A Long Season Ahead In New York

Club: New York Islanders
Fantasy Impact Rating: Cold

Superstars: None
Big Producers: None
Mid-Level Flyers: Mike Comrie, Rick DiPietro, Bill Guerin, Trent Hunter,
Rookies/Prospects: Kyle Okposo
Sleepers: Jeff Tambellini
Avoid The Hype: Doug Weight

Analysis:
For fantasy managers who are also fans of the New York Islanders, you may want to look elsewhere for production this upcoming season. Plain and simple: the Islanders are a fantasy disaster. There are a few bright spots in New York’s lineup, however, the bad certainly outweigh the good in 2008-2009.

One bright spot in the Islander lineup this season is Mike Comrie. Comrie’s debut in an Islander uniform in 2007-2008 yielded 49 points and 87 penalty minutes, both of which were tops for the team. He should be able to continue on a similar path this season, and despite being New York’s first line center, you may want to only consider him as a 3rd option for your fantasy team.

Bill Guerin and Trent Hunter are both players that you might want to consider adding once you have drafted some serious depth at wing. Guerin has shown us over his 16 year NHL career that he is somewhat of an inconsistent producer. Pushing 40, combined with the fact that he’s on an anemic Islanders squad who finished dead last in goals and 2nd last in power play percentage last season, makes Guerin a fair middle to late round pick in a 10-12 manager league. The advice will be similar for anyone thinking of going after Trent Hunter in their draft. If you’re not looking to take a chance on a rookie in the later rounds and want a player who has had reasonable point production in the past, Hunter may suit your situation well. Hunter is certainly not someone to call your number one, but a nice 4th line option at wing is a title that should suit him well.

Kyle Okposo may be a name you want to throw into your mix of rookies to consider this upcoming season. He is a proven point scorer at every level that he has played at, and has an excellent opportunity to be a first line winger on Long Island this fall. Don’t jump too early at Okposo, though. The team around him lowers his fantasy value a bit, but if you can nab him in one of the later rounds, and he puts up 50 points this season, the pick would certainly be considered a success.

Jeff Tambellini may be a player who finally gets the opportunity to show the NHL what he’s got. He’s a tremendous talent that has dominated the AHL, CCHA, and BCHL. The Islanders finally got him into the lineup last season for 31 games, but he was only able to muster 4 points altogether. Multiple attempts to try and inject him into the NHL over the past several seasons has shown that more development would be needed before he can hit his stride. However, with significant room for movement within the Islanders lineup this season, Tambellini may be able to slide up the ranks with solid, consistent play. Keep an eye on his production before you pull the trigger and add him.

Goaltending:
Situation: Rock Solid
Grade: B-
1. Rick DiPietro
2. Joey MacDonald

When talking about the Islanders goaltending situation, the best way to approach it is as follows: Rick DiPietro is a great goaltender on a weak team. His ‘keepablility’ appeal is nice because of the monster contract that he has, plus the fact that nobody is trying to outduel him for the starting position, so he’ll get almost every start.  However, the Islanders don’t appear to be headed in a direction that would give DP the support that he needs. The team failed to retain 3 of their top 6 scorers from last season, fired their head coach and brought in 16 year veteran Doug Weight for whatever reason. So, when all is said and done, if your league runs 2 goaltenders, you may want to look elsewhere and only grab DP as an emergency 3rd goaltender in case one of your first two tenders goes down.  If you’re just looking to meet a goaltending requirement, and your league relies more heavily on offensive production, DP would be an OK second option.

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