Islander Season Recap

The New York Islanders 4^th CLUTCH playoff run came to an all too early end for the team, as it bowed out in the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games. The fact that the Boltz went on to become Stanley Cup Champions certainly didn’t do anything to ease the pain for the Isles’ Captain Mike Peca. “Any time you get that close to the finals, and fall short, it rips at you. To have had the chance to try and repeat as champions would have been amazing, however, we’ve got nothing but the most respect for Mr. Sprackman and the rest of his crew down there in Tampa. They had a great regular season, and were able to follow it up with an amazing playoff push”.

As the Isles arrived at Nassau Coliseum to pack up their lockers for the offseason, the President of the Islander’s fan club was on hand, to pass out the individual team awards, as voted on by the fans. Jonathon Martell was obviously giddy as he got to meet his heroes, passing out hardware to all his favourite Islanders:

Team MVP Award
Went to Mike Peca. The Captain tallied 40goals, which led all Islanders, 7 of which were game winners. He added 42 assists, and finished 2^nd in team scoring to Martin St. Louis. The year marked career highs in all offensive categories for Peca, who attacked the opponents net all season long.

Blueliner of Year
Andy Delmore was the overwhelming choice, as he scored 17 goals, and added 38 assists. His +34 also led all Islander defencemen, and he added a physical element to his game, throwing 181 hits.

El Stupido
Denis Gauthier won for the 2^nd straight year, compiling 242 PIM, whist adding 8 goals and 21 assists from the blueline. If Gauthier can ever learn to stop taking ridiculous penalties, the goofball may one day win blueliner of the yr for the club.

Most Improved Player
Sophomore defenceman Ron Hainsey took home this honour, posting 5 goals and 23 assists and a +28 rating, a vast improvement over his -24 rating of the previous yr in Buffalo.

The Next One
The Islanders’ Junior Player of the yr was to goalie Matt Zaba who posted amazing numbers in 48 games (26-15-6 record, with 2.43 GAA and .914 Sv% with 4 shutouts). The fact that he played just over half a season saw him most out on Jr Vezina voting, however he helped the Jr Islanders win the Jennings award.

This offseason will be an interesting one for the Islanders, with some key guys like Dan Cloutier, Karel Rachunek, Nik Sundstrom and Denis Gauthier all looking to in new contracts. Gm Ryan Long has his work cut-out for him, if he wants to get his team to a 5^th Eastern Conference Finals.