Dan and Nick Giglia of invaluable referendum blog "Let There Be Lighthouse" talk about how Sergei Nemchinov was a winner who played for the Islanders at the wrong time. The veteran forward was 34 years old when he signed as a free agent, bringing years of experience from the Soviet Union, international stage and a Stanley Cup run with the Rangers to a team that needed all the help they could get. For once, Mike Milbury opened his wallet as well as his mouth, but for Nemchinov, the chance to play near Brooklyn's Brighton Beach was enough to sign. Nick talks about rubbing elbows with both men and a certain Islanders prospect who had "the biggest wrists he had ever seen," on a booze cruise around Manhattan when he was just 12. And things just get weirder from there as we venture for the first time into the thickest, darkest part of the Islanders' Milbury era.

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Theme song: "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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Mike and Dan look at the good (some) and bad (also some) of the Islanders' last week and the promising signs that have, unfortunately, started to arrive a little too late. They recap disappointing games against the Avalanche and Canucks and the mistakes that cost the team points in each, before discussing a surprisingly spicy Saturday win over a very good Blues team. They also examine the misunderstood storylines heading into those games, the odd season of Semyon Varlamov and how the trade deadline is looming just as the team is rounding into form. They spend the second half ranting about a few recent issues within the hockey media that shows just how unnecessarily hard it is to be a hockey fan in this day and age. Along the way, they remember all of the missed calls, disallowed goals and pre-game ceremonies the Islanders have had to endure this week and throughout the season.

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Mike and Dan recap a week of good Islanders performances (with one shameful loss) and wonder where the team's younger players go after this weird season. They look at wins over the Kraken and Ducks, a tough luck shootout loss to the Sharks and a loss to the Kings in which everything that could go wrong did in a microcosm of the season. Later, they discuss Zdeno Chara breaking the all time games played record for defensemen and the lasting legacy he'll leave with the Islanders no matter how long his return engagement lasts. And with one of the team's older players out for a while, how does the team view its younger guys like Keiffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho and Oliver Wahlstrom, who can continue to improve even in this lost season. Along the way they also criticize ESPN's bafflingly awful NHL coverage and wonder why the Islanders keep losing their best games.

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Joined by Lighthouse Hockey's own Jenny Berman, Mike and Dan discuss how Thomas Vanek spent 47 games with the Islanders that were somehow both completely inconsequential and yet totally changed the direction of the franchise. Vanek was the dynamic winger John Tavares needed but he came at the expense of fan favorite Matt Moulson and he was notably not a goalie. So while the top line terrorized the NHL for a few dozen games, the Islanders bled goals until GM Garth Snow finally sent Vanek to Montreal for an underwhelming return. But that one short, weird period continues to affect the Islanders today in some extremely surprising ways. Also, where in the world is Michael Dal Colle?

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Theme song: "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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Mike and Dan look again at the Islanders' maddening pattern of wins and lamentable losses, and how their trade deadline will affect their overall direction. They talk about how the Islanders looked more like the Sabres than the Sabres did in their loss in Buffalo, and how a loss to a goalie who hadn't played in the NHL in four years was all but guaranteed well before Sunday's loss to Montreal. In between was a win over Boston that reminded fans of the team they could be when it plays its game to the fullest (or close to it). Later they discuss what players could move at the trade deadline and how most national writers miss the point by looking at the Islanders' CapFriendly page and not at the infinite number of layers underneath the roster. If you want to know, talk to well-adjusted Islanders fans (like us!).

Note 1: Sorry about Dan's audio. He should have checked which device Zencastr was pointing to before he started recording.

Note 2: Carter Hutton got traded to the Leafs just after we finished recording.

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Mike and Dan recap the Islanders up and down (mostly down) trip to Western Canada and look back at a cursed first half of the season. They look at what worked and what didn't in a win in Vancouver and loses in Edmonton and Calgary, and the role that bad luck continues to play in the Islanders games. They also peek ahead at their upcoming games and how the best case scenario is a generous injection of false hope. In the second half, they look at what the first half of the season tells us about this incarnation of the Islanders, what elements are missing and how they can get back to where they were in the previous three seasons.

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Joined by actor, writer and podcaster Michael Paul Smith, Dan and Mike take it all the way back to the original Islanders villain who changed the way the team was perceived for all time. The three talk about Muller's decorated pre-Islanders career, the franchise-wrecking trade that brought him - very reluctantly - to the Islanders and the surprisingly lucrative trade that shipped him out (that was then later also ruined). They re-watch the legendary video introducing the team in their Fisherman jerseys with Muller getting booed like he owed everyone in Nassau Coliseum money, find the connections between Muller's rejection and future Islanders deserters, and discover his clout-chasing final season with the Leafs, Panthers and Stars, who were noticeably not the Islanders. Finally they cast a show about the Muller saga and choose which actors have the chops to bring the dastardly antagonist to life.

Weird Islanders: The Podcast! is proud to have a new theme song this week, "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Björn is a musician and Islanders fan who generously offered us the song to use for the show. To hear more of his work, you can find him on Spotify and at Bandcamp. Thanks again, Björn!

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Theme song: "Knuckles" by Björn Falk. Hear more of his music on Spotify and at Bandcamp.

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Mike and Dan discuss the Islanders' embarrassing loss to expansion Seattle just before the All Star Break and the important road trips that will determine where their season goes next. They wonder if the Islanders are simply too exhausted after several mentally taxing seasons in a row and how a truly lost season could impact the franchise going forward. They talk about criticisms of the coaches, playing "the kids" and how the Islanders are a collection of three separate cores from various eras. In the second half, they look at the upcoming schedule and see games the Islanders could win if things change from how they have unfolded so far. Finally, they talk about the recent All Star Game, Adam Pelech's performance with the NHL's elite and the league's never-ending quest to be relevant outside of Canada. Sadly, we forgot to talk about the loss of Austin Czarnik on waivers. Alas. Oh, and Mike and his wife Emily had a baby.

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Dan and special guest Noel Fogelman revisit one of the most bizarre episodes in recent Islanders history, the many-layered acquisition of "Captain Canada" Ryan Smyth. They look at all of the crazy factors leading up to the 2007 trade deadline and how the Islanders came out of nowhere to grab the power forward after a stalled contract negotiation with Edmonton. They talk about his productive - if unmemorable - time on the ice, his unceremonious exit in free agency and the Islanders "legacy" Smyth left behind and probably doesn't even know he has. Along the way they laugh about emotional goodbyes, dramatic news reports and players who should never have left their original teams (and who all somehow ended up playing for the Islanders).

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Dan and emergency recall Carey Haber look at the Islanders recent losses, their struggles against winning teams and what qualities they're still missing this season. They look at good performances against the Kings and Wild that were undone by early goals against and costly mistakes, and how the Islanders failed to capitalize on their many chances to score. They also lament having so many players providing half the production they had in previous seasons and how its throws off the entire system. In the second half, they talk about how Barry Trotz's decisions have affected his team's performance and what the team's makeup has lost in certain roster moves that were not improved or replaced. Finally they talk a little about the upcoming NHL All Star Game featuring Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech (doing... something during the skills competition. We just don't know what).

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