Talk-Talk: Playoffs & Little Niki

Whoa! What's going on here? My Google alerts has article after article with nothing but GOOD things to say about the NY Islanders? How did that happen?

I'll tell you how it happened... Hard Work and misfortune that made them good.

As Billy Jaffe said on NHL Live a few weeks ago, sometimes a team has to get really, really BAD before they can get good. Well, last season, through a series of bad luck and injuries, the Islanders were bad enough to be last. The prize in that Cracker Jack box was JT. And what a prize he is turning out to be. How many times have the NY Islanders had players on the covers of so many trade publications? This is a novelty.

But JT isn't the only story this season. That's what makes the Islanders so interesting for the media right now. There are multiple story lines here. Some of them are turning into Hockey Fairy Tales. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

It's only November. I shudder to think about playoff talk so early. It's not even Thanksgiving yet and this is the team that has only made it into the playoffs on the last possible day and through other team's breakdowns. LET'S NOT JINX THIS.

Other news with a slightly Islanders tie to it is that CBJ Nikita Filatov has been "loaned" to his Russian team. Or in other words, Little Niki runs home because he can't quite cut it yet in the NHL. Anyone remember the collective moan from the fan base when Garth Snow PASSED on the Russian draft favorite? Remember the look on the fresh faced Josh Bailey when he was told the fan base was angry their GM moved DOWN to snag him?

Josh Bailey knew what he wanted from day one. He wanted to be a professional hockey player in the NHL. There was never any question as to whether or not he could cut it mentally or emotionally. He knew he'd have to work on his skills and that is what he did. He was professional when he wasn't sent back to his Junior club to be with his friends, he was professional when he was kept out of the World Juniors. He was even highly professional recently when Scott Gordon sat him out for a game.

See? Everything always works out the way it's supposed to. Sometimes, you just can't see it at first.

Oh... And Brendan Shanahan retired. Twenty-One years is a long career in the NHL. He's truly lucky. I knew it was reported he was dissapointed he couldn't find an NHL team this season, but maybe he can get a job with the NHLPA. I hear they have a few openings. ahem ahem...