A Day in Court

During the summer months of the hockey season, there are a few days that keep us going throughout the summer; the draft, beginning of free agency, and for some teams arbitation hearings. Tomorrow Garth Snow will go to court against Trent Hunter and his agent to determine his contractual value for the upcoming season.

We all remember our introduction to Trent Hunter. It was our first year back in the playoffs and we were short a forward against Toronto. When it was announced that Trent Hunter was called up and was to play in his 1st NHL game in the playoffs, many of us wondered who this kid ever was. In his first game during that series, Hunter scored a goal and played with a fire that we wished all our players would play with.

This summer has been all about building a team to contend for Lord Stanley's Cup. With Ted Nolan coaching our squad, Snow has worked hand in hand with Nolan, to build a team correctly that will not only make it to the finals one year then fall apart but hopefully be in the running year after year.

Snow and Nolan have determined that they want players that skate, hit, sacrifice their bodies for the betterment of the team, never give up and contribute timely scoring (aka Ted Nolan type players). Trent Hunter is the embodiment of this type of player. While his skating is not as fast as many would hope, Hunter brings everything else you can want from a hockey player on a nightly basis.

There have been rumors that Hunter may have reached a multiyear deal and will bypass the arbitation hearing, but I believe they will go to the hearing, and use the 1 year contract handed down by the arbitator as a foundation to the multiyear they will work out at a later time.

All I have read/heard over the summer is that going into this arbitation hearing there have been no bad feelings from either party about going to arbitation to hammer out a contract for Hunter. If you look to our hated rival the Rangers, you can see how nasty some of these hearings can get. Sean Avery and Henrik Lundqvist saved the Rangers season, where Lunqvist personally posted a 17-6-6 record after the acquisition of Avery. One would think that after helping his team to such a strong finish, that the GM who traded for Avery would have nothing bad to say about this player. But GM Glen Sather stated in his arbitation brief that Avery was, 'a reasonably effective player as well as a detriment to the team.' With the Rangers dangerously close to already going over the cap with both Avery and Marcel Hossa, it comes to no surpise why Sather played the case this way. He is hoping to save some money on Avery.

The fact that both the Hunter camp and Snow have only had positive statements regarding the contract situation as well as toward each other only can lead us to one conclusion: Trent Hunter will be back in an Islander uniform next year and hopefully many more years to follow. If Hunter keeps improving his game, which I believe he has done over his few seasons in the NHL, I would more then happily let Hunter captain this team once Guerin decides to hang up his skates.

Isles Draft - Conclusion

Jeff and I have conferred and have come to the following conclusion. We believe the struggles of the Isles organization in the late 90's really is due to the poor drafting of the early 90's. I mean the Isles could have ended up with Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. Instead we got Dean Chynoweth and Scott Lachance. There was no secret that Sakic and Forsberg were to be great players at the time of their draft years. The Isles simply seemed to be starved for defensive Dmen so they went with Chynoweth and Lachance. Defensive Dmen can usually be had in later rounds, so this seems to be a crucial blunder by the early 90's management. Moreover, as per Jeff's post, defensive Dmen have been commonly found in recent Isles drafting history in the likes of Martinek and Chara, etc. So instead of the Avs raising the cup multiple times, think of what could have been on Long Island. There would have been no need to ridicule the judgement of Milbury in the early 2000's because the Isles may have been a contender and would have never been given the chance to draft Luongo, Heatley, or Spezza in the first place.

Isles Draft History - The Gems

With so many drafting blunders in the early stages of draft/trading during the 90's, it is easy to overlook the players which we drafted that have become solid contributors to the NHL--the steals of the 90's.

1989 - In round 10 with the 191st pick, defensemen Vladimir Malakhov was taken. This Dman played 3 seasons with the Islanders before being shipped to Montreal in the horrific Pierre Turgeon deal. For a defensive Dman, Vladdy put up solid numbers with 712 GP, 86 G, 260 A, and 697 PIM.

1993 - The 5th round brought the Islanders a goalie by the name of Tommy Salo. He played parts of 5 seasons for the Isles before being shipped off to Edmonton (we really love dealing with them). In return for Salo we got Mats Lindgren and an 8th round pick which turned into maybe our best draft gem to date. (See 1999 below)

1994 - Dick Tarnstrom, selected in the 11th round with the 272nd pick, played a season within the Isles organization in 2001-02 before leaving for the Penguins in 2002. He seemed to only get better once he made his way over to the States after 6 years of plaing in Europe.

1999 - If not for being so injury prone, Radek Martinek would probably be the Isles best current Dman. Considering we found him in the 8th round with the 228th pick, Radek was really a diamond in the rough. 5 years into his NHL career, while Radek has developed into a very reliable Dman, he seems to suffer one serious injury per season. Lets hope he is finally healthy for this upcoming season so we can see his best and make this 8th round selection that much more of a reward for letting Salo go.

2000 - In this draft we selected two defensemen with our selections in the 7th and 9th rounds and received Ryan Caldwell and Tomi Pettinen. While both have not made large impacts at the NHL level, the chances of having found two 6/7 serviceable Dmen at such a late stage of the draft exemplifies the Isles' solid scouting team. Once a competitive team has been built, picks like these often push an organization to an elite level. That isn't to say that we need all the #6/7 Dmen in the world, but the depth factor they could provide has shown to be extremely important to many successful teams in years past.

2003 - In the 6th round, we found one of our young Dmen which we are banking a lot on this upcoming season. This defenseman taken with the 182nd pick is Bruno Gervais with whom we have seen only improvements in his play since he began playing for Sound Tigers in 2004.

2004 - It was the 7th round and 227th pick where we found our other young defensive talent in Chris Campoli. As with Bruno, Campoli's play has seemed to improve over his short period of time within the organization. While many believe his play slipped last year, let's still remember it was only his 2nd year in the NHL and he did gain valuable experience this year. I would say this year is a real determinant into which Campoli we will see for his career, the stellar rookie season or the stumbling sophomore. I also believe that starting the season in Bridgeport last year really affected his play from a mental standpoint after having such a solid rookie campaign. But Campoli must learn that nothing at the NHL level is given and he must continue to work harder in order to earn a spot with the Isles this season.

2006 - While it is still too early to really determine if any of the later picks become gems or not, the early return is that G Stefan Ridderwall looks to be a solid addition to the goaltending corps of Ricky and Dubie.

Let's not also forget come current Isles selected late in the draft by other clubs around the league. These players include Trent Hunter (6th round, #150 - 1998), Miro Satan (5th Round, #111 - 1993). Also the current Isles squad seems to feature many players that went undrafted in the NHL Draft. Marc-Andre Bergeron, Wade Dubielewicz, Ruslan Deadotenko, Jon Sim, and Freddy Meyer fall under this category.

Isles Draft History - Self Torture

About a week ago I promised a tortuous look at some recent Isles draft history if things continued to remain slow on player movement in the NHL. Well the Isles have still done nothing since signing Guerin & Comrie, so here we go...

Now I know it isn't exactly fair to look back and see who a team could have drafted amd compare him to who a team actually drafted. These drafting blunders are easy to spot in retrospect, but many times how a player develops depends on intangibles unknown on draft day. Either way it seems the Isles have always been on the sour end of these drafting blunders. Over the past 20 years, the Isles draft history gives Isles fans nightmares, especially since the Isles had drafted and developed superstars and hall of famers in the 1970's and early 1980's.

Just for fun, and a slight hint of masochism, I will take a look at the Isles draft history beginning 20 years ago in 1987 for the subsequent 15 years.

1987-1989: The Era of the "Ch's"

In 1987 the Isles drafted Dean Chynoweth with the 13th overall pick. Hardly a great choice, as Chynoweth turned out to be a no name, while 2 picks later Quebec drafted Joe Sakic. Other notables who were later taken were Mathieu Schneider and Theo Fleury.

In 1988 the Isles drafted Kevin Cheveldayoff with the 16th overall selection. Yep I know you never heard of him either. Players taken after Kevin were defenseman Rob Blake, and 2 future 1,000 point scorers in Mark Recchi and Alex Mogilny.

In 1989 the Isles drafted the 3rd consecutive "Ch" - Dave Chyzowski. Dave was taken with the 2nd overall pick. Notable players taken later that day were perennial Norris winner Niklas Lidstrom, Russian superstars Sergei Federov and Pavel Bure, and current Isles captain Bill Guerin.

1990-1991: The Infamous Scotts

In 1990 the Isles drafted Scott Scissions with the 6th overall pick, one pick after the Penguins selected Jaromir Jagr. Players taken after Scissions include Derian Hatcher, Keith Tkachuck, Doug Weight, Sergei Zubov, Petr Bondra. And, oh, the best goalie in NHL history - Martin Brodeur.

In 1990 the Isles drafted Scott Lachance. That came one pick after Scott Niedermayer was selected. The Isles passed up on both Peter Forsberg and Alex Kovalev when they chose Lachance.

1992-1993: Good Choices - Horrible Trades

In 1992 the Isles chose hard hitter Darius Kasparaitis. This happened to be a great pick at the time within the given draft pool. However, Kaspar was shipped to the Penguins in a horrible trade for Bryan Smolinki a few years later.

In 1993 the Isles chose Todd Bertuzzi. Again, he was the best player available at that time. Later that draft, the Isles drafted Bryan McCabe. However, both players were shipped together to the Canucks for Trevor Linden, who played about a year with the Isles.

1994: Bad Luck

In 1994 the Isles drafted Brett Lindros. Lindros might have developed into a better player than his older brother Eric. However, concussions shortened Brett's career to 50 games and 7 points.

1995-1997: Great Picks (at that time)

In 1995 the Isles took Wade Redden who was later traded to Ottawa for Bryan Berard. Berard won the Calder Trophy as a member of the Isles but was later shipped to Toronto. One notable player taken later that year was Calgary all-star Jarome Iginla.

In 1996 the Isles took J.P. Dumont. In a weak draft pool he was the best choice at that time. However, J.P. never played for the Isles and was later shipped to Chicago for no-name Dimitri Nabakov.

In 1997 the Isles took Roberto Luongo and Eric Brewer with the 4th and 5th overall picks. These were fine picks by the Isles. However the Isles gave up on both players before they could develop into the all-stars they are today. One notable later selection was top scorer Marian Hossa.

1998: A Stanley Cup Clincher

In 1998 the Isles took Michael Rupp. The name might sound familiar. Rupp never played for the Isles, but he did score the game winning goal in game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup finals for the Devils. Players the Isles passed up on when they selected Rupp include Simon Gagne, Scott Gomez, and Brad Richards.

1999: More Bad Luck

In 1999 the Isles took Tim Connolly. This was a fine selection at the time. However concussion problems had tremendously slowed the development of Connolly. He had some good seasons with the Isles and was later sent to Buffalo with Taylor Pyatt for Michael Peca

2000-2001: The Disaster Years - the years that could have led to a dynasty on Long Island, but instead led to another decade of frustration.

In 2000 the Isles selected Rick DiPietro. Rick is the Isles' current best player, but he was hardly the best player available in 2000. Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik were both selected consecutively after the Isles selected DP with the 1st overall pick. Worse, the Isles felt the need to part ways with one of the best goalies of this generation in Roberto Luongo. The Isles could have had both Heatley and Luongo. Instead they just have DiPietro.

In 2001 the Isles traded away the 2nd overall pick (Jason Spezza) for the rights to Alexei Yashin. This deal needs no further comentary. So while Heatley and Spezza dominate together for the Senators and while Luongo carries the Canucks on his back, all the Isles have to show is DP's 15 year deal. DP is a great goalie, but he is not in Luongo's league. Think about that: Luongo + Heatley + Spezza. Or DiPietro. Sorry can't type anymore, I just puked on my keyboard.

Atlantic Division Predictions

Based on the rosters that each team has at this point of the summer, we believe this will be the the final standings for the upcoming season

Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers

With all the positive changes to the rosters of the Atlantic Division teams, it is quite possible for 4 of the teams to make the playoffs in the East, and depending on how well the Flyers can come together with almost an entirely new squad, all 5 teams have the possibility of making it to Lord Stanley's Cup run.

Atlantic Division Part II

First we take a look at the revamped Flyers...

This team will take on a much more multi-dimensional look than the team that led the Flyers to the cellar of the NHL. Last year's team depended heavily on the play and leadership of Peter Forsberg. The Flyers have overhauled their roster and look much more dangerous in 07-8.

Upfront, the Flyers have plenty of firepower. Most notably is the addition of UFA Danny Briere. Briere, along with a healthy Simon Gagne, give the Flyers two of the better scoring forwards in the division. Former Predators Scott Hartnell and Scottie Upshall will likely have strong seasons playing in a very competitive Phily sports market.

The question on the Flyers roster is the play of their defenseman. There is no doubt that Kimmo Timonen can play, but with Derian Hatcher not getting any younger, there will be a lot of pressure on youngsters Alex Picard and Braydon Coburn to crack and contribute to the Flyers roster. Mike Rathje is quite effective, when healthy that is. In goal, Martin Biron will once again be given the chance to lead a team. He lost his job in Buffalo to Ryan Miller, so look for a big year from Biron.

While the Flyers offense is definitely quicker and younger than in year's past, I'm not convinced their blue line will match up against the rest of the division. While this team certainly looks much better on paper, it will be hard for a team to bounce all the way back to the playoffs after a 56 point season.

Now the Rangers...

The Rangers stunned the hockey world on July 1st with the dual announcing of both the signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Both were considered 2 of the top UFAs available this summer. Now, for the first time since Jaromir Jagr's arrival in NY, the Rangers should be able to roll two high quality scoring lines. If you figure Drury centers a line with Shanahan and Prucha, combined with Gomez centering a line with Jagr and Straka, then the rest of the NHL will have its hands full all season long. The Rangers backline is quite young, but have proven they could compete with the big boys. The Rangers feature no big name defenseman, yet the team finnished among the tops in the league last season in shots against.

It pains me to admit, but I do believe that Henrik Lunqvist is the best goalie in the NHL when he is on his game. Yes, that's right, I said best, right up there with Roberto Luongo. The problem for the Rangers is that Lunqvist was NOT always on his game last season. He struggled the first half of the season, the same way he struggled the second half of the season before last. If Lunqvist is on for an entire season, look for the Rangers to compete with the Penguins for the division crown. However, if Lunqvist falters, along with an injury or two on D, look for the Rangers to be battling for the 7th or 8th seed. The pressure is on the Blueshirts this season. This is the best team they have fielded since 1997.

Atlantic Division Part I

Today, we will be starting our predictions, both Justin and I will be selecting a division for the day and then breakdown each teams current status and then an overall prediction of how the division will play out during the upcoming season. As we begin our predictions for the upcoming hockey season, we take a look at what will most likely be the most competitive division in all of hockey, the Atlantic Division.


New Jersey Devils

After losing in the second round of this past years playoffs, the Devils maybe going through one of the worst offseasons the franchise has seen in a long time. The Devils lost two of their staple players in defensemen Brian Rafalski and center Scott Gomez to the Red Wings and Rangers respectively. Also leaving via free agency was Brad Lukowich who resigned with the Lightning. To replace these voids, the Devils have signed forward Danius Zubrus, and defensemen Karel Rachunek and Vitali Vishnevski. Currently the Devils have 8 UFA's from last year's roster. Young forward JP Parise is going to an arbitration case with the club.

Looking towards next season, it is easy to say that the Devils will not be as dominate as in years previous. However, anytime you have Martin Brodeur in net, your team has a chance to win. In addition, the hiring of former Islander Brent Sutter as head coach signals that the Devils will be playing with more younger players from within their system. The Devils might be this season's Flyers. As the hockey world was stunned to see the once powerful Flyers plummet to the bottom of the league last season, it wouldn't surprise me if the Devils fall dramatically from last season. I don't see the Devils reclaiming the Atlantic Division title again in 07-08 but they will most likely be battling for one of the final playoff spots.


Pittsburgh Penguins

After a very successful season for the franchise in which many of their young stars shined brightly, the Penguins are looking to build upon last year's success. The team will field a relatively similar roster from last season, while only losing forwards Chris Thorburn and Michel Ouellet. In addition to locking up both Sidney Crosby and Ryan Whitney (two of the franchises cornerstones) the Penguins have also added the services of defensemen Darryl Sydor and forward Petr Sykora.

At this point in the summer, I have to say the Atlantic Division winner will be a toss up between the Penguins and Rangers. We realize that the Penguins will have one of the best offensive teams in the game with both Crosby and Malkin leading the way. The test of how well this team can/will actually be falls on the shoulders of goalie Marc-Andre Fluery. At times last year MAF was outstanding, but atothers, he had people asking if he was the same goalie they had drafted first overall. For the Penguins to go far in the playoffs, MAF will have to play a more consistent game.

Once Justin posts his half of the division predictions we will predict the final standings of the division.

A Clockwork Blue & Orange

No action is action. Another week has flew by in the NHL and the New York Islanders remain idle, although not complacent, regarding their current roster. The upper management has been very quiet regarding any pending UFA signings or trade talks. It has not been kept secret that the Isles have a strong interest in former Red Wing and current UFA Danny Markov. In many ways, Markov is a great fit for the Isles. He plays a tough defensive game, and he's the kind of hard-nosed player Ted Nolan would love to incorporate into the Isles blue line this season. The stalling here probably has more to do with negotiations regarding Markov's reoccurring health issues and the length of contract, and not his commitment to coming to Long Island. Hopefully Snow will seal this deal in the next few days. But I wouldn't be surprised if Markov hangs around the UFA pool awhile longer while some other teams attempt to clear cap space and reel this big fish in.

Trade winds seem to be non-existent in the recent weeks. The pending deal for Jovo died quietly, and there doesn't seem to be any other big name defenseman the Isles could acquire via trade. Wade Redden's name has been tossed around, but I can't imagine the Sens moving their top defenseman after a run to the Cup finals. Derek Morris probably could be had for the right price. I would trade Meyer and the 2nd rounder acquired for Rourke, for Morris. Probably not too much more than that.

There could be some RFA forwards on the block. There is much talk about the Devils possibly moving some of their young guns. Not that the Devs would trade a top scorer to the rival Isles, but I think Snow will definitely place a call to Lou should someone like Parise become available. What a nice way that would be to rectify a previous drafting blunder. If it's still this slow later in the week, I will work on a funny, yet tortuous diagram of players the Isles passed up on and the players they took instead in recent draft years.

Jeff and I have been working on our own expert predictions. We will put our predictions up against ESPN's and we guarantee victory in terms of accuracy. Please check back at your convenience. As soon as something, anything stirs up we will be right on top of it.

-justin

Summer Plans

How many times a day can you check your computer, only to find that the Islanders' roster is the same as it was the day before? After a brief UFA extravaganza comprised of the signings of Guerin, Comrie, Fedotenko, and Sim, Isles GM Garth Snow has carefully let the summer progress without jumping into a contract he might regret in years to come. And that's the thing about Snow, he's sharp. He understands that long-term contracts burden a franchise for years. That is not to say if the right player came along, that Snow wouldn't offer up a bucket of years for the guarantee of that player sticking around. Snow offered 5 years to Smyth, and I have on good authority he offered more years to both Drury and Gomez. Those players might have been the "right" players during this UFA year, but Garth realizes that those 3 players, plus maybe Briere, just about round out the top UFAs available. He wisely signed Guerin and Comrie for only 2 and 1 years, respectively. If they click in the Isles system, we will have the cap space to lock them up for a longer period of time. Hopefully at that point they will choose to stay.

Hockey is a grueling sport. Many players get hurt for long stretches of the season. Some plainly watch their natural abilities decline as they age. The length of contracts offered this summer was rather astonishing. I, personally, would have loved to see the Isles bring back stalwart defenseman Roman Hamrlik back for a second go around the Island. But after seeing the length and price of his contract (4 years, $22 million) I understood why Garth refused to go there. Montreal is paying more than $5 million per season for an aging defenseman who's best years are certainly behind him. Other defenseman like Scott Hannan and Tom Preissing each got 4 year deals. But with every team struggling to fit their players under the cap, it seems smarter to wait and offer up shorter term deals for these "maybe" players. Hamrlik will not be good in 2 seasons, count on it. Hannan will probably sustain a long list of injuries due to the rugged style game he plays. It remains uncertain what Priessing can do outside the comfort of Ottawa. I'd rather lock a few "maybe" players up short term and have the opportunity to participate in the free-agent bonanza next season, a much deeper UFA pool.

But that still leaves us with the current roster. And the roster as it stands, probably will not go very far. But Charles Wang has given Snow the go-ahead to spend wisely, and I'm certain he will do so. With a little under $17 million to play with, Snow can really add a few quality players to the roster. In goal, we are set with Dipietro for the next 14 years. For now, the deal is genius because we have a top goaltender playing for less than top money. The key words there are "for now." On the blue line, Witt and Martinek are excellent defensively. Marc-Andre Bergeron is far from excellent defensively, but if he minimizes his turnovers and continues to rack up power-play points, then his value will be tremendous to this team. He averaged about a point per game since arriving on Long Island, and was only 1 of 3 players who had a plus rating in last year's playoff series with Buffalo. That brings us to the babies of the defense, Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais. Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than for these 2 to win a roster spot during training camp and prove to everyone that they are the real deal. Last year did not convince me that this was the case. Both were negative 'plus-minus' rated players last season. Gervais was a dismal minus-10, on a playoff team nonetheless. On that note, it is imperative that Snow bring in 2 quality proven NHL defenseman, so that the D unit may take the form of Witt, Martinek, MAB, 2 new defenseman, and 1 of either Campoli and Gervais. As defenseman tend to get injured (see Martinek's history) the other of either Campoli or Gervais should be able to step right in. Things will look bleak if a defenseman goes down and we are forced to bring in Boxin' Bootland, although he is a terrific boxer. Two new defenseman who I like are Morris (who can be had via trade) and Markov (who is a UFA).

Up front, the Isles are overloaded with 4th line players. On the Isles current roster, I would categorize Andy Hilbert, Richard Park, Sean Bergenheim, Pterri Nokelainen, Shawn Bates, Jeff Tambellini, Franz Nielson, and Chris Simon/Aron Asham (if re-singed) all as 4th line caliber players. That's way too many. The team is in dire need of at least two top-6 forwards in order to balance out the scoring. There aren't many of these type players available on the UFA market, so Snow might have to concoct a trade somewhere. Some strange names that might help us are Eric Lindros, Adam Hall, Jeff Friesen, and Patrik Stefan. This is hardly an attractive list, so hopefully Snow can swing a trade or two. Jeff and I will continue to monitor the Isles' situation and provide you with all the latest inside scoop on the Isles and their ongoing summer plans.

-Justin

Summer of Change

For all us Islanders fans, it has been a roller coaster type of summer. After reaching the playoffs on the last day of the regular season and then being eliminated by the Sabres, in what seemed to be a referee biased series, our team has begun a major roster make over. It started when the team decided to buy out the rest of Alexei Yashin's contract, which was a huge burden on the cap space of the team. The free agency period seemed to start off on the wrong foot as Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov and Sean Hill left the team to sign elsewhere. While many saw this as the team not willing to build a competitive team, I believe these players' departure enables the team to take the next step toward bringing the cup back to LI. Many fans might have been content if we had resigned the likes of Blake and Poti for the value they received from other teams. But as these these aging players signing to longer term contracts (between 3 and 5 years), it would have hindered the building of successful team for future years. On top of these player departures, all of the top free agents passed over signing with the Islanders, and we saw two of the top free agents, Gomez and Drury sign with the hated Rangers. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have both of these guys on my team any day of the week. But to sign Gomez to a 7 year deal at over 7 mill per is just ludacris. San Jose's Joe Thornton recently resigned for 7 mill a year for 3 years. Does any hockey mind seriously believe that Gomez is worth more then Thornton?

As the big names got snatched up, Islander Nation was going into a frenzy as we had lost 5 of our top point producers from the previous season. To replace what we had lost, Garth Snow and Ted Nolan along with Ken Morrow, decided to be patient and not drastically overpay the few names left out on the market. To replace what was lost in Viktor Kozlov, the team signed ex Tampa forward, Ruslan Fedotenko to a one year deal. To replace Yashin and Blake, Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin were signed to one and two year deals respectively. The team also signed forward Jon Sim from Atlanta, who most likely will be replacing Arron Asham. On top of these free agent additions, the team also resigned last years hero goalie Wade Dubielewicz, defense man Chris Campoli, and came to terms with forward Sean Bergenheim.

If the season were to start today, it is clear we would be relying heavily on some of our younger players. This being said, I believe we can still sign another free agent or two and/or possibly arrange a trade with a team that is cap trouble. While the names left on the market may not be all-stars, there are definitely a few that could help our club out. F Adam Hall, F Eric Lindros, and F Patrik Stefan could all help our club out. On the defensive end, free agents Andy Sutton and Danny Markov would give our D corps a huge boost of size and muscle.

If the Islanders are to be successful this season, it is clearly going to be on the shoulders of our franchise goalie Rick DiPietro. Last season he made huge strides in his play but for him to take it to the next level, he must learn to not play the puck as much as he has been. We all realize that DiPietro can handle the puck extremely well, the problem is when he focuses on playing the puck more, he becomes more out of position and this leads to soft goals. He must cut these soft goals out of his game for this team to be a contender. More to come on how the Isles can adreess their needs with their remaining cap space.

Welcome

Welcome to Bleeding Blue and Orange, a new blog from two die hard Islanders fans, which will give you all a view into our thoughts of the NHL's New York Islanders and the rest of the hockey world.

This is a brand new blog for other Isles fanatics like ourselves. We encourage all readers to actively participate in our discussion boards. We have unique points of views and can get deep into the minds of the Isles upper management. We have been following the Islanders since we were babies and we hope to spread the Blue and Orange by this blog. From both of us here at Bleeding Blue and Orange, welcome to Islanders Country!

-Jeff & Justin