I unfortunately had a ticket to the game last night and missed it. However, during the tv coverage of the game, they showed the team coming out together, which was awesome. A little off topic, but does anyone know what the song was that was played during it? My wife was there with her sister and niece, and they didn't know what song it was either.

I don't get the Hickey bashing. He's played well here for 2+ seasons.
- Snowblind

Those who don't think Hickey is a serviceable NHL defenseman have their "he's not 6'4'' so he's useless" blinders on.

Those who don't think Hickey is a serviceable NHL defenseman have their "he's not 6'4'' so he's useless" blinders on.
- eichiefs9

I personally don't think hickey or strait are "on the level". Is hickey serviceable, yeah, but I don't think "serviceable" should be in the top 6. I don't have a problem with not being 6ft4, I have a problem with not being strong on the puck. Also, if you are a small dman, you can't get beat in a foot race, which I saw at the home opener. If Reinhardt was ready, and deHaan and viz were healthy, hickey is not in the top 6.


This team so far has looked really good......it's very encouraging.

Best forward the first game Nelson. Second game Tavares. best dman both games Boychuk. Its not even debatable how much better hes been than everyone else.

Best forward the first game Nelson. Second game Tavares. best dman both games Boychuk. Its not even debatable how much better hes been than everyone else.
- mighty13duck

100% true. Boychuk is a beast.

I watched Bailey every time his hit the ice here in Raleigh, even thou he still makes bad decisions WITH the puck, when he is away from the puck he does EVERYTHING right, throws the body, pressures the puck carrier, all of it. The kid is smart, but he gets into a pressure situation with the puck, 2 on one, clearing attempt, breakaway.. he just always seems to make the wrong choice. Frustrating!


XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

He has looked better the first two games. Hopefully he can keep it up. I think he knows he will be out of a job if he doesn't contribute something.

Best forward the first game Nelson. Second game Tavares. best dman both games Boychuk. Its not even debatable how much better hes been than everyone else.
- mighty13duck

It's amazing how much a really good d-man can help. Boychuk is on pace for a career year in a contract year. Good for him. It's gonna cost a lot to re-sign him. I hope Ledecky and Malkin are ready to open up their wallets for him.

It's amazing how much a really good d-man can help. Boychuk is on pace for a career year in a contract year. Good for him. It's gonna cost a lot to re-sign him. I hope Ledecky and Malkin are ready to open up their wallets for him.
- Jethro09

hickey has always been a good defenseman. Yes, he's going to be out muscled at times, no doubt. But he was always misused due to coaching. He's a perfect bottom pairing guy. Boychuk right now looks like a #1 guy. I'm not saying he is, but he's a bona fide #2 without question. But back to hickey, give him dehaan or boychuk or any other competent partner, he'll be perfect.

I just looked at the next 5 games. It's certainly tough competition. If they can go 3-2 and start the season 5-2, it's going to show where this team wants to be. We're not going to win all 82 games, obviously, and can't freak out when they lose. But going 3-2 against the Rangers, sharks, Bruins, leafs, and pens, will certainly give us insight on the strength of this team. Especially without being fully healthy (no dehaan, grabner, viz etc)

Ideally I'd hope to take divisional games against the pens and rags. I think the leafs could be a winnable game.

It's amazing how much a really good d-man can help. Boychuk is on pace for a career year in a contract year. Good for him. It's gonna cost a lot to re-sign him. I hope Ledecky and Malkin are ready to open up their wallets for him.
- Jethro09

If he keeps up this play, which has been almost flawless, I'd have no problem giving him 6.5 mil for 5 or 6 years, especially with vizs (and yashins and carkners) contract off the books. Obviously they need to make sure he keeps up the great play. But signing him to 6.5 mill, we still come up with a positive cap hit by losing those 3. It's honestly a great situation for him and the Isles. Moving to Brooklyn only helps. God forbid we make a deep run in the playoffs (not getting ahead of myself), it only helps convincing him to stay here.

If he keeps up this play, which has been almost flawless, I'd have no problem giving him 6.5 mil for 5 or 6 years, especially with vizs (and yashins and carkners) contract off the books. Obviously they need to make sure he keeps up the great play. But signing him to 6.5 mill, we still come up with a positive cap hit by losing those 3. It's honestly a great situation for him and the Isles. Moving to Brooklyn only helps. God forbid we make a deep run in the playoffs (not getting ahead of myself), it only helps convincing him to stay here.
- Dedshark

If he continues to play as our top defenseman and we finish as a top 3 in our division I would think this would be a situation he'd be comfortable resigning. It's a great opportunity for him to play a starring role and if we show that kind of improvement I believe we will sign him. Long season though, so we'll see what happens.

The Islanders have had 6 goals against. Strait was on the ice for 4 and in penalty box for another... Uncle!

Pk got better when Brock was put on it instead of Martin.

It's amazing how much a really good d-man can help. Boychuk is on pace for a career year in a contract year. Good for him. It's gonna cost a lot to re-sign him. I hope Ledecky and Malkin are ready to open up their wallets for him.
- Jethro09

Every hockey team needs that one guy to play defense for it. This one is just coming into his real prime. It will be worth every dime to have him teach the game to the likes of Reinhart and Pulock. I just hope they realize that- a player like him is far more important to a hockey team then pretty much anything else, save replacing a goaltender who is absolute crap. A guy who can quarterback your power play AND be the minutes eater who clears the front of your net doesn't come along very often, regardless of where you pick in the draft. I'd literally pay him $8M+ per for 8 years to stay here without hesitation- I know the term is ridiculous, but the Flyers are still in the league, and I don't want to lose him. As for the money, sh*t defensemen get paid $5M a year, so I don't know how much less you'd expect to pay. This player, unlike the dopey goaltender from years gone by, is actually worth that money, and will probably last that long. It's one thing taken care of, for a long time, in my opinion.

The Islanders have had 6 goals against. Strait was on the ice for 4 and in penalty box for another... Uncle!
- niteislander

As Dan has been saying, wait until de Haan comes back. Once we have de Haan and Visnovsky back in the lineup, I'm looking at Boychuk-Hamonic-Leddy-de Haan Visnovsky-Hickey. The only question is whether or not they send Reinhart down for a while to hold on to Strait for depth, but there's no way he has a spot in the lineup with those six on the active roster. He simply isn't good enough- for all the b*tching about Hickey, he's a FAR better defenseman than Strait....it's not even a legitimate competition. My only question is how long we keep Reinhart in Bridgeport, because he really should be here at this point. They just have to convince themselves that whatever else they have for depth is better than Strait, and they don't need to worry about losing him.

Those who don't think Hickey is a serviceable NHL defenseman have their "he's not 6'4'' so he's useless" blinders on.
- eichiefs9

Hickey is a NHL defensemen- we have others who are not (Carkner, Strait), and to compare him to them would be unfair. However, I see him as a 7 on a good team- when Reinhart is ready, he has to take that spot, because he's simply more talented...and larger, which doesn't hurt when you're a defenseman. That said, Hickey is a player who doesn't embarrass you back there, and he's definitely worth having on the team. Just don't put him out there with Visnovsky, please!!!!....

Hickey is a NHL defensemen- we have others who are not (Carkner, Strait), and to compare him to them would be unfair. However, I see him as a 7 on a good team- when Reinhart is ready, he has to take that spot, because he's simply more talented...and larger, which doesn't hurt when you're a defenseman. That said, Hickey is a player who doesn't embarrass you back there, and he's definitely worth having on the team. Just don't put him out there with Visnovsky, please!!!!....
- dcb1

He's steady and he drives the play against an above-average level of competition. I'm more than happy to call him an everyday guy on the third pairing.

I wouldn't be upset if we lost him either, but he'll never be one of the big problems with this team.

The Islanders have had 6 goals against. Strait was on the ice for 4 and in penalty box for another... Uncle!
- niteislander

He'll be gone soon enough. He'll either be waived or a pressbox warrior and Reinhart will be sent back to Bridgeport when de Haan and Viz are healthy.

I thought Boychuk, Leddy and dare I say Hickey were the best dmen last night. Hamonic struggled big time, I think Reinhardt can use some AHL time, and Strait was flat out awful.
- Charlie21

Wasn't Hickey a #1 pick by the Kings?

no Strait is the worst option. he looks like an ahl dman out their right now
- Dan Petriw

Dan, I think he was always an AHL defenseman but we didn't have anyone to compare him to until Boychuk became an Islander...

Wasn't Hickey a #1 pick by the Kings?
- kear20

Yeah 4th overall in '07

It's amazing how much a really good d-man can help. Boychuk is on pace for a career year in a contract year. Good for him. It's gonna cost a lot to re-sign him. I hope Ledecky and Malkin are ready to open up their wallets for him.
- Jethro09

Blank check...

Yeah 4th overall in '07
- eichiefs9

Hickey was a decent pickup...he'll probably stick with the Islanders as a 6/7 defenseman...

People here are afraid to stick up for Hickey because he was played out of position, due to necessity, bashed by many poster here, and now, you can see he is a fine 18th or 19th player on the roster, a third pairing defenseman. That's not an insult, rather a complement. And on a good team, guys like Hickey are needed. Strait? I agree with Dan 100 and 10 percent. Bye.
- potvin05

He's actually only been bashed by one poster here. And I'm sure Rick will be around soon enough to debate this issue.