Islanders end of season awards

The Islanders have had a rough couple of weeks.  After missing the playoffs by a wide margin and having one of the worst defenses of all time, you thought things couldn’t get worse.  We were all mistaken, as an array of strange post-season press conferences and even more uncertainty after the season leave this franchise in flux once again.  It may not be great, but it’s always interesting to be an Islanders fan.  We had a little fun with these post-season awards.

The “Get me out of here” award

This award belongs to John Tavares, as his head must be spinning after two disappointing seasons and statements made by management and ownership that have him shaking his head.  What once was thought to be a formality is now a mystery, as Tavares’ free agent status is completely unknown.  He’s played his cards close to the vest and no one would be surprised if he left town as soon as he had the chance to.

The “Did he really just say that?” award

Speaking of ownership, co-owner Jon Ledecky made a cryptic and weird statement at the beginning of his press conference last week.  He followed it up with a small clarification that really wasn’t much of a clarification at all, confusing fans even more with his lack of direction for the franchise he just bought.  What does his statement even mean?

The “I deserve to be here” award

Garth Snow has made a living escaping the axe that has sat over his head for a few years now.  He is arrogant, nasty, and overall just a terrible general manager.  I guess that is what happens when you make your backup goaltender with no front office experience the general manager AND president of the team.  It’s like giving the keys to a 12 year old child.  Snow is so arrogant he want as far as to say that “yes” he deserves to be the general manager.  Get the hell out of here, you clown.  Go ruin some other franchise.

The “What does plus/minus mean?” award

Nick Leddy, who has been one of the most consistent defensemen in the league had a team low -43 rating  for the Islanders.  He was absolutely dreadful this year and actually escaped a lot of criticism considering he was out of position for most of those goals and clearly isn’t a number one defenseman.  Regardless, Leddy defended himself by saying that “plus/minus is misleading” and there are “five guys on a team out there for every goal”.  Way to throw your teammates under the bus, Nick.

The “I’ll score the most uninspiring 20 goals every year” award

Brock Nelson technically only scored 19 goals this year, but for someone who is a consistent 20 goal scorer, he makes it look so hard.  Nelson’s problem has always been consistency, and he legitimately disappears for weeks at a time.  There was one point in the season where he scored one goal in 23 games.  Of course, to reach his quota he always has a week where he scores six mostly meaningless goals in a three game period.  He is a ghost on the ice, which is probably the only reason why he gets to twenty goals every season.  Nelson will probably be traded in the off-season but there’s no doubt that he will be the best-worst goal-scorer in NHL history by the time his career is done.

The “Do you miss me yet?” award

Mike Milbury is living the life.  He has a cushy job as an NHL analyst for NBC Sports.  He’s made more money than God and doesn’t ever need to worry about going back to the NHL again in a management role.  I wonder sometimes what he thinks about the mess he made on Long Island.  I also wonder sometimes what he thinks about the fact that all these years later the Islanders are in almost the same spot they were when he was fired.  What a life indeed.