5:20 pm: Never fails. There's always news when I'm no where near my laptop. So, the kid who I have been told is "the real deal" has signed a 3-year entry-level agreement with the Islanders. He's the other 6'5" mountain of a goalie who was here for training camp. With Mikko and Anders in net, they looked like bookends.
Drafted in 2009, Andres is old enough to head to Bridgeport -- where he will get a 1st rate education in all things Islanders.
8:30 am:
The cameras were at the ready on a platform. The dais was set up against the far wall. Jesse D. Eisenberg (Skates On A Plane) had done a fine job of hanging the Islander logo backdrop against the wall.
Just like a wedding, the chairs on the left side of the room were reserved for family. The right side was set up for the media and other attendees. Newsday’s Katie Strang was quick to help me not make a rookie mistake
“Those are for family Dee. Come over here.” I sat one row behind her and MSG’s Deb Placey and next to my fellow blog boxers waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.
Matt Moulson, John Tavares, Bill Guerin and his wife, Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau played musical chairs with the seats that said “reserved.”
Dough Weight, his family and friends entered the room and sat in the first two rows. Weight, Charles Wang and Garth Snow took their place at the dais and the room went silent. The Stanley Cup ring Doug wore was blinding even from the third row. Only the fourth time he had wore it, to him, it seemed appropriate.
We were treated to a very well produced montage of Doug Weight’s career appropriately choreographed to Hootie & The Blowfish’s hit
“Time.” It’s featured on the Islanders main website. Their were giggles in the room when the image of a young Weight sporting a mullet flashed on the screen.
The closing shot of Doug’s silhouette heading out onto the Coliseum ice while Darius Rutger croons
“Time -- Why do you punish me?” encapsulated the last two NHL seasons of Doug Weight’s career. After watching the montage, he fumbled with the prepared speech that he joked was 70 or 80 pages. He was overcome with emotion as he struggled to get out the words
“to announce my retirement.” Garth Snow pulled a box of tissues out from under the table and placed them next to him. There was welcomed laughter.
“That hockey meant the world to me was a huge understatement.” He struggled and looked to his wife for strength as he recalled his 19 years as an NHLer.
“All the memories and experiences I’ve lived, on and off the ice are countless and I will covet them forever.”
Weight is the perfect blend of charm, intelligence, humor, confidence and humility. When he wasn’t batting back tears in his eyes, those blue eyes sparkled and his smile lit up the room. Doug is said to have “presence,” a quality that makes him stand out in a crowded room and that naturally draws people to him. Garth Snow called his generosity off the ice “immeasurable.” So too must be his patience.
Nineteen years in the NHL will give you great stories to tell. Doug told one about the “shopping cart trade”
“I was traded to the Edmonton Oilers from the Rangers at 4 pm New York time on the same day the two teams were playing each other that night at Madison Square Garden. They put my equipment in a shopping cart and pushed it down the hallway to the visitor’s room and I passed Esa Tikkanen…” The room cracked up once again when Doug did an impression of “Tikkaneese.” But he continued recanting his first realization that Hockey is a business.
“I remember being numb. It was very emotional and an overwhelming turn of events to say the least and the whole game seems to be a blur. But in hindsight that trade to Edmonton was by far the best thing that could ever happen to me.”
He had to stop.
“It didn’t take me long to figure out why they won five Stanley Cups. The respect, comradery and accountability of the organization and what they demanded of their players would forever change me as a person, player and leader.”
These are the things that Doug Weight brought with him to the Islanders and what he has helped instill in the currant young core of players.
Weight had many people to thank including Glen Sather, the media, the League and the fans of every organization he has been a part of. As he continued his trip down memory lane, he stopped frequently to sip water and dab his eyes. As well prepared as he was, this was difficult. Especially when he looked into the face of his best friend sitting on the third row aisle.
“BG. Those big eyes always get me.”
Bill Guerin is the reason Doug Weight came to Long Island. The Islander organization and Charles Wang are the reason he is staying.
“I immediately recognized the dedication of Charles and Garth towards this team and their mission to win was something I am honored to have been a part of…. I was especially fortunate to be around this group of young, talented players. Watching them mature as players and people is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Weight thanked Garth for the confidence he showed in him and apologized that he couldn’t play as much as he would have liked.
“You’ve been so wonderful to me and my family and for that I can’t thank you enough.” Weight echoed what I had heard Michael Peca say on the radio about Islanders owner Charles Wang.
“Charles, thank you for treating me with such honesty and professionalism since the day I got here. The focus that you put on families of this team is second t none as is your desire to win.”
As expected, Doug is remaining with the organization. His new position is an Assistant Coach and Senior Advisor to the General Manager. It was a day of celebration; of a new leaf and changes. Change only means “Choose Having A New Growth Experience” and that is what Doug Weight will do.
The Islanders presented Doug with two gifts, both of which needed a truck to get them to his house. One stunning composite photo of his career and the other a preserved game-worn jersey. I suppose that way he makes sure his son doesn’t wear it in the driveway practicing.
The media had the chance to ask questions of Doug while he sat at the dais, all of which you have read already since they’ve been able to get their stories posted long before I did. I asked one of the two questions I had prepared. I wanted t know if he could go back in time, if there was any advice he would give his younger self about the future.
“I would tell myself a little earlier in my career to just be confident in yourself and trust in my ability. Not to sound immodest to you guys, but I knew I had skill and I knew I could play. When things were going well, I thought I could really challenge myself to put my game at a high, high level. Until I was about 25 or 26, I wasn’t consistent enough in my belief in my own self. That’s why I mentioned Glen Sather. That was a key to my career where I was with a team that was rebuilding and they gave me s much responsibility and then they’d walk away. There was no catering. It was ‘Do this or you’re out. We need you to do this and this.’ It helped me. Being the Captain there helped me as well. But that would be something I would tell younger people. Thankfully, my two guys that lived with me; John and Matt, they didn’t have to worry about confidence.”
Once again, chuckles filled the room as all eyes turned to John Tavares and Matt Moulson. Doug smiled at them knowing he’s had a huge hand in their development.
“It’s important to me to instill that confidence through the ups and downs and just believe in yourself and really challenge yourself to be great. Because the years don’t go back. Having said that, it was part of my personality as well and I learned from it.”
And that’s where I ran out of space on my recorder.
Doug will be on the NHL network during the Stanley Cup finals honing his broadcaster skills and showcasing another part of his personality -- the entertaining part.
The Audience:
The Social Media Department did something a little different this time. Along with the well appointed room, the beautiful buffet and the multi-media fan experience, they held a contest for a few lucky winners to actually be present at the event. It was a
“once in a lifetime experience.” for a few of them who were in awe of what they witnessed.
Once again I realized just how jaded I have become. The smiles on their faces to have been part of NHL history, sitting in a room with so many Islander players was just amazing to them. Two wore their own Doug Weight jerseys. One Twitter winner, @Yuhas9797, Ryan, told me he styled his own hockey game after Weight’s and how happy he was that he will be staying here on Long Island with the organization.
Deb Placey, the new NHLLive co-host stopped to talk to me for a few minutes before rushing out to work on her show that aires from 4 to 6 pm weekdays. The new format and the five-day-a-week schedule has been a drastic change for her, but she was excited about the great things that are coming up for the show next season. She tried to make light of the work that she and her co-host E.J. Hradek do on air.
“Come on, you know how easy what I do is.” No, it’s not. It’s hard as hell and that’s why there are so few people who can do it as well as Deb can.
Blog Boxers Ken Dick (Okposo.blogspot.com), Chris Hessel (nyifyi.blogbspot.com), Christian Arnold (islandershockeyblog.com) and I chatted with Carey Haber of @VoteYesNYIArena about all things Islander hockey. The arena vote, the draft and other player contracts that are yet to be signed.
I’m a little disappointed to find out this morning that Sean Leahy was there and no one introduced me. We all know each other’s names, but not everyone knows the faces.
Saying Thank you
I’d like to thank the Islanders PR Department for the impressive and professional job they did with yesterday’s event. I’d also like to thank them for allowing me to be part of it and putting up with me all these years: Kimber, Katrina, Dani, Jesse, David and Dyan.
Thanks to Deb Placey for inviting me to tour the new NHLLive studio when it’s complete next season. I won’t forget that (I won’t let you either. I’m going. No. Seriously. )
Thanks to Doug Weight for the years of service to the sport and for the huge smile in the hallway before I left. He doesn’t remember, but he was probably the first player I spoke to on camera years ago when BD Gallof literally dragged me into the locker room with other media members. I was shaking, but Doug gave his full attention to the dark-haired neophyte in the funky orange shoes. (That would be me, not BD.)
Thanks to the Marriott for the amazing fresh fruit and custard tartlets that I couldn’t resist.
Oh, and Thanks to my boss that lets me get out of work to attend these things. I think secretly, he’s jealous.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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