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Sillie thoughts Not So Silly after all! |
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*Edited 8/26/09 12:07 pm.
I just received a media advisory that there will be a conference call at 4 pm with GM Garth Snow and Islanders forward Mike Sillinger. Either he's retiring or taking a new position with the team. Either way. I'll report back tonight.
Original from 8/23/09: I don't know what possessed me last night, but I started to wonder abou the fate of another hip surgery rehabing hockey player who was last seen in an Isles sweater.
Of course, when these questions pop into my head, I don't have the luxury of ringing up the cell of said player or his agent, nor do I have a direct line to anyone who can answer me. So I do what every other fan/blogger/Curious George does -- I Google. "Yes, I Googled."
During this veteran NHLer's tenure with the NY Islanders, he single-handedly brought UP the average age of the team a few points. He was relentlessly picked on for being "the old man." Mike Sillinger is 38 years-old. Old by Hockey standards unless -- you're name is Chris Chelios.
But he does hold the distinction of being on the largest number of teams in the fewest number of years. Sort of like going for a world's record of hockey relocation.
When Garth Snow addressed the NYIBC one evening in October of '06, he said he couldn't understand how so many teams could have let Mike go. Sillinger is a great team mate, a locker room leader, a terrific family man and not a bad hockey player. Garth was happy to have him. So were the fans.
There's a blog post by "Gallagher" on 1/9/09 that discusses the Two Degrees of Mike Sillinger. It seems that with his 1049 games and multiple teams between 1990 - 2008, along with his junior career, Mike Sillinger "has out Baconed Kevin Bacon."
But the guy who I liked to call "Muppet-Man" (come on, he looks like a Jim Henson creation.) has had nothing but bad luck in the last two years and played only 52 games in '07-'08 and only seven last season. This is a man who can play through the pain of a repaired hip, but when that pain was coupled with a groin strain, he just couldn't skate. If you can't skate, you just can't play no matter how much of a warrior you are.
The NY Islanders biggest loss with Sillinger's absence was face-off wins. A skill that would cost them games and one that doesn't seem to come to easily.
My friend Dominick from Lighthouse Hockey mentioned on 7/13/09 that it would be great to see Sillinger end his career "on his own terms." I agree. That is actually what I was thinking.
With Mike Sillinger's 19 years in the NHL and 548 points, he should be allowed to have one more kick at the can in order to end his playing career on a high note. His compensation for '08-'09 was $2.3 million. To get back into the game, he's going to have to put a "CLEARANCE" sticker on that jersey of his.
The semi-official word out of the Isles organization is that they DON'T have an official word on the disposition of Mike Sillinger. No word of agent/player discussions. Just no word of any kind. The NHLPA just list Sillie as "unsigned."
In light of that non-committal answer, I wish Mike Sillinger luck in landing another team and hope the Islanders have someone in line who can teach young Josh Bailey and others how to win face-offs this coming season. Because along with the teams' average age going down on the stat sheets, so has that little column keeping track of face-off wins. Hmmmm....
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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