Yardbarker: Bryan Berard

Reinventing The Islanders

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:57:00 -0500

Last weekend, I attended my ten-year high school reunion. I haven't spent much time over the past decade thinking about high school, but I was happy to attend. Though Facebook took away a good chunk of the surprise and small talk, it was great to see some people I hadn't seen since graduation day.
What I didn't expect was to be left with a bunch of blanks to fill in. Ten years ago, we all parted ways on relatively even ground. Today, we are all in different areas of life. How did we get to where we are? It's fascinating, really; all of the small choices we've made in our lives have added up and, for the first time, we're able to gauge our progress against our peers. To use a high school analogy, it's like getting a first quarter report card - an early indication of where we stand.
Because these things intrigue me way more than they should, I was far more interested in what people didn't say. For example, Bob lives in the city, where he works as a real estate broker. How did he end up there? Why did he choose to move to the city, and why has he chosen to stay there? Has he had any serious relationships? This person is the exact same person as he was ten years ago, but his experiences have changed him permanently. He's the same, but different.
Personally, I was a pretty big dork in high school, and I didn't have a ton of friends. Today, I'm still a dork without many friends. In high school, I appeared disheveled because I didn't care how I looked. At my reunion, I may have appeared disheveled because I was too busy attending to my two children and working two jobs to even have a chance to change my clothes, let alone shower or do anything else. Once again, same, but different. I wasn't particularly proud of the fact that I had no money and couldn't afford the open bar that night, but I was one of the few in attendance with children. So I reluctantly became The Guy With Kids - I've always detested The Guy With Kids - but I suppose it's a step above The Guy Who Doesn't Talk To Anybody, The Guy Who Can't Keep A Job, The Guy Who Has Drug Problems, or any other labels that may be out there.
I saw this reunion as a chance to reconnect with some old buddies and even make new friends. An old friend of mine once said that meeting people from high school was great because it's like meeting a complete stranger, but you have an automatic "in" with that person. And even though most of the old cliques remained intact, I was able to have a great time with many people, some expected, some totally unexpected. Things may have gotten a little sloppy at the end, but I felt I played my cards pretty well. My life is far from perfect, but I'm not the timid loser I was in high school. Maybe I screwed up some of the last ten years of my life, but I have a plan for the next ten, and my behavior reflected that. It was a nice moral victory, one that hopefully leads to some lasting friendships with some old classmates.
As I thought about the relative success of my reunion, I began to compare it to hockey. Surprising, I know. In my senior year of high school, the 1998-99 NHL season, the league was in the throes of the Dead Puck Era. Only one team (Toronto) averaged more than six total goals per game. Today, thirteen teams average more than six total goals. In fact, Detroit's 5.76 total goals per game ranks 20th in 2009-10, but would have placed second ten years ago. It's a different game... and yet, it isn't. The Red Wings have struggled this year, but have been on top of the league for the past decade. The Devils have been up there for ten years as well. The Sharks barely qualified for the playoffs in 1998-99, but they've been great for much of the 2000s. The Rangers are still chasing after big-name free agents, yet are still looking to get past the second round of the playoffs. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) And yes, the Islanders are still in last place in the Atlantic Division.
Islanders fans will talk until your ears bleed about how the Islanders are having a great year and how they're .500. Too bad they're sitting at 11th in the East, and too bad their 10-10-7 record would be 10-17 in any other sport. This isn't to demean the Islanders, it's just to illustrate the facts. For all of the progress the Islanders have made in 2009-10, they're still perceived as a second-rate franchise - and rightfully so. Over the past decade, the Islanders have had exactly one good season. They've won a total of six playoff games. Yes, they've made the playoffs four times in the past nine seasons, but three of those appearances came in the sacrificial role of the eighth seed. In short, there hasn't been much to cheer about. And yet, there's hope.
In 1998-99, the Islanders finished with 58 points. Their leading scorer was Robert Reichel. Players like Barry Richter and David Harlock saw significant ice time. Of the 41 players who wore an Islanders sweater in 1998-99, just eight of them had a plus rating; none of these players dressed in more than twelve games. How bad were the 1998-99 Islanders? In NHL 99, the Islanders' top rated player was Mats Lindgren. Not only was this team horrendous, but there was no plan for the future - aside, of course, from saving money. 1998-99 was Zigmund Palffy's final year on the Island; the same was true of Tommy Salo, Bryan Berard and Bryan Smolinski. The Islanders had acquired a nice group of talented prospects, but these players were being sold off rapidly.
Since 1998-99, the Islanders have transformed themselves on more than one occasion. After years of dumping the league's best prospects for pennies on the dollar, the Islanders finally figured things out in 2001-02, taking the Maple Leafs to the brink in perhaps the best first-round series of the decade. The Isles stuck with that core for a few years, albeit with much less success, until the lockout necessitated changes. When the initial post-lockout group didn't work, Garth Snow retooled the Islanders by bringing in spurned veterans on one-year contracts. While this method got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2006-07, it wouldn't work over the long haul, so Snow and the Islanders committed to a true rebuild. That's the Islanders team we see today.
Since Ted Nolan took over the coaching reins in 2006, the team has had the reputation of an extremely hard-working team, if not an overly talented one. Now that Scott Gordon is here, that hasn't changed. Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins has cited the Islanders as the team he hates to play the most, and for good reason. The Islanders give opposing teams routine fits, and now that the team is being rebuilt the correct way, they can continue to build around this identity - their identity. How many other NHL teams actually stand for something?
It's taken a while, but the Islanders are finally on the right track. Just the same as we might seem like we're doing the same old things ten years later in life, it's also possible that we're much further along than people realize. That's where the Islanders are right now. To the uninitiated observer, they're the same sad-sack team they've always been. Those of us who follow the team, though, know better. We know anyone who spends time with this team will be impressed and will be motivated to follow them regularly, just as I tried to use my reunion to show my old classmates that I'd made some progress over the past ten years. At the end of the day, it might not mean more wins for the Islanders or more money in my pocket, but success of any kind - even if it can't be quantified - is surely welcome.

The Best (And Worst) Islanders Jerseys To Wear

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:09:00 -0500

As Zach explained on Sunday, there are certain jerseys you can wear to the game. At the same time, there are others you wouldn't be caught dead wearing at the Coliseum. Here's a (hopefully) comprehensive list of what's in and out when it comes to Islanders jerseys.
GoodDenis Potvin#5, Clark Gillies #9, Bryan Trottier #19, Mike Bossy #22, Bob Nystrom #23, Billy Smith #31 (if your number is retired, it can be worn by fans forever)Pat LaFontaine #16 (that this number is not hanging from the rafters is a travesty)Pierre Turgeon #77 (they really should retire this; it's not as though any future player will wear it anyway)Josh Bailey #12, Kyle Okposo #21, John Tavares #91 (nice future-proof jersey)Darius Kasparaitis #11, Ray Ferraro #20, David Volek #25, Glenn Healy #35 (for many of us, the '93 team is the only time we've seen the Islanders win)Gary Howatt #8, Rich Pilon #2/#47, Mick Vukota #12, Steve Webb #20, Eric Cairns #33 (nothing like wearing the jersey of a goon)Trent Hunter #7, Claude Lapointe #13, Dave Scatchard #38, Butch Goring #91 (wearing the jersey of a grinder shows you appreciate the nuances of hockey and accentuates your fandom)
IffyRick DiPietro #39 (not because he's hurt, but because everyone has one and it makes you look like you're not as big of a fan as you probably are)Derek King #27 (fine player, but most of us would prefer to forget the early 1990s)Michael Peca #27 (he had a great run, but he hasn't been an Islander in five years)Miroslav Satan #81 (he didn't leave the team all that long ago, but it's not as though he was a legendary Islander)Roberto Luongo #1, Zdeno Chara #3, Bryan McCabe #4, Zigmund Palffy #16/#68, Bryan Berard #34, Todd Bertuzzi #44 (it never hurts to remind people how good this team would have been if not for the Mike Milbury era)
BadAlexei Yashin #79 (Zach argues that this is okay, because Yashin left the NHL as an Islander, but it's probably time to buy a new jersey if you're still wearing Yashin)Eric Fichaud #1, Dean Chynoweth #3, Dave Chyzowski #9, Oleg Kvasha #12, Scott Scissions #14, Robert Nilsson #21, Brett Lindros #75 (busts of epic proportions)Garth Snow #30 (as a fan, you are required to hate your team's management)Kirk Muller #9, Trevor Linden #32, Ron Hextall #72 (these guys were great elsewhere, but didn't exactly work out well on the Island)Anything from the Gorton's Fisherman era (obviously)

The 10 most brutal NHL injuries of the last decade

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:24:59 -0500

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)Some of these all-decade lists are lighthearted, nostalgic compilations of the last 10 years of NHL hockey; and some of them are what you're about to read. The NHL has s...

Bryan Berard: The Forgotten Franchise Player

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:09:34 -0500

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”-John Wooden There is no better quote on the planet that could describe the career of former NHL defenseman Bryan Berard. Bryan Berard was originally drafted first overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1995 NHL entry draft. Shortly thereafter, Berard, who had scored 31 goals and 58 assists as a member of the OHL Detroit Whalers prior to the draft, informed the Senators that he would not report to the team. As a result ...

Flyers release Berard, Dowd

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:03:29 -0500

With their regular season opener less than a week away, the Flyers further whittled their roster down by releasing two veterans today. Center Jim Dowd and defenseman Bryan Berard, who were both invited to Flyers camp on a tryout basis, were let go by the club. Berard, despite his impressive camp showing, lost out in a numbers game both for a spot on defense and for a contract. The Flyers simply can't afford to sign another player and make it work under the salary cap. Berard did do eno...

Bryan Berard is coming to Flyers Camp

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:55:08 -0500

The Flyers have added yet another defensemen to their camp roster. Bryan Berard, a veteran who has played for six NHL teams, will be attending the Flyers training camp on a try-out basis. Berard is 31 and played for the New York Islanders last season, suiting up for 54 games and notching 5 goals and 17 assists. Berard has always been known as an offensive defenseman who can do some great things with the puck, but he is also known as someone who has issues defending his own net. He has also ha...

NHL Quotes of the Week: December 23, 2007

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 10:34:37 -0500

In case you're wondering why updates have been infrequent recently, I spent a week vacationing in Huatulco, Mexico, where CNN occasionally shows 30 seconds of NHL highlights every four hours. When I got back, it was nice to see that the NHL had been as calm, peaceful, and serene as a Mexican beach, and the following quotes just bear that out.

Get Your Boat Out To Go Fishing On Long Island...

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:00:37 -0500

The team report on the Islanders finally gets its day to shine. Then Simon went and screwed it up but this was done just before the SImon incident...go figure.

Bruins rookie Milan Lucic takes blow to the head from Bryan Berard

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:48:22 -0500

Bruins LW Milan Lucic, who was nailed by Isles D Bryan Berard in the first period of Fridays game, will not travel with the team to Long Island tonight.

Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Watch

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:18:25 -0500

One of FIO's weekly fantasy hockey columns, staff writer Rob Edwards clues you in on some possible fantasy free agents to lookout for in Week 2 - check to see if any of these guys are on your league's waiver wire.

Hockey Around The Horn

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:38:58 -0500

The idea that came from a good ole TSN blogger has now been born....all hockey...all the time....And now its time to meet our panelists.....

Islanders to sign Berard?

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:13:41 -0500

Greg Logan of Newsday reports that unrestricted free agent defenseman Bryan Berard may soon become a New York Islander once again.