The summer is an extremely hectic time for me. It’s where I kind of shape-shift from a hockey writer, who writes features and this blog for NYSportsday.com, who is also a college student and Editor-in-Chief of a college newspaper, to a full-time journalist, who covers the Brooklyn Cyclones for the Brooklyn Papers, Bay Currents, Mets Inside Pitch, NYSportsday and NY Sport Scene magazine.

Usually, it’s a welcomed transformation, as I’d much rather be at the ballpark [that’s ten minutes away from my home] covering games than just spewing my opinion and writing stories where I do little or no reporting, but this year is different.

Damn I miss hockey.

With all of these rumors going around as well, with Blake reportedly looking to sign with Minnesota and the Isles allegedly offering Ryan Smyth everything but my girlfriend to stay on Long Island, it’s obvious that this offseason has been extremely entertaining thus far.

If that wasn’t enough, the rumors of Guerin and Gomez coming here are enough to make sure that HockeyBuzz.com and NHL.com always have opened tabs on my Firefox browser, even when I’m at Keyspan covering games.

As far as the Smyth situation goes, I’d give him anything he wanted, except my girlfriend [who’s more of a Rico kind of girl anyway] to stay on the Island. The guy played injured during most of his time on the Island and still put up solid numbers, but that isn’t the biggest reason why I’d keep him. First off, the guy is a natural leader and is as solid a two-way player in the NHL as anyone I’ve ever seen. Sure, he isn’t going to score 100-points and he’s not going to win a Selke anytime soon, but he’s good enough for me. Lastly, the game is a gamer that will bust his hump on every single shift and will do anything to make sure his team comes out victorious. Guys like that only come around once in a while and the Isles have to make sure they do everything in their power to hold on to him.

The Jason Blake situation however, is a little different. I mean, I love the guy as a player, but I’m still a little pissed about how he decided to complain about his contract to the media during the team’s playoff run last season. That combined with the fact that his asking price seems to go up every day and he’s not getting any younger, I think the Isles may need to let Blake go somewhere else for a lot more money.

Also, with guys like Guerin and Gomez available, the Isles may not even have to focus on keeping Blake, who chances are, won’t score 40 goals again in his career on any other team but the Isles.

Decision time is coming. Let’s just hope if the Isles can’t keep Smyth and Blake, they pull an ace out of their sleeves.