for us to discuss, obviously, because it's just like it's the ultimate risk-wrest reward debate, right? Whereas this Islander's team has such a low margin for error just because they are playing so many close, low-scoring games. And that removes sort of any wiggle room for them.

But at the same time, you look at the roster and it is pretty bereft of skill and dynamic playmaking, which he can bring to the table. and I feel like he does still provide the most upside for them. So I understand balancing those two things and expecting a hockey team, any hockey team, not even a Luley Meryl or a very Trots team, but any real NHL team to not take the conservative route is a bit of a fool's errand. But I do really just want to see this guy up full time and see what you can do with it because I do think the potential still is there,

even though it has been a couple years now. Yeah, it's definitely, it's been a ride with him for sure. And, you know, I think the biggest change for him is not speaking his mind either. You know, I think he's keenly aware, and there's people watching him at all times in the locker room. And that's, you know, that's a certain, that's a lamarillo hallmark. And I think they want to get it to the point with this team where when he comes in, he's going to listen to the guys in the room who say, just focus on hockey, just worry about this. Don't worry about anything else.

and it'll have an effect. And I don't necessarily think this room is quite there yet. It's definitely got a few more mature voices in it than it did in years past. But I think, you know, for him, it may always be a struggle. It just may be that way. It just may be in his DNA to not feel content or comfortable in any situation. And it's certainly great benefit to us in the media. I've had plenty of eye-opening and interesting conversations with him over the last couple years.

But it's not always in the best interest of Josh Hose and a player. So I think that's a thing that's a thing that he may have to reconcile as well if he's going to stay in this organization. God forbid a player show personality and have say something fun to say beyond the puck getting deep. Yeah, we haven't really talked about Matt Barzal yet. I mean, we kind of alluded to him a little bit, and it's surprising that we're 30 minutes in, we still haven't really talked about the team's most, you know, definitely most electrifying and talented, but also I think, I mean, the goalies are an entirely different animal, but I think they're most important player just in terms of when he's on his game and when he's playing and the pucks are going

into the net the way they have for him the past couple of weeks. He really elevates their ceiling and makes everyone better around him. And, you know, start of the year, he got off to a slow start. I think a lot of it was just horrendous shooting luck and we've already seen, you know, he had that hat trick and he had a couple two-goal games. And most of his numbers now are back in line with what he was doing last year and what we'd sort of expect from him. How much of it is just that and sort of it naturally taking some time for some of this stuff to get in line and get revert back to normal course and how much of it was, there is a bit of an adjustment.

I mean, he is playing with similar players he was last year, but obviously no John Tavares there all of a sudden now if you're a team game planning against the Islanders, you're pretty clearly, you know, directing all of your resources and all of your attention towards trying to slow bars out down because you know that you can probably handle the other guys offensively and sort of that entire new spotlight and attention being placed on him. I imagine that had a bit of an effect in terms of sort of an adjustment period or getting used to it because it is an entirely different animal when you're your team's number one option as opposed to a 1A, 1B situation like he was last year.

Yeah, and I think the adjustment period for him was kind of the way that Barry laid it out in quite plain terms to us, so I'm sure it was pretty plain to Barzal as well, was when you have the puck, do what you do. When you don't have the puck, do what I tell you to do. And I think that it's a great phrase, and I'm sure it's easy to repeat and easy to resonate, but harder to put into practice that, you know, I think the realization that last year was a bit of a,

you know, kind of a Sega-94 mirage for Barzali. Obviously, the skill is certainly never going to go away, but it's just not, it just wasn't an NHL stuff. of hockey that the animers played. And part that it is to accept that because he walked away with a almost unanimous, called her trophy, lots of accolades,

a couple five-point games, and then to have someone come in and say, yeah, that's great, but that's not how we're going to win. That's certainly going to be a justice period for a young, talented guy like him, and a confident guy like him. So I think, you know, seeing his game develop where Chots is comfortable putting him

out there in the tail end of a third period with a lead or a tie game. You know, I think it's been a big evolution for him. And really, you know, the numbers, numbers could be exactly what they were last year. He was better if the power play were at all decent. And I think he holds some responsibility for that because he's the guy now who's trying to control the play

off his off-wing wall. And really, they haven't figured out how to, you know, when you don't have 91 on the opposite wall, who's digging for pucks or shrewing pucks, create rebounds. That's really where they miss Tavares the most, and where he certainly misses him because he took tons of assists or easy goals because of things Tavares did on their powerplay last year

in the last couple years, even the outbars all there. So I think once they get that figured out, if they can get that figured out, and it's been a difficult run for them because trying to run the power play through the sidewall, not Nick Baxter, and I think not having the, threat of a shot at all to the first 20-25 games really hurt them and he started to shoot a bit

more and I and it's still just it's a bit stagnant you know he's got he's there everly's below the goal line Lee is in front of the net letty's at the point and they're not really using each other as well as they should and I think uh you know Barry even talking today about barsall just you know if you're going to hang on to the puck you got to have a plan of what to do with it as opposed just, you know, just hanging on to it for the sake of hanging on to it and seeing what's going to work. So I think in that aspect, the five-on-five play, much like the rest of the team, has been exceptional, and I think the power play is still an area where he can improve and the power play as a whole can improve.

Yeah, I mean, there was sixth in power play efficiency last year, 25th this year, and when I was kind of sort of looking a bit deeper in the numbers and trying to figure out where they're missing, because obviously when you subtract a player of John Tversus caliber from the lineup, you're going to feel the effect somewhere eventually. And it does feel like, you know, guys like Brock Nelson, as you mentioned earlier, have stepped up. And some of that five-on-five scoring's been there. But it really, on the power play is the big effect where there's been a bit of a drop-off. And I'm sure a guy like Anders Lee, who had such great chemistry with Tvers playing in the past,

you know, he's having a fine season. He looks like he's going to score 30 goals again. But he's getting his shots. He's getting it from the same places. But I imagine just the fact there's, you know, when you're playing with Brock and Nelson versus John Tavarez, and there's. a bit more attention being played your way. Maybe you have a split second,

shorter amount of time or space to operate, and that's going to affect your conversion percentage, and all of a sudden you go down from being a 40-gold score to 30. And I wonder, you know, when you're looking at the big picture and where Tvers' losses felt most, it feels like Anders Lee and the Power Player are the two areas where they miss it the most. Yeah, I mean, I think, and maybe it's not going to,

like we said, it's not going to be sustained, but I think it's five-on-five, Lee has proven to be a much better, much more complete player than anyone gave him credit for because people thought he was a product, really, playing with John Tavares for the bulk of the last two seasons. But I think that's part of the reason why he's the captain now. I think he's a guy who's been Canada out of a lot of different levels of his hockey career, starting from being a Mr. Football in the state of Minnesota when he was in high school.

Everyone thought he'd become a quarterback. But, you know, I think seven-power play golf. Taffley through the euro isn't a bad number, considering how money they put in total. But yeah, I think when they're set up in the zone, the, you know, the defense, the penalty kill is focused on keeping bars out to the outside and then collapsing in to try to keep Lee from doing what he does

in front of the net, which is usually very effective. And I think that's where if they had another guy, it was Josh Bailey at the beginning of the year. He doesn't really, he doesn't really a shooter. You know, they've got Nick Letty at the point. who's more of a facilitator. It's just they need that other shooter. Brock Nelson is a shooter, but he's got a long release,

and I think that's a tough thing to do on a power play. You know, Devon Taves has come up and been running the point on the power play unit and kind of wonder if the trust continues to build with him, whether he's an option to replace Lettie at the top of that powerplay one, because he's much more of a shooter and much more of a deft skater in the offensive zone. than letty is. He's more attacking and threatening than letting him be. And it's just really,

you know, if there was a, there was a, something that they would be looking for at the trade deadline. If they're still in the same situation now, I think it would be that kind of forward who can get off a shot, you know, can be kind of a threat on the other end of the one three one

from opposite, from where Barzal is. And, you know, that's certainly got the net front taken care of. You look at, you know, if there was a guy like Brandon Peary out who doesn't seem to be able to hold down a job as much as he put bucks in the net when he's up. You know, that might be a guy who, that sort of prototype of a guy who's cheap and efficient

and can slot into games and be that guy because they really don't have it. And, you know, you can see it. Calquite. Everyone always asks, why is Calcutterbuck kind of in a diamond spot on the second power play unit? It's just a guy who shoots. And he doesn't always do it very efficiently,

considering he's got two goals. but I think that's what that's what they're lacking and that's what trots really needs to to kind of open up things for barzell and and for lee because he's you know kind of the vacuum cleaner up in front of the net well there's some big big decisions ahead because I think at the start of the year you would have probably thought that this team around this time of the year would be highlighted as as more of a seller and we'll have some interesting veteran pieces that it could potentially deal off for future assets and I'm not sure if they're necessarily a buyer now but there's certainly, for as long as they're hanging in this playoff race,

going to at least stand pat. And it feels like there are more sellers and buyers to begin with anyways. So it might not be the best time to be trying to sell off pieces. But, you know, with Leonard and Eberley and Brock Nelson and Andersley, all UFAs this summer. And then obviously the clock starting on Matt Barz Allen and Poolock as RFA's. You know, there's a lot of future financial and contractual decisions ahead for this team. And I do wonder how, I mean, I'm sure the next, whatever, six weeks or so until the trade deadline will determine

and how they decide to act. But there are a lot of moving pieces and still unanswerable decisions. And I think that's what's going to make it fascinating. You know, on a night-to-night basis, there are steps in the right direction, but for the most part, as you mentioned, this team's probably less exciting to watch

than they were last year. But the bigger picture decisions and question marks that lay ahead are what's really interesting with me for this team. And I do wonder, you know, beyond just saying, oh, they could use a skill infusion and they could use another top four defenseman or a second line center or whatever.

like most teams can. I wonder how they're going to approach it and if they're going to target anything in specific or if they're going to take a bigger picture of you and try to potentially still sell off those parts even though they're competitive and in this playoff hunt. Yeah, I can't see them being in the rental market just because of where they still see themselves in the development. I don't think anyone from Lamarillo and Trot on down thought that they'd have as successful first half as they've had, even if they felt like the guy.

they have would get what they were selling. So I don't really see them mortgaging any of their assets because when you look at what the assets they've got, they're on a ton. You know, they don't have a big pool of guys in Bridgeport, maybe on D they do. Maybe if you look at, you know, the Mitchell Van DeSompels and the Sebastian Ahoes that they have down there,

maybe those are guys that you can consider moving for something a little bit more NHL-ready, but I don't really know how those guys are perceived around the leagues as being really, you know, B-plus or above prospects. You know, they're high-level prospects. The world junior kids, like Oliver Wallstrom and Noah Dobson, are off limits and probably should be. They don't have a ton of those guys. So I think, you know, whether it's something for the future that comes along with a trade deadline,

which seems very rare these days, you know, I think that the decision really is about Everley at this point. Brock Nelson may be a little bit less so because it's just so hard to find a top two or top three center and if he's a guy that can consistently put in 25 or 30 goals he's never going to be a high high end guy but he's playing now which is they're very happy with

and he's not going to break the bank for them I can't see them not bringing him back it doesn't necessarily preclude them from trying to swing a trade or entice that Matt Ducine to come over in free agency, I suppose, because I certainly will still have tons of room, but I imagine that

the place where they need a little bit better depth is on the wing. And, you know, I think Lee, getting the sea, that sort of says to me he's going to be here for a little while. I know they're kind of haggling over term, but I still feel like that negotiation is going to end with him.

Finding a decently long-term deal, they love what he brings. stuff that has to do it being captain. And even at age 29, I think he's still going to be able to give you two or three more years. He's kind of hockey young, I guess. He really didn't get started his pro career until late. And Leonard, I think, is another interesting question, Mark, because certainly with the Sergei Bobowski news,

he was already a guy that was being linked to the Islanders and Blue Lamarolo, who was never shy about saying how much a franchise goaltender means to him. But if you can get Robin Leonard for four more years at $4 million, let's say, or maybe even $5 million if the asking price is higher, that really leaves them a lot of room. That's not the $8 or $9 million that Broboski is going to command and not the seven years or whatever it's going to be, that he's going to be demanding.

So, you know, I think the Leonard decision is going to be interesting, whether they feel like he can sustain this. He's certainly young enough to be able to do it, whether you have concerns about the off-ice stuff backing up on him. It's all pretty compelling, and I'd be interested to see how they view that, not just, you know, certainly past the deadline, but how they feel about that going into the summer. But like I said, I think Jordan Everly is the guy who's,

of the pending free agents as a guy you could be moved. And I think if they do decide to move him for whatever return they could get before the deadline, that's a sign that they feel that Josh Hossang might be able to help. him because that's really the spot where he slots in best is playing with Nelson and Lee, you know, playing on the top power play unit, or maybe they shift some things around and he anchors the second unit. So I think that's one to watch too, but I think even beyond that, I don't think Jordan ever really disappointing contract year for him.

I don't think he really fits with what Trots is trying to accomplish. Well, yeah, I mean, he's had a bit of a down season, obviously, and it's rough timing for him because he was looking to get paid this summer, but I still think. think that, you know, he's a proven goal scorer, and I imagine come the trade deadline, if the Islanders do decide to go down that path, there's going to be a bunch of teams that are interested in acquiring his services. And at the very worst, I imagine they're going to get more for him than they got than Ryan Strom. So I think it's a net positive regardless. So it's, yeah, it's not a bad place to be if you're the Islanders. But I agree. I mean, you mentioned Leonard there,

and I talked about this on a reason show, but beyond just the, you know, the mental health advocacy and the stuff that, you know, how Brave you was coming forward and all that. It's you know, this summer it was pretty clear. I mean, the Islanders gave him one year, 1.5 million sort of prove a deal. And that sort of illustrates to me that people around the league had soured on him. And there wasn't much of a marker or much of an appetite for him. So the fact that he's playing himself into what will probably be a nice little contract this summer, whether it's from the Islanders or someone else, is a testament to how good he's been this year. And also a really good feel good story because I feel like if things didn't go the way that they are

right now this year, he very well could have been playing overseas in Europe or something like that as soon as next year. So it's been a pretty good season for him and hopefully he'll be able to cash in on it. Yeah, and I think maybe there's an aspect too of, you know, the Islanders are the ones to take a chance on him. You know, he

told his story. He's living it every day and it's a whole different reality for him and his family. But the Islanders were one that took a chance and embraced him and maybe there's some desire to keep that continuity in this new phase of his life.

life. And maybe that's that facilitates a deal as well, something that's, you know, you don't want to be as crass to discuss, you know, business when it comes to someone's personal, mental and physical health. But, but, you know, it could be a deal that's acceptable to both sides because he wants to continue on here and be in a place where he feels welcomed and comfortable. And that's, you know, you can't put a price tag on that with what what he's gone through. Yeah. Well, um, all right, I think that's a, That's about it. I mean, there's a lot to look forward to with this team.

Obviously, a lot of questions left to be answered in these six weeks in terms of how they're going to approach the trade deadline. I know you love the stats. I wanted to reference it before we get out of here. But the founders are seventh in the amount of time they've spent leading so far this year. And I'm not sure. I still don't know how much to really buy into that stat or how much stock to put into it. Because if you just get out to an early lead off and that doesn't necessarily mean you're the better team, it could just be a very opportunistic thing. But at the same time, the six teams ahead of them are Tampa Bay, Washington, San Jose,

Pittsburgh, Nashville and Toronto. So it's a pretty good, you know, a pretty good neighborhood for them to be in, a pretty good group to be keeping with. And that's one of many reasons why I'm optimistic about this team. We mentioned their recent uptick and performance at 5-1-5. And now that they're using different personnel and really embracing Trances system, there's a reason to believe that this is more sustainable than not. So I think along with that and with John Tiberis' upcoming return at the end of February,

there's quite a lot to look forward to with this Islanders team. I'm sure it's going to be a pretty exciting time to be covering them for you. Yeah, you know, I think that maybe the thing that I understand are hoping for the most. I think that first game in February is going to be a bit of a gong show, regardless of where the teams are. But just the idea that the second time that Tavares and Elise come in is the last week or the year, I believe it's the last Islander's home game of a year,

could have a lot of meaning for the Islanders. And I think that maybe that's the best revenge that they can have. I don't know if the fans are going to be able to see clearly through all the vitriol. They're going to be aiming at their own tab. But yeah, yeah, I think that's just the way they operate and that's fine. You know, it was a difficult summer for them. But I think the idea that these games would mean something beyond getting a chance to yell at John Tavares was a bit out of the realm of possibility this past summer. And I think the fact that they will almost certainly mean something has got to give some Islander fans a little bit of pause and a little bit of confidence that the world did not end on July 1, 2018.

No, it certainly didn't. And it's been a very encouraging season. A lot of things to be cautiously optimistic about. All right, plug some stuff. What are you working on these days? Where can people check out your work? Where can they follow you online? Give the people all the details.

Well, I'm at State Athletic on Twitter, theathletic.com. All your islander coverage needs, not just myself, but lots of other leading luminaries of the hockey world that have appeared on your show. Work for us and do great work. And it's been almost a full year now of being there. I'm happier than I've ever been in my writing career. And I think a lot of the people who follow along are pretty happy, too, with what we're putting out.

So I hope everybody comes by. There'll be lots of discount deals for wary subscribers. And yeah, it's going to be a fun time these last few months go around the islanders. I hope everybody can check it out. Well, great job, Bart. And as always, it was a blast having you on the show. And I'm glad we got to do it under more positive circumstances. And I'll definitely be watching.

I'm very interested. The Islanders are among one of my handful of teams that I really want to watch more closely over these next couple weeks to try and really get a better grasp of how I want to feel about them. but definitely signs there the moving in the right direction and everyone check out your work and hopefully as we approach that trade deadline and Tavares's return

and all that good stuff, we'll be able to get you back on the show to re-evaluate where we stand at that point. Awesome. Always available for you, my friend. Thanks a lot, Dimitri. Have a good one, Art. Before we get out of here, I just wanted to thank everyone for listening

and if I could ask if anything of you, it would be to take a minute out of your day to go over to iTunes and rate and rate and review the show. Hopefully you view it as worthy of a five-star rating and you can leave a fun friendly comment. I know a lot of you've got there and made inside jokes and I greatly appreciate all of them. But yeah, it counts. I've heard it goes a long way towards keeping the HockeyPedio cast up near the top of the sports and recreation leaderboard on their podcast charts. And

yeah, I really appreciate it. It takes only a minute of your time and it would go a long way towards supporting the show and helping us out. And also a reminder that the show is now available on Spotify as well. So whether it's Google Play or iTunes or wherever, Stitch or wherever you've been listening to the show, Spotify also now added to the list. So just another place for you to check it out if that's your cup of tea. With that said, I think we're done here. So we're going to get out of here.

We're going to sign off. We're going to listen to the outro music. And we will be back in a couple days. The Hockey Pediocast with Demi. Trie Filipovich. Follow on Twitter at Dim Philipovic and on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com slash hockey pdiocast.