Weird Islanders: The Podcast! - Justin Papineau (with guest Carey Haber)

8 months ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

“Dude, you are the future of this team.” - a very young Carey Haber to Justin Papineau, circa 2004 First ever Weird Islanders guest Carey Haber is back to chat with Mike and Dan about Justin Papineau, the vaunted return in the trade of Chris Osgood that turned out to not be.
With a young Rick DiPietro (allegedly) ready for starting duty, the Islanders chose to trade Osgood to St. Louis for one of the Blues’ most tantalizing prospects. Papineau was capable of flashing skill but it was often either in the exhibition games or on very rare occasion during the regular season. After two up-and-down seasons between Long Island and Bridgeport, a major injury took him out for months. Following the 2005 lockout, he made his way to Europe for a long tour. But somehow, he became somewhat of a symbol of a very weird transitional period in Islanders history.
Papineau was one of many Islanders prospects that were sold as the future of the franchise and ended up fizzling out. If you think the current Islanders prospect pool is the worst in the NHL, let us take you back to the early 2000’s, a truly dire time. When Janne Niinimaa is your leading scorer in a playoff series, you got problems.
Thanks again to Carey for coming on. It’s always a pleasure talking with him, and we’ve been waiting a long time for this and to get to Papineau. Between this and our Osgood episode, it feels like that weird circuit is now closed.
Don’t forget about our live event at the brand new Offside Tavern in NYC on March 30th at 4 pm. Bring your Weird Islanders jerseys, shirts and swag because we want to hear your stories for a live podcast to be released soon after.

WEIRD BONUS MATERIAL!

The Blues took Papineau after he didn’t sign with LA, who drafted him in 1998. In a preseason game in Worcester, Papineau scored five times against the (yes) Boston Bruins.
Papineau came over from St. Louis for Chris Osgood on the same day that Brad Isbister was traded to Edmonton for Janne Niinimaa. Talk about a tidal wave of change!
In his first game as a Bridgeport Sound Tiger, Papineau scored twice including becoming the first player in team history to score on a penalty shot.
Papineau’s first call up after the trade came at a crucial time for the Islanders, who were in a heated playoff race.
His first full season started with a bang, with three goals in three preseason games. The regular season was a different story, though.
A two-goal game against the Oilers in January of 2004 made Steve Stirling look like a genius.



He also scored in the Islanders’ first game against Peter Laviolette, which was a win
Papineau signed a new deal with the Islanders in July of 2004 but never played for the big club again. Between the 04-05 lockout and a severe shoulder injury that cost him five months in 05-06, that was it for him with the Islanders.
He definitely had a knack around the net. Here’s a goal in an eventual blowout loss to the Rangers.


One more: his final goal as an Islander was a beauty against Tampa Bay

After a season in Switzerland for Basel, Papineau made his home in Germany for the next three seasons, playing for Grizzlys Wolfsburg and the Adler Mannheim Eagles.

What makes a “Weird Islander?”
We’re always open to suggestions about other Weird Islanders to discuss. Remember the criteria. Candidates must fulfill one of the two of the following:

Played one (1) season or less for the Islanders or very short stints over multiple seasons.
Be a veteran NHLer who is not generally associated with his time on Islanders.


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