This is an opinion based on nothing. Babcock sat 'his guy' Leo Komarov in favour of Kapanen two years ago. I disagree with his usage of Marleau in this series, but the myth that he is always like that is absolutely false.



Boston and Tampa were the 1st and 2nd best teams league wide last year. The Leafs chances were a coin flip at best, and made significantly harder after the Kadri suspension. You beat a Pittsburgh team on the decline and got by against Florida a few years back thanks to ****ty officiating. In this system the argument of "you didn't get past the 1st round" is meaningless as it pits the top teams against each other in the 1st round. One of the top 5 teams in the league (statistically) last year were going to be eliminated in the 1st round and I am not even talking about the Tampa choke. This year the projections are that one of the top 4 teams will be out in the 1st round, and two of the top 4 out in round 2. Playoff success is random, fluky, and not a valid argument.


And I just want to add one thing: It isn't condescension. Its experience.


See above

Oh now it's we beat Pitt because they're on the decline - A week before the playoffs started I had leafs fans in my mentions saying the Islanders luck was going to run out and Pittsburgh always shows up when it matters most! The confirmation bias is strong!

I don't know if you were reading what I said, but anyone making those predictions were making them not by what I'll call 'play' for simplicity, but by reputation and history of success.

The islander's luck IS going to run out, you thinking it wont is confirmation bias somewhat ironically.

Mat Barzal, Anders lee, and Jordan Eberle all had down years. Your claim that the Islanders play being unsustainable is simply wishful thinking, and I'm sure in December/January when the islanders exceed expectations , there will be more excuses.

*Whispers*(You should maybe look at the rest of your team - and at ageing curves)

You don't know what the top 9 will look like. It's very possible another top 6 forward is added through trade and there's a decent chance josh ho-sang makes the team. You can use all the analytics you want to try to prove that the islanders success isn't sustainable and they'll come back to earth this season - at the end of the day it's just a prediction. I'd be more concerned with half of your defense being comprised of replacement level defenseman. Have fun with Cody Ceci on the top pairing!

Didn't they hire both before JT left?

Scott Malkin (islanders owner) hired Lou lamoriello in May 2018 because he feared JT wouldn’t re-sign. My point is if Tavares would have signed during the season, Garth snow and doug weight would still have their jobs.

Than him leaving was a blessing

Exactly - I agree with “fire Babcock” . He’s only the best coach when he’s coaching nick lidstrom or team canada

The fact that he's getting another chance is a crime, He should've been fired in the middle of the season

Ummm what? Codi Ceci isn't the top pairing and our top 4 are all top 4 guys lol. The **** are you talking about?
Muzzin-barrie
Rielly-dermott

Lou was brought in before JT left and worked to get him resigned, so the thinking that if JT stayed the Isles wouldn't have gone after Lou, Trotz and Korn isn't accurate. The Isles wanted to change the culture of the team and bring a winner FOR Tavares... despite doing that he decided to leave for what he thought were greener pastures and an easier chance at winning a cup in TOR.

And before any Leafs fans comment that I'm another salty Isles fan, I don't hate Tavares for his decision to go home and play for Toronto. I do believe he could have handled the situation better and been more open and upfront with the Isles regarding his intentions given what he meant to this Franchise.

Also having said that, it's not coincidence that Tavares leaving made the Isles a better team last year. They had a chip on their shoulder to show people they were more than just Tavares. They did that in spades last season and I don't necessarily agree with some of the people claiming it was luck and they will crash this year. The players, as a whole, bought into the team concept Lou and Trotz brought with them. I believe that, along with Trotz' coaching, is what will keep this team a playoff team going forward.

Very well said, couldn’t be said it better myself

I don't believe this is accurate. Malkin hired Lou to restore a winning culture to a Franchise that had lost its way now that he and Ledecky had majority ownership. The Isles had NO belief Tavares would leave in May because JT had been saying ALL SEASON that he wanted to stay in NY and even asked to NOT be traded at the deadline. According to JT himself (If you choose to believe him) the only thoughts of leaving were just before the FA courting period opened in June when his agent convinced him to at least listen to other teams... by then Lou and Trotz were already brought on board.

Their signings were to show JT the Isles new owners were serious about icing a winning team year in and year out, not because they were afraid he was gonna leave. They wanted to build a winning team AROUND Tavares, not without him.

Isn't Dermott hurt to start the year? Meaning Ceci will be playing Top 4 minutes for at least the first month or two...

who is tavares

Dermott is out until at least November - coming off of major shoulder surgery it is highly unlikely Babcock puts a 22 year old defenseman in the top 4. I’m sure Reilly-ceci will be a lot of fun to watch!

Okay. Thats fine. Injuries aren't permanent and they don't affect the playoffs.

Babs has already been using Dermott as a top 4 Dman last year until Muzzin and the injury. We might have Ceci as a sheltered #4 for 2 months, but after that it is fine.