Mad Mike and the Terror on Long Island
For a long time Mike Milbury has been the GM of the New York Islanders. However it was only recently that he decided to step down, despite one of the worst track records of any executive in the history of professional sports. Now, as Milbury waits for his successor to be officially named, one must take a look back on his time to see how not to run a franchise.
Go all the way back to 1995, to begin. A disgruntled Bryan Berard openly states that he would never play a game for the Ottawa Senators, who took him in the first round. Milbury steps in with an offer of Wade Redden for Berard, and both sides walk away happy. However now, ten-plus years later, Redden is an all-star, an Olympian, and probably the biggest fish in the free agent market this summer, while Berard is a steroid-riddled minus-30 on one of the worst teams in hockey.
Five years down the road, in 2000, Milbury made another collosal blunder. He dealt promising young netminder Roberto Luongo, as well as another kid...what was his name...oh, yes, Olli Jokinen, to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish, Oleg Kvasha, and the first overall pick in that year's draft. He drafted Rick DiPietro with that pick, and while they are still awaiting DiPietro's breakout in New York, the man who was selected immediately afterwards may score fifty goals this year. That man was Dany Heatley.
However it was 2001 that saw Milbury making his worst trade. He dealt Zdeno Chara, a young defenseman on the upswing of his career, and the second overall pick, which turned out to be Jason Spezza, to the Ottawa Senators for Alexei Yashin. Yashin has since gone on to be ridiculed around the league for his bloated contract, fickle attitude, and lack of production, while Chara has become a perrenial Norris trophy candidate and Spezza is the top-line centre for the best team in the league.
Also in 2001, the day after acquiring Yashin, in fact, Milbury was shuffling his roster again. He dealt promising youngsters Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt to Buffalo for Mike Peca. Peca was captain during his tenure on the Island, but never lived up to the billing as a second-line centre, while the Sabres are reaping the benefits of Connolly's abilities during this, his breakout season. Isles' fans can shake their head further at the fact that Peca has since gone on to play a crucial role on the checking line in Edmonton, looking rejuvenated now that his talents are being properly utilised.
Add to Milbury's resume the fact that he gave up on solid NHLers such as Raffi Torres, Eric Brewer, and JP Dumont, getting names like Dmitri Nabokov in return, and one can only wonder what type of lineup the Islanders could be icing now, in 2006. Thus, the question stands: where would the Islanders be without Mad Mike at the helm? While no one can really say for sure, I personally would be willing to venture it would be a hell of a lot higher than eleventh in the Eastern Conference with tee times for April 22 already booked.
Had he not made trades as though the NHL was some sort of fantasy sports league, Milbury could have had a lineup that included Roberto Luongo in goal, Chara and Redden on the points, and the much-feared duo of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley up front. Guys like Torres, Dumont, and Brewer would have brought their own elements to the Isles, and the team would have unquestionably been a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. However, they are not, and we are all left to tell the tale of Mad Mike and the Terror on Long Island. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
Go all the way back to 1995, to begin. A disgruntled Bryan Berard openly states that he would never play a game for the Ottawa Senators, who took him in the first round. Milbury steps in with an offer of Wade Redden for Berard, and both sides walk away happy. However now, ten-plus years later, Redden is an all-star, an Olympian, and probably the biggest fish in the free agent market this summer, while Berard is a steroid-riddled minus-30 on one of the worst teams in hockey.
Five years down the road, in 2000, Milbury made another collosal blunder. He dealt promising young netminder Roberto Luongo, as well as another kid...what was his name...oh, yes, Olli Jokinen, to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish, Oleg Kvasha, and the first overall pick in that year's draft. He drafted Rick DiPietro with that pick, and while they are still awaiting DiPietro's breakout in New York, the man who was selected immediately afterwards may score fifty goals this year. That man was Dany Heatley.
However it was 2001 that saw Milbury making his worst trade. He dealt Zdeno Chara, a young defenseman on the upswing of his career, and the second overall pick, which turned out to be Jason Spezza, to the Ottawa Senators for Alexei Yashin. Yashin has since gone on to be ridiculed around the league for his bloated contract, fickle attitude, and lack of production, while Chara has become a perrenial Norris trophy candidate and Spezza is the top-line centre for the best team in the league.
Also in 2001, the day after acquiring Yashin, in fact, Milbury was shuffling his roster again. He dealt promising youngsters Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt to Buffalo for Mike Peca. Peca was captain during his tenure on the Island, but never lived up to the billing as a second-line centre, while the Sabres are reaping the benefits of Connolly's abilities during this, his breakout season. Isles' fans can shake their head further at the fact that Peca has since gone on to play a crucial role on the checking line in Edmonton, looking rejuvenated now that his talents are being properly utilised.
Add to Milbury's resume the fact that he gave up on solid NHLers such as Raffi Torres, Eric Brewer, and JP Dumont, getting names like Dmitri Nabokov in return, and one can only wonder what type of lineup the Islanders could be icing now, in 2006. Thus, the question stands: where would the Islanders be without Mad Mike at the helm? While no one can really say for sure, I personally would be willing to venture it would be a hell of a lot higher than eleventh in the Eastern Conference with tee times for April 22 already booked.
Had he not made trades as though the NHL was some sort of fantasy sports league, Milbury could have had a lineup that included Roberto Luongo in goal, Chara and Redden on the points, and the much-feared duo of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley up front. Guys like Torres, Dumont, and Brewer would have brought their own elements to the Isles, and the team would have unquestionably been a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. However, they are not, and we are all left to tell the tale of Mad Mike and the Terror on Long Island. The Opinion Blog of Matthew Ryder
posted by Matthew Ryder at 6:43 AM
5 Comments:
nyr are my team, unfortunately.
yashin needs to go, we got some good youth and we can re-structure our team.
Milbury obviously made some ridiculous trades, and it furiates me reading about them. Imagine had he had a brain in his head, we would no doubt be a top team.
Well who knows if the scouting staff of NYI would have chosen Spezza. Plus the team molds the player, things could've been a lot different. You have to keep that in mind.
i think its a fair assessment still tho..
what do you think mat?
I don't think Spezza needed THAT much help to become a star, people have been watching him since he was about 12 and saying he was a lock to go to the show.
I will say that given Milbury's history though, picking Spezza at second was by no means a guarantee.
Spezza or not, he's gotta be one of the worst GMs of all time, in any sport.
Great read Matt. Decided to take a swing around a few sites and managed to land here and read through a few of the articles. I really got captured into this latest article about Mike Milbury because I couldn't agree more that this guy is a complete disaster area. He should have cation tape around him at all times. I'm glad that he finally stepped aside but something tells me that we haven't heard the last of ol' Mad Mike. You never know, maybe Mike has a little NHL Commissioner in him...
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