Franchise goalie acting like franchise fool
March 14th, 2008 by jcapisles
The Islanders have lost eight of their last 10 and are almost assured of not making the playoffs. It’s also sad that despite maximum effort this season they have been done in by injuries. A team like this cannot afford injuries because their margin for error is already so miniscule.
They also cannot afford stupidity and disrespect.
The guys you count on every night to lead by example must do just that. They must be good soldiers in the face of adversity and, more importantly, they need to be held accountable for their poor play and accept the criticisms that come from being thought of as leaders.
Rick DiPietro, as great as he can be on any given night, has a tendency to forget that.
Following the blowout loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday he was a bit snippy with reporters when asked about Ted Nolan’s comments about him continuing to be reckless outside the crease. When asked if he had any comment on Nolan’s criticisms about his irresponsbile puck-handling, DiPietro said, “No. Whatever.”
Then in the third period the next night against Florida he let Karlis Skrastins’ pee-wee slapper from the blueline get by in eventual 4-2 loss.
Listen Ricky … I know you’re frustrated. I know you want to win and want to make the playoffs, but the last thing this organization needs is you tweaking your coach to the press in a time of despair. Those two words you uttered showed a sarcasm and detachment from reality that will trickle down to the younger guys and piss off the older ones.
You were supposed to say, “Ted’s right. I’m a jackass. I think I’m a playmaking center sometimes out on the ice, but I know the best chance for us to win and make the playoffs is for me to stay in the damn net and allow my teammates to do their jobs. It will never happen again. I promise.”
A litte self-deprecation and contrition wouldn’t hurt. Would it?
I am one of the few Islanders fans I know that actually feels his 15-year contract is a steal. The idea that this guy will be paid $4.5 million per until 2021-22 or something like that really appeals to me. Why? Because he will one day be a Vezina Trophy-caliber player. Better yet, he’ll be a bargain, too.
He has all the game to be a world class netminder. No question about it. It’s just sometimes he’s basically a bonehead out there. He wanders from the net, gets caught out of position and often looks foolish scrambling back only to be blinded by the glow of the lamp. If this guy would just stay in the net and work on his angles, he’d have a Brodeur-like GAA. The Islanders, when healthy, are one of the better defensive teams in the NHL. They have to be because their offense is from hunger. DiPietro, however, seems to forget this on a weekly basis.
Until we can pry Alex Ovechkin from Washington or Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier come out of mothballs, for all of our sakes, just stay in the damn net and act like a leader.
Posted in DP, Uncategorized
One Response to “Franchise goalie acting like franchise fool”
By sheashu on Mar 14, 2008
Nice quote from Ricky there man. Good stuff.