Islanders 24/7

Isles pick up Bruins prospect Nate Thompson on Waivers

2008-10-08T20:51:00.005-04:00

Thompson played under Scott Gordon for parts of the last 4 seasons with the Providence Bruins. Is this move a sign that Sillinger is nowhere near being ready? From what I have heard Thompson can not be sent down to Bridgeport. So who will go down now? He is a responsible two way center, the only guy I see being expendable at center is Josh Bailey. You couldn't possibly tell him that he has made the team and then send him down 2 days later. Maybe one of the 8 d goes down? We will see....A lot of questions still heading into the season. It's anybody's guess what the lineup will look like.

23 Man Roster announced...Bailey Makes it!!! Comeau the Odd man out???

2008-10-07T17:26:00.003-04:00

The Islanders announced their 23 man roster a little while ago and Josh Bailey has made the team. I'm guessing it will just be the 9 game tryout because there really isn't much room for him once Silli comes back. Unless he does something great of course.

These were the lines in practice today before the cuts were made...

Jon Sim - Doug Weight - Bill Guerin

Jeff Tambellini - Frans Nielsen - Trent Hunter

Mike Comrie - Richard Park - Andy Hilbert

Sean Bergenheim - Josh Bailey - Kyle Okposo

Blake Comeau

Brendan Witt - Radek Martinek

Jack Hillen - Mark Streit

Freddy Meyer - Bruno Gervais

Thomas Pock - Brett Skinner

Rick DiPietro - Joey MacDonald

Comeau the odd man out? I guess he didn't make too good of an impression on Gordon. He never really has had great numbers, but he was a Nolan favorite so we all assumed that he had a guaranteed spot. This is not definite, it's just what was used today. We will see on Friday for sure. I would do a lot of tinkering with those lines as they are. Don't want our most talented offensive player in Comrie playing with Hilbert and Park. Seems like we would be wasting his talent. And if Bailey can't cut it yet (he didn't look great in either preseason game from what I hear) that will effect Okposo as well. We'll see..

Sillinger NOT Ready For Camp

2008-09-13T01:27:00.002-04:00

Training camp starts next friday and Newsday is reporting that Silli won't be ready. He missed the last 30 games of last season because of a hip injury and eventually had to have surgery. Hopefully he will be ready for the opener because he is being counted on to be a bit part of the team. Does this open up room for Josh Bailey though? Could be interesting

Tickets on Sale Today!!!

2008-09-13T01:19:00.002-04:00

You can get tickets at the Coliseum or The Islanders Team Store in the Broadway Mall. I don't think anybody knows what to expect out of the team this year, but they should definitely be fun to watch. Can't wait for opening night!!!

I'M BACK!!! And the Islanders hire.....Scott Gordon

2008-08-12T21:41:00.003-04:00

I'm back and will be adding updates much more frequently as things happen. And also to give my opinions on some of the signings and other things that I have missed.

The Islanders have hired Scott Gordon as the new Head Coach. He had been coach of the Providence Bruins of the AHL for the past five seasons. His record was 221-141-20-27 as their head coach. More to come tomorrow....

BE BACK SOON!!!

2008-07-23T15:21:00.001-04:00

I haven't been around to update the blog. I'll be back to keeping it up in the next day or 2. There are a lot of stories and opinions to be written.

Ted Nolan FIRED!!!!

2008-07-14T13:53:00.003-04:00

According to Newsday, Ted Nolan and Garth Snow met at the Nassau Coliseum this morning and decided to part ways. Nolan was 75-68-21 in 2 seasons with the Islanders.

As much of a suprise as this is, the signs were certainly there. Ted is a coach who relies very much on veterans and that is just not the direction this team wants to be heading. As the season fell apart last year with all of those injuries, you could see a rift developing between Nolan and Snow/Wang. After every loss Nolan would comment on the lack of "quality players" that he was given to work with. And when he sat Dipietro for the home and home series against the Rangers Garth Snow took a little jab at him on "Mike and the Mad dog". There was also an issue about his contract situation, and he made comments against Garth's decision to let Wade Dubielewicz go.

We had a lot of young kids on the team at the end of last season, guys who are supposed to be the future of this franchise and Nolan seemed very reluctant to play them. Blake Comeau was the only one who seemed to ever gain his trust out on the ice. The power play was miserable for the last month and a half, but Ted just kept sticking with the veterans even though they weren't getting the job done. Vasicek was out there all season long as the 2nd unit center and he had a whopping ZERO power play goals on the season!! Ted finally gave in at the end of a blowout game and he put in Comeau and Okposo. Comeau scored in about 15 seconds. And this was after we seemed be on a streak of 1 for 100 on the powerplay with the veterans that were out there. But even after that, Ted would use mostly the veterans on the team for most of the power plays.

One of the main issues between Garth and Ted seemed to be the playing time of Jeff Tambellini. I never really understood what went on there. During Ted's first training camp with the Islanders he was ranting and raving about Tambellini's work ethic. He seemed to love his game. Tambellini even made the team out of training camp unexpectedly. But, something seemed to happen after that. He played in the first game of the season, was a healthy scratch for Andy Hilbert in the second game and we never saw much of Jeff in the following two seasons after that. Hilbert became a Nolan favorite(to the chagrin of many Islanders fans) but there never seemed to be another good word spoken about Tambellini. Even when the young kids played well towards the end of last season it seemed to me that Ted was almost going out of his way to not credit him. He would always just say that Jeff needed to get into the corners more and work harder on his physical game. In my opinion, Tambellini needs to do the opposite of that. He is not the type of player that should be working for pucks in the corners constantly. He should be finding an open spot so Andy Hilbert can go in the corner and get the puck to Jeff to use his great shot. But at the same time, Tambellini hasn't impressed me much at all in his time in the NHL. He needs to be stronger on the puck and I could see why Nolan could be reluctant to play him.

In the end, I loved Ted Nolan as a coach and he seemed to be the only bright spot for the Islanders according to fans of oppsosing teams. But, we are in a rebuild here and he doesn't seem to be the right guy for the job. I'm sure that he could be, but it seems that he just doesn't want to. And who cares what other fans think, I like being the underdog.

Bergenheim Fires His Agents

2008-07-13T19:02:00.003-04:00

According to Greg Logan's Blog, Sean Bergenheim has fired his agents Mark Gander and Todd Diamond. We are not yet sure who his new agent is, but hopefully this is the beginning of a new relationship between the Islanders and Bergenheim. Ever since he was drafted it has seemed to be a problem to get him on board. He refused to come to North America his rookie season if he wasn't offered an NHL role. He said that he would not report to Bridgeport. Then there was the holdout 2 seasons ago. And now this year he has filed for arbitration after a season that I am sure 99% of people believe that he can improve on.

Mark Gandler is known for playing hardball and seems to be constantly handing out headaches to the GM's of his clients. Hopefully now that he along with his partner Todd Diamond are gone things will go much more smoothly between Bergie and the Isles regarding this current and future contracts.

It's Telling...

2008-07-09T02:42:00.004-04:00

In the wake of the Witt signing, I've got to say it's kinda telling....

Ask any Rangers fan and they will tell you that NOBODY wants to come here to play for the Islanders. But, the guys that do come here all seem to love it. The organization must really treat the players right. Witt, Martinek, Hunter, Comrie, and Park all have signed extensions since last year and all of them for less than what they probably could have gotten on the open market. I don't see that kind of stuff going on with the Rags. Every player they sign to an extension seems to settle for nothing less than top dollar. Even if it means a teammate having to be traded because of their teams cap trouble they all seem to go for every last cent that they can get.

BRENDAN WITT SIGNS TWO YEAR EXTENSION!!!!!!!

2008-07-09T02:07:00.008-04:00

Have to LOVE this signing as an Islanders fan. It's a two-year extension worth 3 million per year. Witt has to be one of the most underrated defenseman in the league. He is a warrior back there and he is also a great leader in the room. He is DEFINITELY the type of player we should want our young players learning from.

When we first signed him, I figured he was just a tough player who would be a 2nd pair guy for us. But, he is a lot more than that. He obviously doesn't bring much offense, but he is very solid defensively. He is great at making the big hit at the right time and what he lacks in speed he makes up with his great positioning. I also expected that he was the type of defenseman that takes a lot of bad penalties, which hasn't been true at all. He takes on the other teams top players every night and always does a solid job. Well, I'm just babbling and as you can see I can't say enough good things about Brendan Witt. Here is what Garth Snow had to say on the Islanders Website...

"Over the last two seasons, Brendan has been a warrior for us on the ice and a great leader off the ice," said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow. "We're thrilled to keep him in an Islanders uniform."

And you have to love the fact that he WANTS to be an Islander and loves Long Island. "My family and I are excited to stay on Long Island for the next three years. We love the community and our fans, and I couldn't be happier. I want to thank the Islanders organization and the fans for making Long Island our home."

Isles sign Defenseman Joe Callahan

2008-07-09T01:55:00.003-04:00

This Islanders added more defensive depth to Bridgeport by signing AHL veteran Joe Callahan to a two-way, one-year deal. Callahan seems like a stay-at-home type defenseman with good size at 6'3 221 lbs.

From the Islanders Website:

The New York Islanders have signed defenseman Joe Callahan to a one-year, two-way contract. Last season, Callahan was one of the top defensemen for the Portland Pirates finishing the regular season with a goal and 23 assists in 65 games. In the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Pirates made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and Callahan led the team defense in scoring with a goal and 11 assists for 12 points in 18 games.

The Brockton, MA native has played in a total of 298 career AHL games and registered seven goals and 52 assists for 59 points to go along with 290 penalty minutes. Since 2003-04, Callahan has spent parts of four seasons with the Springfield Falcons, Utah Grizzlies and San Antonio Rampage.

Callahan also played three seasons for Yale University compiling 11 goals and 33 assists for a total of 44 points. In his junior season, Callahan led all Yale defensemen in scoring with 20 points and received an honorable mention in the All-ECAC Selections.

Callahan was originally drafted by Phoenix in the third round (70th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Bergie Files for Arbitration

2008-07-09T00:43:00.005-04:00

Getting Sean Bergenheim under contract never seems to come easy. He has once again filed for arbitration. According to his agent, Todd Diamond, Sean wants to remain in the NHL and will accept whatever he is awarded. Asked if Bergenheim would consider a Russian offer, Diamond said: "No. He wants to come back and play here. He wants to continue to play in the NHL."

His agent also said that he expects the Islanders to go for a two year deal through the arbitrator. "If he has a breakout year next season," Diamond said, "a two-year deal already has him locked in off stats that have been established rather than working off statistics that could be greater than what he did last season." He also said that he doesn't expect there to be any bad blood between the Islanders and Bergenheim as the Islanders are expected to hire counsel for the process.

"I don't see arbitration as anything but a tool that is available to both the club and the player," Gandler said. "What matters to me and the player is the way the team acts during arbitration. If the team hires a counsel and that counsel is rude, obnoxious, terrible, disgusting and just the worst you possibly can imagine, it does not bother me whatsoever.

"What does bother me is if the GM takes the stand and bashes the player. That is irreparable. The GM does not need to take the stand or do anything. You signed the guy; you put him on the ice; you gave him a qualifying offer. That's your testimony."

Hopefully we can get him locked up for 2 years at a decent price now and then agree to a long-term contract before he reaches UFA status. He is they type of player that every team would love to have. He is a fearless player and he goes all out every time he is on the ice. At times he seems to lose position as he follows the puck too much, but his positioning will get better with more experience. He also seemed to gain more confidence offensively as last season went on and he has potential to be a 20-25 goal 50-60 point player. I think that all Islander fans hope that Sean is a member of this organization for a long time.

Here is an example of that offensive potential we all saw in him during his rookie season:

Isles Add Depth with 6 players

2008-07-09T00:20:00.002-04:00

Six players, including two AHL All-Stars gave agreed to contracts with the Islanders. It never hurts to have some extra insurance in Bridgeport. Three forwards, (one of them an enforcer type player) two defenseman, and a goalie. I'm not familiar with any of these player, but here is what the Islanders Website has to say about them....

The New York Islanders have agreed to terms with six players to add depth throughout the organization. Center Mike Iggulden and defenseman Brett Skinner, both AHL All-Stars last season, have been added along with forwards Kurtis McLean and Mitch Fritz, defenseman Chris Lee and goaltender Peter Mannino. All six players have been signed to one-year, two-way contracts.

Mike Iggulden

Iggulden has been a member of the San Jose Sharks organization for the past three seasons and had a career year during the 2007-08 season with the Worcester Sharks, scoring 29 goals and 37 assists for 66 points. The Cornell graduate totaled 81 goals and 90 assists for 171 points during his three seasons of playing with the San Jose Sharks AHL affiliate. Iggulden was recalled by San Jose for his first career NHL game last season on February 18th against the Islanders.

Brett Skinner

Skinner spent last season with the Providence Bruins and also posted career-best numbers in 2007-08 with the Bruins, scoring seven goals and 40 assists for 47 points. The 25 year-old has played three seasons in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, Portland Pirates and Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights totaling 17 goals and 73 assists for 90 points. Prior to his AHL career, Skinner played three seasons with the University of Denver, winning two National Championships in 2004 and 2005.

Kurtis McLean

McLean was one of the most consistent members of the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season. A graduate of Norwich University, McLean compiled career-high numbers while centering one of the Penguins' top lines last season with 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points in 76 games. The 27 year-old Kirkland, ON native also had 19 points during the Penguins’ playoff run. McLean has spent his entire professional career within the Pittsburgh Penguins’ organization. In the past three seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, McLean has scored 42 goals and 59 assists for 101 points in 163 contests. In 57 games with the Wheeling Nailers of ECHL, McLean totaled 42 goals and 37 assists for 79 points.

Mitch Fritz

Fritz has a total of 234 AHL games of experience over the course of eight AHL seasons, totaling 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points while compiling 703 penalty minutes. Fritz has played for the Lowell Lock Monsters, Hamilton Bulldogs, St. John’s Flames, Milwaukee Admirals, Worcester Sharks, Springfield Falcons and Hartford Wolf Pack during his AHL career. The 27 year-old played with Hartford last season but played in only 11 games due to injury. Fritz is the winner of the AHL’s 2006 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award for the player who gives the most to the community.

Chris Lee

Lee spent the 2007-08 season with the Iowa Stars of the AHL and has seen action with four different teams over the course of his career. Last season, Lee scored seven goals and 28 assists for 35 points in 68 games with Iowa. In 104 career AHL games, Lee has recorded 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points. Since 2004-05, Lee has spent parts of seasons with the Albany River Rats, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, respectively.

Peter Mannino

Mannino graduated from the University of Denver this spring after playing for the Pioneers for four seasons. Last season, Mannino a native from Farmington Hills, Michigan, played in 40 of the team’s 41 contests and had a record of 25-14-1 with a 2.27 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. The 24 year-old played in 103 contests over his career at Denver, ranking first in school history in shutouts with 15, second in save percentage with .917, and third in goals against average at 2.35 and wins with 63. As a freshman, Mannino led Denver to a National Championship in 2005.

Miro and Tank Sign with the Pens

2008-07-04T20:37:00.007-04:00

They Penguins have signed both Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko. I wasn't the biggest fan of Fedotenko last season. He started out the season strong, but really slowed down as it went along. I think we are going to miss Miro though. He became a better hockey player while here. His defense seemed to get better every season. His scoring seemed to take a hit because of this though and that is why he was here.

Miro seems to have a bad reputation around the league as somewhat of a slacker. I never saw that in his game at all. He is a very smooth skater and I think that makes it look like he isn't really trying, but in reality he is just one of those guys who makes everything look easy. He played through injury the last 2 seasons without complaining once. Even playing the last 2 months of the 2005-06 season with a broken foot. He didn't take any time off because we were in the thick of a playoff run, we didn't even hear about it until it was 2 months into the offseason.

I also think he is the type of player who should just be told to focus on offense. I never thought the Islanders used him in the way that would make him most effective. He was put in a role to play a good two-way game and that is what he did, but I think he should just be out there to score. And this is why in a more offensive system like Pittsburgh's I predict that he will once again put in 30 goals. He could even come close to 40.

Fedetenko had 16 goals, 33 points in 67 games last season. He signed a one-year deal worth 2.5 million.

Satan had 16 goals, 41 points in 80 games. He also signed a one-year deal, his being worth 3.5 million.

Isles Sign Doug Weight

2008-07-04T20:32:00.003-04:00

The Islanders have signed have signed of the greatest American hockey players of all time to a one year contract worth 1.75 million(and up to 4.3 million with incentives). Unfortunately he is now 37 years old and coming off what was by far the worst statistical season of his career. Weight had 10 goals and 25 points in 63 games last season splitting time between the St. Louis Blues and the Anaheim Ducks. He was once one of the greatest playmakers in the league, but I am afraid he has lost a step or two.

On a positive note, I believe he was brought in more for his veteran leadership then his on-ice performance. We will have a very young team and those guys can learn a lot by playing with guys such as Weight, Guerin, Sillinger and Witt. Weight is also good friends with Captain Bill Guerin and they have played together a lot on Edmonton and St. Louis. Guerin scored 36 goals 2 years ago while paired with Weight. Hopefully together they can come back from the sub-par seasons that they had last year. I don't think this is a terrible signing, but I would much rather have somebody younger and with more of an upside to play center.

Here are some of his career achievements:

Awards

1990–91: First All-Star Team (CCHA)
1990–91: West Second All-American Team (NCAA)
1995–96: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
1995–96: World Cup of Hockey Championship (Team USA)
1997–98: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
2001–02: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
2001–02: Silver Medal (XIX Winter Olympic Games)
2003–04: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
2005–06: Stanley Cup Championship (Carolina Hurricanes)

From the Islanders Website:

The New York Islanders have agreed to a one-year contract with four-time NHL All-Star center Doug Weight. A Stanley Cup champion with Carolina in 2005-06 and Olympic Silver Medalist with the United States in 2002, Weight brings a total of 1,131 NHL games to the Islanders along with 265 career goals and 704 assists for 969 points in 16 NHL seasons.

"Bringing Doug aboard was a priority for us. He not only brings a wealth of NHL games and experience with him, but he’s the type of player we want our younger players to learn from,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.

Last season, Weight split his time between St. Louis and Anaheim and scored a total of ten goals with 15 assists for 25 points in 67 games. The 37-year old is among the NHL’s all-time active leaders in assists and points, ranking eighth with 704 assists and twelfth with 969 points. Weight is also among the all-time United States-born leaders, ranking fifth in assists and eighth in points.

Weight has played on the United States Olympic Team twice, in 1998 and 2002, and also represented the United States in the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and 2004.

A native of Warren, Michigan, Weight played collegiate hockey for two years with Lake Superior State University from 1989 to 1991. After the 1990-91 season, Weight was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team and the NCAA’s West Second All-American Team.

Islanders Director of Pro Scouting Ken Morrow's take on the signing:

Islanders Sign Goaltender Yann Danis

2008-07-04T03:38:00.003-04:00

It is a one year, two way contract. It looks like this is a signing for Bridgeport. It will also give Joey MacDonald some competition in camp which is never a bad thing.

Maybe they signed him JUST FOR THIS SAVE....WOW!!

From the Isles Site:

The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Yann Danis to a one-year, two-way contract. A former NCAA All-American with Brown University, Danis has a record of 81-67-18 in 176 career AHL games with a 2.78 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Following a standout four-year career at Brown University, Danis signed as an undrafted free agent with Montreal in March of 2004. In his time with the Canadiens’ organization, Danis played in six games with Montreal and had a record of 3-2-0 with a 2.69 goals against average and a save percentage of .908. Danis, a native of Québec, Canada spent the majority of the last five seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

During his time at Brown, Danis played in 100 games and finished with a record of 43- 43-12. He also had 13 shutouts to go along with a goals against average of 2.19 and a save percentage of .930. Danis won several colligate honors, including being named as an NCAA All-American in 2003-04 and received All-Conference honors in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04.

Mark Streit on his way to the Island!!!

2008-07-04T02:33:00.006-04:00

The Islanders signed former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mark Streit to a 5 year 20.5 million dollar contract. Streit is the powerplay quarterback we desperately needed. The 30 year old was third in scoring among all defenseman last season scoring 13 goals with 49 assists in 82 games. 34 of those points (7g,27a) came with the man advantage.

I really like this signing. Although he isn't the greatest defensively, he should provide a lot of offense on the back end. He has good vision, speed, and a hard shot. I think he will make a very affective tandem if paired with a stay at home dman such as Witt or Sutton. He should also greatly improve our powerplay which was a weak spot last season ranking 29th in the league.

The Islanders Official Press Release:

The New York Islanders have signed defenseman Mark Streit to a five-year contract. Last year with Montreal, Streit played in 81 games and scored 13 goals with 49 assists for 62 points. A specialist on the power play, Streit scored seven goals with 27 assists for 34 points on the man advantage.

"Mark was someone we targeted from the beginning and we're thrilled he's an Islander," said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow. "Mark provides us with the stability on the blueline that we were looking for."

Said Streit, who agreed to the contract at 2:00 AM in Switzerland on Tuesday: "It's late in Europe right now, but I'm really happy to be an Islander. The whole day, the Islanders showed interest in me and this is an opportunity I couldn't pass up."

A native of Englisberg, Switzerland, Streit is a veteran of 205 NHL games and has scored 25 goals and 84 assists for 109 points. On the power play over the course of three NHL seasons, Streit has scored a total of 11 power goals with 45 assists for 56 points.

Last season, Streit finished tied for 11th in the NHL in power play scoring and finished tied for second among defensemen.

Streit also has eight years of experience in the Swiss league where he scored a total of 57 goals and 139 assists for 196 points in 363 games.

The 30-year old Streit was originally drafted by Montreal in the ninth round (262nd overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Here are some highlights of Streit from last season:

What am I waiting for?

2008-07-01T01:28:00.000-04:00

I really don't know! I have not a clue what I expect the Islanders to do, if anything during this free agency period. Tomorrow is a very exciting day for any hockey fan. And it will be a long time before there is another. Many hot summer days with nothing going on in the NHL world. But, will the Islanders give their fans anything to get excited about? I really don't expect much, but something would be nice.

As I look at the Islanders roster today, keeping in mind that we are going for youth movement I believe this team can be very competitive by just adding 2 or 3 players. A power play QB on defense, a top line center, and a scoring winger would be ideal. We need to replace what we lost or just plain didn't have last season(a case can be made for all 3). I know that Garth Snow has already said that we won't make much of a "splash" in free agency, but filling these holes wouldn't take much more than a slight overpayment to some quality players(I'm not expecting Hossa and Campbell).

A perfect start to the day tomorrow would be if I refresh the free agent ticker and I see that we signed Ron Hainsey to a long term contract. He is a solid defenseman with some offensive prowess who is entering the prime of his career. He is only 27 years old and has improved his play every season. At 6'3 211 lbs, he has good size and he can eat a lot of minutes for us.

On the wing, I would like to get Michael Ryder. He was in the doghouse for Montreal most of last season, but he has shown that he can put up solid numbers. His first 3 seasons in the NHL he had 25 goals and 2 30 goals seasons. He seems to be exactly what we expected out of Trent Hunter offensively after both of them were competing for the Calder their rookie season. Because of his situation in Montreal last season, he probably won't be getting too much money either.

Kristian Huselius is another option. Greg Logan of Newsday reported this weekend that the Islanders tried to get him at the trade deadline but didn't have enough time to sign him to a contract. He is another guy who puts up solid numbers. I definitely expect Garth Snow to throw an offer at him. Either of these guys I believe will put in 30+ much needed goals for the Islanders.

As for the center position, there really isn't much out there in the UFA market. Brendan Morrison is one guy I have heard. I think a change of scenery could do him good and he could put up 20-25 goals again. I'm not really sure if I see him fitting in here though. He is getting up there in age and goes against our youth movement. I have also seen rumors of Doug Weight coming to the Island. While I think he would be great in the room for all of the young players, he seems to be at the very end of a great career. He is a playmaker who only had 15 assists last season. I just don't think the legs are there for him anymore.

So, basically I have no idea what to do about the center position. There is really not much out there, especially if we are looking for a younger player. I actually expect the Islanders to give Josh Bailey a good chance to make the team this year if he is at all ready. I think they picked him because he was the best player to compliment Kyle Okposo, so why not have them learn the NHL game together on the Island?

Well I guess we shall soon see what the Islanders will be doing, if anything in the free agent market. Logic says we will have to at least go for 2 guys just to reach the cap floor(which is more than the max was the first year out of the strike!) But, will we be able to lure anybody to the Island? The coliseum and a rebuild will keep us from the top guys out there, but there are a lot of quality players available and hopefully we will end up with some. There is so much excitement leading up to a day like tomorrow, hopefully us Islander fans will feel at least somewhat fulfilled sometime in this next week.