Look who’s no longer suffocated by the Ministry of Lou-formation
When Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky bought the Islanders, Ledecky was a face of ownership who clearly enjoyed interacting with fans and joining in the fun.
During the Lou Lamoriello years, steadily over time it seemed something…changed. Can’t quite put my finger on it, other than the coincidental trend of joy, information and individual expression being suffocated out of the franchise’s public communication. (Was that awkward “In Lou we trust” bit Ledecky’s last real public outing? It may have been.)
Anyway, it’s a new day. Ledecky spoke with media after the Board of Governors meeting and sounded like his old self. It is by no means essential to roster success for an owner to be the cheerleader; but if you have a non-meddling owner who likes to cheer on the team, it definitely builds a kind of “culture” with the community that follows a sports team.
Add to it a GM that actually sheds some light on some of his plans, and you just might have an entertainment product!
Meanwhile, with the draft on Friday, I do not advise checking the cesspool that Twitter has become. Lots of blue checkmarks spouting bullshit. J-G Pageau and Noah Dobson’s names keep popping up, but that platform does not hold intelligible answers.
Islanders News
- Ledecky said the “future is now” and the Isles are getting younger and faster. ““It’s going to be a new day in that respect and I think Mathieu supports that, which is the most important thing,” Ledecky said. “You need to have the support of your hockey operations people in that regard and Mathieu understands how that works.” [NHL | Newsday]
- Mathew Schaefer is “by far the best prospect available,” so there. [NHL]
- Explaining and understanding the NHL’s decentralized draft. [Isles]
- Zdeno Chara’s legendary work ethic fueled his Hall of Fame career. [NHL]
- Matt Martin’s wife pens appreciation for his career and their place on Long Island. [Post]
Elsewhere
- Wantaway Sabre J.J. Peterka was traded to Utah for Islander Killer Michael Kesselring and Son of Doan. [NHL]
- Professional penalty taker and really poor gambler Evander Kane and his cap hit were traded from Edmonton to Vancouver. [NHL]
- Adding Kane is a pretty big risk-small reward for the Canucks. [Sportsnet]
- Gary Bettman gave his State of Things address, including that the CBA is close but nothing final, and expansion is still a “if a billion dollars drops in our laps then…” situation. [NHL | Sportsnet]
- Trevor Zegras says he did everything asked in Anaheim, is ready to be his best self in Philadelphia. [NHL]
- Only Stan Fischler could explain the Panthers’ success by comparing them to the Maple Leafs who emerged from World War II. [NHL]
- There is something strange going on, where the Blues and Bruins are “modernizing” retro versions of their logos. The Blues one responds to popular demand and modifies their logo for the phone-dependent small screen digital age. [Blues] The Bruins one…features Michael J. Fox in the promo. [NHL]