Nathan Lawson 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Nathan Lawson
Date Of birth: September 29, 1983 (2010-11 Season Age: 27)
Place Of birth: Calgary, Alta., Canada
Height: 6-2
Weight: 200
Catching Hand: Left
NHL Season: Rookie
Drafted by: Undrafted
Acquired: Signed by the Islanders in 2008

2010-11 Season Stats:
New York Islanders  NHL:  GP: 10  GAA: 4.06 W: 1  L: 4  OTL: 2  SAVE %:0.893
Bridgeport Sound Tigers  AHL:  GP: 16  GAA: 2.90 W: 6  L: 5  OTL: 4  SAVE %: 0.913

Short-Term Status:
His contract is expiring this off-season and in my opinion he was unimpressive this year so I am not sure if he will be brought back. Even if he had a great year, you really have to remember that the Islanders already have DP, Montoya, and possibly Nabokov on one-way deals which means there is no room for him on the NHL level. Then when you consider Kevin Poulin and Mikko Koskinen (and possibly Anders Nilsson), who are all serious prospects for the future, are going to be splitting time in Bridgeport it opens up the possibility that there might not be room for him even at the AHL level.

Long-Term Status: 
With the Isles, he doesn't have a long-term future but there is a chance he may be a solid depth goaltender for an NHL team. He has been good at lower levels so I could see a team that is shallow in their goaltending depth, taking a shot at him. But, I would not be surprised if he heads to Europe if no NHL team bites. 


Contract Status:

LENGTH: 1 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $500,000     TYPE: STANDARD     EXPIRY STATUS: UFA (2011) ****CONTRACT EXPIRES THIS OFF-SEASON****
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2010-11	$55,000	$500,000	$0	$10,000	$500,000

Review:
He has had a long career bouncing around in the lower levels before finally at the ripe age of 27, earning his first NHL start. He had some nice games but, all in all was nothing special. It was a nice story, and its always heartwarming to see a guy finally achieve his dream. Unfortunately, he did not capitalize on the opportunity handed to him. He saw a decent amount of games with 10, but put up unimpressive numbers with a 4.09 GAA which was 2nd lowest of all 6 goalies that played for the Isles this season. He was only credited with one win, which was one less than that of Mikko Koskinen (ouch), placed him with the least on the team. I found it very telling that he was waived by the club on February 26th despite the injuries to DiPietro and Poulin. Although he was constantly splitting time between the NHL and AHL, he ended up playing 16 games for the Sound Tigers and had a 6-5-4 record. Unfortunately his actual play was a lot worse than his record down there. His goals against average this year for Bridgeport was 2.90 which was .38 worse than lasts season's, and .84 worse than 2 years ago (rookie year in the AHL). His save percentage was down as well as he finished the season with a 0.913 % which is 0.009 % less than last year and 0.014 % less than two years ago. This season was filled with many opportunities for Lawson to push his career to the next level and unfortunately it looks as though he blew it. 
Season Grade (A+ to F-): C-
He was below my expectations and I know some might ask why I expected him to do better in the NHL than he did. If you watched him at all during his rookie season in the AHL, you'd understand why. Unfortunately, in the NHL and AHL he looked like a completely different goaltender and that's not a good thing. Hopefully another NHL team takes a chance on him because he is a good guy.

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Evgeni Nabokov 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Evgeni Nabokov 
Date Of birth: July 25, 1975 (2010-11 Season Age: 35)
Place Of birth: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan
Height: 6-0
Weight: 200
Catching Hand: Right
NHL Season: 10th NHL Season
Drafted by: San Jose Sharks in the 9th Round (219th Overall) of the 1994 Draft
Acquired: Claimed Off Of Waivers From The Detroit Red Wings

2010-11 Season Stats:
St. Petersburg SKA  KHL:    GP: 22  GAA: 3.02  W: 8  L: 8 OTL: 5  SAVE %: 0.888

Short-Term Status:
Because the Islanders tolled his contract, he will be Islanders property next season. If he decides to play for the Isles and the Isles are willing to have him, he would get some decent minutes but would be stuck in a 3-goalie system. Judging from the Islanders past experiences with a 3-goalie system, its highly unlikely that they will go that route again. I believe he will be traded this off-season, possibly around draft time. 

Long-Term Status: 
He has no long-term status in the NHL, let alone for the Islanders. Hopefully the return the Isles get when they trade him helps the team in the long-run.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 1 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $570,000     TYPE: STANDARD **CONTRACT TOLLED**    EXPIRY STATUS: UFA (2012-tolled)
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2011-12	$570,000	$570,000	$0	$0	$570,000
KNOWN CLAUSES: NMC - The contract was originally set to expire in the 2011 off-season but upon his refusal to report and the Islanders decision to exercise their right of "tolling" his contract, it has been pushed over into the 2011-2012 season.

Review:
Although he refused to play for the Islanders, he did spend some time in the KHL before he signed his contract with the Red Wings. He played 22 games for St. Petersburg of the KHL, and was nothing less than a massive disappointment. He had a Goals Against Average slightly over 3 (3.02), a .500 record at 8-8 and 5 OTL, and an AWFUL save percentage of 0.888. In a league that is supposedly inferior to that of the National Hockey League, Nabokov often times, looked like he was uninterested and under performing throughout his stay. Midway through the season, he decided he'd had enough of getting lit up in Russia so he signed a deal with the Red Wings so he could magically just jump into the playoff run. Unfortunately for him things didn't go as planned. The NY Islanders had just dealt with their two goalies going down to injury and felt it would help them to pick Nabokov off of waivers. We all know what happened next....

Season Grade (A+ to F-): N/A
He had generally very little game time at all this season, but the 22 games of sub-par play in the KHL that he was able to get under his belt were early in the year when he was not Islanders property. 

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Rick DiPietro 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Rick DiPietro
Date of birth: September 19, 1981 (2010-11 Season Age: 29)

Place of birth: Winthrop, MA, USA
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210
Catching Hand: Right
NHL Season: 8th NHL Season
Drafted by: NY Islanders in the 1st Round (1st Overall) of the 2000 Draft
Acquired: Originally Drafted By Islanders 

2010-11 Season Stats:
New York Islanders   NHL:     GP: 26  GAA: 3.44  W: 8 L: 14 OTL: 4 SAVE %: 0.886

Short-Term Status: 
At this point, who the hell knows? His play was unimpressive and although he was better this year injury-wise, he still had the usual injury problems that have been his downfall. Although there is still an outside chance (...ok, very outside) he will retire this off-season, I see him returning as a 1a (or 1b) with Al Montoya next season.

Long-Term Status: 
His contract will last forever and unless he decides to retire (a definite possibility down the line), I see him continuing his mediocre play and yearly injury struggles with the Islanders for years to come. He is a massive question mark going forward.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 15 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $67,500,000     TYPE: STANDARD     EXPIRY STATUS: UFA (2021)
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2006-07	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2007-08	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2008-09	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2009-10	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2010-11	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2011-12	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2012-13	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2013-14	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2014-15	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2015-16	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2016-17	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2017-18	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2018-19	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2019-20	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000
2020-21	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$0	—	$4,500,000

Review:

Before I examine his actual play and stats, I would like to look over his injuries. Now, I guess it should be considered a success that Ricky didn't experience any MAJOR, season ending type injuries like he has had in the previous three season's but that is not to say that he didn't experience his share of problems in that particular area. He missed in total 30 games due to injuries this season because of various ailments such as a swollen left knee (3 games), strained groin (5 games), another groin injury (1 game), the flu (1 game), and a facial injury aka. "broken face" (20 games). Now whether if it was because of past nagging injuries (the knee) or just plain stupidity (facial injury), he had another year littered with numerous missed games due to injury. Unfortunately for us Islanders fans (and for Ricky himself) his actual play this season was no better than his injury situation. He had far too many bad games and far too little good one's, and his stats suffered mightily. His 3.44 goals against average (GAA) placed him as 75th among all 87 goalies that played in an NHL game, and he had the lowest GAA of any goalie who played at least 13 games. If that wasn't bad enough, he also finished the season at 76th of any goalie in the NHL in Save Percentage with 0.886 %. But, there is ONE stat category he excelled in. He led ALL the goaltenders in the NHL in Penalty Minutes with 25, which actually was higher than 13 skaters on the Islanders. Overall, it was not a very good season for Mr. DiPietro, and I just don't know if he has it in him to turn his career around. But, no one wants to see him succeed more than I do (as my 7 DiPietro Jersey's, Game-Used DiPietro Stick, and countless pictures on my wall, can attest to), aside from Ricky himself of coarse.

Season Grade (A+ to F-): D

His stats were about as awful as any starting goaltender can have, and although he had plenty of injuries this season, its encouraging that he didn't have any major injuries. The only injury that kept him out for longer than 5 games was an injury caused by stupidity so I believe all-in-all, injury-wise it was a better than normal year for Ricky. But, unfortunately stat-wise, it was HORRIFIC. 

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Al Montoya 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Al Montoya

Date of birth: February 13, 1985 (2010-11 Season Age: 25/26)
Place of birth: Chicago, IL, USA
Height: 6-2 
Weight: 195
Catching Hand: Left
NHL Season: Rookie
Drafted by: NY Rangers in the 1st Round (6th Overall) of the 2004 Draft
Acquired: Acquired in a trade with the Phoenix Coyotes 

2010-11 Season Stats:
San Antonio Rampage AHL:  GP: 21 GAA:3.19 W:11 L:8 OTL:0 SAVE %:0.891
New York Islanders      NHL:  GP: 21 GAA:2.39 W:9  L:5 OTL:5  SAVE %:0.921

Short-Term Status: 
Next season I am sure we will be seeing a lot from Al Montoya and if he is able to continue his impressive play he has shown so far with the Islanders, he will be a very capable starter. He may not be an above average NHL starting goalie next season (as I believe he still has some upside to reach) but all that Isles fans should hope to see is him be a starter who gives his team a shot to win, game in and game out and I believe we will see that from him.

Long-Term Status: 
If not for the impressive group of young goaltenders the Isles have in the system, I would say Montoya would be the top candidate (of coarse depending if he can continue his impressive play) to take over the long-term position as starting goalie of the NY Islanders. Although, he is not the leading candidate I definitely see him as a legit contender for it but regardless, I think we will see Montoya with the Islanders for a while.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 1 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $750,000     TYPE: STANDARD     EXPIRY STATUS: RFA (2011) ****CONTRACT EXPIRES THIS OFF-SEASON****
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2010-11	$90,000	$750,000	$0	$0	$750,000

EXTENSION SIGNED: 3/29/2011 1 YEAR EXTENSION LENGTH: 1 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $601,000     TYPE: STANDARD     EXPIRY STATUS: UFA (2012)
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2011-12	$601,000	$601,000	$0	$0	$601,000

Review:
On February 8th, it looked as though this season would go down as yet another disappointment in the career of Al Montoya as he was experiencing major struggles in the AHL. Luckily for him the trade that brought him to Long Island on February 9th, may have resurrected his career. At the time, I remember a few people believed the Islanders were essentially giving away a 6th round draft pick as they believed Montoya had no real NHL future. But quickly, Islanders fans began to notice that they may have found something special in Montoya. When Montoya was in the net it almost seemed as though the team's overall psyche was stronger. That difference is represented in the fact that through his 21 games with the Isles, he had a better record than any of the other 5 goalies who also suited up for the Islanders. Along with that, his nine wins were the most of any goalie as DiPietro had eight (in 26 games) and Roloson had six (in 20 starts). If that's not enough evidence to support Montoya's effectiveness than this will; he had the best GAA of any Islanders goaltender with a solid 2.39 goals against average, which also placed him as the 14th best goalie in GAA in the entire league (only including goalies that played at least 20 games). His play was encouraging and is one of the main reason's the Islanders had the 2nd best record in the East after the All Star Game (of coarse only in the games following his acquisition in February).

Season Grade (A+ to F-): A+
I had little to no expectations which leads me to give Montoya the highest grade any player has gotten in my reviews thus far. His play was exceptional and really helped the Islanders win games down the stretch. It earned him an early extension and it should be interesting to see if his play continues into next season.


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Radek Martinek Headed To The KHL?

According to this Russian media outlet, Radek Martinek may be heading to play in the KHL. The site had this to say, "According to the information available to Sports.ru, New York Islanders and Czech national team defender Radek Martinek will spend next season (on) one of the Russian (KHL) top clubs." This would be sad news for Islanders fans who have had Martinek on their club since the 2001-02 season. I had previously reported in his season review that its been rumored for a few years that Martinek may be feeling home-sick and on the verge of leaving the NHL. But this news is a tad surprising because of the fact that he would still be away from his home in the Czech Republic. That is the reason why I would caution people about the validity of this. But regardless, its interesting never-the-less.

Shane Sims 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Shane Sims

Date of birth: April 30, 1988 (2010-11 Season Age: 22)

Place of birth: East Amherst, NY, USA
Height: 6-1
Weight: 195
Shooting Hand: Right
College Season: Senior Year (4th and final year)
Drafted: NY Islanders In the 5th Round (126th Overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft 
Acquired: Originally Drafted By The NY Islanders

2010-11 Season Stats:

Ohio State University    CCHA:  GP: 37 G: 3 A: 16 P: 19 PIM: 32

New York Islanders**      NHL:  GP:  1   G: 0 A: 0 P: 0   PIM: 0
**= signed to an ATO (Amateur Try-Out) and played one game

Short-Term Status:
The Islanders need to sign him to an Entry Level Contract by August 15th 2011 or they will lose his rights. I expect him to be signed, and if he is, he'll start the year in Bridgeport. The Isles/Sound Tigers are going to have a ton of defensemen under contract so its going to be interesting to see how his ice-time shakes out. 

Long-Term Status:
I like Shane Sims and I believe he *may* have NHL potential. He has shown that he can play good hockey with Ohio State but now he will have to prove that he can transition his game to the pro's. He is another player who if he doesn't reach his potential it's not the end of the world, but if he does it's another talented young defenseman added to the Isles stable. 

Contract Status:

NO NHL CONTRACT AS OF APRIL 22nd 2011

Review:

He has had a very solid career at Ohio State University and his final year was no different. He may not be a huge point producer but he is capable in the offensive zone. He has a nice shot but sometimes he is a little too hesitant in using it. On the Power Play, it's a big asset coming from the point which creates a lot of opportunities. Another part of his offensive game that I like is his outlet pass from his own zone out. He has good vision and he uses it by finding his forwards stick's in the neutral zone when breaking out. I personally was hoping he would use these particular parts of his game a little bit more in his Senior year but his defensive play was solid enough to make me  overlook that disappointment. He looked very good in his own zone and was the heart and soul of Ohio's defense corps. Sims seems to get forgotten about by Isles fans and I think I know the reason why. Although solid, he really doesn't have any aspect of his game that's "great", he is just plain "solid" at everything. That can be looked at positively or negatively, depending on your perspective. In my opinion, I believe he should receive an Entry Level Contract but, it's not anything too terrible if they decide to pass.

Season Grade (A+ to F-): C+

Its about exactly what I would have expected. He had less points than where I thought he'd be and he was not as dominant in the offensive zone as I would have hoped but in his own end he was a lot better than I was expecting. So the way I figure it, they canceled each other out and he fell right where he was supposed to.   

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