Mid-Day News

Scratch Marleau off the trade list, he has just signed a two-year contract extension with the Sharks.

Who's left? I'm hearing Vincent Lecavalier is available in a trade. I'm suprised Tampa Bay is willing to give him up. If we don't want to give up prospects, expect Satan to be in the trade rumors.

Right now, this is just speculation. As we move on to next week, this can start heating up. I think it will be great to add star-talent like Vincent. Will I give up Miro for him? Not sure. With the loss of Kozlov, Satan is our only go to guy in the shootout. I'm just saying that, because I don't know how good Lecavalier is in a shootout. If he is as good as Satan in them, I would do the trade in a heartbeat. We do have a lot of wingers by the way. And I'm sure we can move someone like Park to wing.

Personally, I don't care about giving up a few picks. As long as we are getting good talent.

Who would you choose? Satan and some picks, or Lecavalier? Is this the veteran center trade we've been hearing about? Possibly.


Let's Go Isles!!!

News and Notes #4

For the second day in a row, there really isn't enough information in Islanders Country. But, that does not end the News and Notes series.

-Trade talks are really heating up. Something could be happening soon.

-The Islanders are either not talking to Jason Allison anymore, or they are doing a hell of a job hiding them from us.

-The blue line seems to be set, but the offensive lines aren't quite ready.




Today, it's Bill Guerin's review. Or not. These quiet days could mean that there are loud days coming up. I'll go with the flow. If it's slow, Guerin's review. If it is a big day, then, obviously, I will be covering the big news.



Let's Go Islanders!!!

Another Try-out

I've learned from a couple sources today that LW Gordie Dwyer accepted the Islanders invitation to training camp. The 29 year-old Dwyer has played 108 career NHL games, and has spent quite a bit of time in the AHL. Last year, he played 11 games in a Swedish league.

He is also yet another tough, Nolan-type player. Although he will probably be on a trip to Bridgeport, we do have a pretty tough hockey team "up" (pun intended) there, that can be brought up whenever there is a game that can get a little interesting.
If we can't beat them, then we beat them up.

It it amazing how many tough and gritty guys we are putting on our entire franchise. Hopefully, scoring can help itself.



Let's Go Isles!!!

News and Notes #3

Today, I don't have enough information for a full news and notes post. But I do have something.

According to many sources, the Islanders are very close do a deal that would give us a veteran center. Team name, and player name were not disclosed. Neither was the player or players that we are dealing.

So who's left out there? Are there any veteran centers that have been caught up it trade talks? Not that I know of.

Unless we are willing to make two trades before the season, this would get rid of rumors about the top 2 defenseman trade. Also, it would rule out the Prospal trade, which could confirm that those talks are in fact over.

More to come.


Let's Go Islanders!!!

Mike Comrie

Here is the second "New Islander" Review. Today, it's Mike Comrie. Enjoy.

Mike Comrie signed with the Islanders on 7/5/07. The same day we signed our Captain, Bill Guerin.

He spent his first three seasons in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers (00-01),(01-02), (02-03), who were his hometown team. He split the next season with the Flyers and Coyotes; where he would play the following two seasons (05-06), (06-07). But before the trade deadline in 07, he was dealt to the Ottawa Senators. Mike would only play half of a season there, but he sure had a hell of a time. He was part of the Senators Stanley Cup run, where the Sens fell in 5 games to the Anahiem Ducks. In the playoffs that year, Comrie put up 2 goals and 4 assists in 20 games. Coming into his first season with the Isles, he has scored 127 goals and 145 points, in 418 games. (Playoff stats included)

The 26 year-old Comrie can have a fresh start on the Island, and can finally prove if he is a true #1 center. We are giving him his first shot at this, so it could be the year he breaks out. I predict him to have 40 goals and 50 assists this year. I think he is capable of doing even better, though.

Am I overrating this guy? I mean, on full seasons, he's gotten 30+ goals. It's not amazing, but that's still pretty good, don't you think?


Replacment for Blake? Not in speed, but he definitely ties him in points. Oh yeah, he has a lot of grit too.

Nolan-Type players are what fill up our team. And he is one of the most Nolan-Type.



Next up on "New Isles" Reviews, Captain Billy Guerin.


Let's Go Isles!!!

News and Notes #2

Well, News and Notes is a great way to start off the day. I like it. Here's edition number 2.

-Allison to the Isles talks are slowing down. I'd give it a 75% chance of happening.

-There are some talks about Nolan Pratt coming to the Isle. This is just speculation though.

-Vaclav Prospal talks are done. The Lightning want a young defenseman. The Isles are not dealing them.

-I've been getting no news on the "trade for a top 2 defenseman". I'll still give it a 20% though.


Yes, I will do MC's review today. No matter what goes on. I promise.



Let's Go Islanders!!!

[Place Headline Here]

There's really no discription for this...so...yeah.

Let's go on. I still haven't gotten any more information on the Allison talks not existing. So I have no proof to back up Eklund. Therefore, I'm still convinced we are getting Allison.

No Comrie review today, sorry. But I will do it tomorrow. Info-filled day or not.

As you can see, I'm averaging more than one post a day. This blogging stuff has come out to be much easier than I thought. This week, it's probably going to be easy to have a few posts every day. But I guess that's because we actually have information on the Islanders. It might not be like this for long, so I am saving the "New Reviews" for boring days, like I have said before.


Let's Go Islanders!!!

Allison Signing...False?

Islander fans, prepare to be suprised. Eklund says that Jason Allison is NOT coming to the Island. But chances are this is another false statement by Eklund. But hey, he isn't wrong ALL of the time.

He also says that Allison and the Isles are as far apart as ever. I find that interesting, because the ISLANDERS say they are as close as ever.

Hmm...

More to come on this soon.



Let's Go Isles!!

Some News and Notes...

I'm hoping that Jason Allison will be on our team by the end of the day, but that's very unlikely.

Here are some notes to start off the day:

-There are still talks of a trade with Tampa Bay that would send Prospal to the Islanders, but don't expect this to happen.

-Bryan Berard's agent has confirmed he will try out with the Isles.

-The trade for a defenseman has about a 20% chance of happening, so don't get excited over it.

-Jason Allison seems to only be talking with the Isles, and a training camp invite could be slightly more likely. He wants more than 1 year, so I think the Isles would want to test him out first, and see how he can play.



I am going to wait quite a bit to do MC's review, because I want to save those for more boring days, and I'm not sure how boring today will be yet.



Let's Go Islanders!!!

Replacment Jason?

I guess we need a Jason on this team at all times. I've heard from a few sources that we are very, very close to signing Jason Allison. He sat out the NHL season last year, but he plans a return here on the Island.

I'm sure all Islander fans can be happy about this, because he would fill up our needs for a center. But he is said to be slow, and terrible on defense. But that wouldn't matter. As long as he stays healthy and scores goals for us, he will be a great addition to this team.


Expect a signing sometime this week. If we don't sign him, I am pretty convinced you will see him at our camp anyway.


Just a note, we have slightly over 9 Million left in cap space.


Let's Go Islanders!!!

Marc-Andre Bergeron

Bergeron will be my first player in the "New Islanders" Reviews.

Marc-Andre Bergeron was aquired by the Islanders on 2/18/07 in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers also gave up a third round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, and were given Denis Grebeshkov.

MAB played three seasons with the Oilers, (02-03), (03-04), (05-06), scoring 27 goals in 153 games played. He then split the 06-07 season with the Oilers;
playing in 55 games, scoring 8 goals and 17 assits, and the Islanders, where he played 28 games, scoring 7 goals and 16 points.

This year, Bergeron plays a big part in the Islanders' power play, and will be counted on to be a big scorer from the blue line. I predict him to have 18 goals, and 40 assists. Is that too much to ask from him? No way. He is turning 27, and is entering his prime. I'm sure he will step it up on defense this year, too. He is not going to be our star defenseman, as that role will be filled up by Brendan Witt or Andy Sutton. And who knows, maybe even Bryan Berard. All I'm saying is, I expect him to be average, but show a spark of star-power skill at the end of the year. I see him becoming one of the NHL's best defenseman some day, but it's just too early now.

Remember, he has one of the hardest shots in the NHL, and is a threat to any goalie who tries to get in the way of a puck shot off of his stick. This will give him much deserved respect from goalies, and a better chance to score. Watch out if you get seats behind the net, his shots aren't so accurate all of the time. He actually shattered 3 panes of glass at a practice last year. Glass shower, anyone?


Bergeron's player page: http://islanders.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8469765&service=page&tab=prf



If tomorrow is another boring day, I will do Mike Comrie's review. Also keep note that I am adding these reviews on the side bar, so you can read whichever review you want, whenever you want, as long as it has been posted. The list of players I will do reviews for is on the sidebar link, too. Also, whenever we get a new player this year, I will do one right away. So don't think that's the final list. Rookies and prospects do not count, so don't expect them. This is another feature that will keep things fun and organized here.



Remember, comments and suggestions are always welcome.



Let's Go Islanders!!!

Yay!!! News!

Yes! Finally we have some Islanders news. But it's not much. Or is it? According to Andy Strickland, a blogger at Hockey Buzz, the Islanders still have a trade looming, and are looking for a top d-man. I don't know what this means, because the Islanders already invited D Bryan Berard to training camp. Could it be a scam? Are we signing Berard for one year in hopes of trading for a better defenseman? It all could be possible. Marc-Andre Bergeron is already our offensive defenseman, and Berard is the same type as him. This is very interesting.

Remember, there are rumors of us trading for Jussi Jokinen, a pretty good defenseman.
Just a thought.

We are looking for a defenseman, but what type are we looking for? Offensive or defensive? Berard or Jokinen?

This is some fun stuff. I hope I get more on this topic soon.


Let's Go Isles!!!

New Islanders Reviews

It's my goal to have something to post every day. It'll be far too easy when training camp starts, and that simplicity will last until August next year.
So I'm doing my best to save things for every day. With all of the sources I have, I should be getting information every day. Unfortunetly, that's not possible. So there are days like today when I will find something to post that does not include latsest news. Starting tomorrow, I will be giving career reviews and my expectations for the "NEW ISLANDERS" that were aquired this year. Bergeron counts.
I might as well do Marc-Andre tomorrow.

Also, I will do my best to add new features to the blog every other day, making the site more info-filled and easier to navigate.


Let's Go Isles!!!!

Well, it's another slow day in Islanders Country. Expect things to be like this until training camp. If we are lucky, we might have one or two more exciting days this summer. For now, I need something to keep things going.

Here are the latest Islanders Rumors from the infamous Eklund:

UFA Signings:

Nolan Pratt-> (Dallas, NY Islanders, Chicago)

Jason Allison-> (Vancouver, NYI, Dallas)

Trades:

Marleau > Montreal (e3), Ottawa (e2), NYI (e2), Tor (e3)

Morrris > Buffalo (e3), NYI (e3), SJ (e1), PITT (e3)

Jussi Jokinen > FLA (e2), TOR (e1), NYI (e1)


Of course, no one should believe Eklund. Nothing against him, but he's only right 2% of the time. Take his rumors however you want to.


Let's Go Isles!!

Berard Invited

The 1st pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft has been invited to the New York Islanders training camp. The 30 year old Defensemen has found himself searching for a job, and he hopes to find one here on the Island. Bryan has had a reasonably unfourtunate career, undergoing two back surguries, and oh yeah, he can only see in one eye.

Not that the Islanders really need another Defensemen, but hey, anybody could use one.
Berard would be fighting for his life in the NHL. If he's not going to make it here, he could be done.

I wish him well.

Let's Go Islanders!!!