Last season around this time, the Isles picked up Sean Hill, who wound up being the glue on defense that kept the team together down the stretch last year. This season, it looks like Danny Markov could be the next piece of the puzzle the Isles need to escape the losses they suffered during the big free agent push.

I know I may be overly-positive at times, but I can’t begin to stress how badly this team needs to sign a guy like Markov. The guy is an animal on the ice and with players like Simon, Hunter, Witt and Markov taking the body and players like Hilbert, Park, Sim and Sillinger working their tails off, I think this team has enough moxie to challenge for a playoff spot.

However, if they don’t sign a tough as nails defenseman and don’t find a way to get a real third line center or give a guy like Petteri Nokalainen a real shot shot [I really can’t see Shawn Bates holding down that spot after how mediocre he was last season], this team may not have enough depth on offense and defense to do much. I know Isles head coach Ted Nolan will be doing whatever it takes to make sure these guys work hard on the ice, but considering how improved some of the competition has gotten this offseason, the Isles need something more if they are going to make the playoffs.

Look at it this way, the goaltending tandem this team has in my mind is one of the best in the league, so why not make sure that the defense playing in front of them can limit the shots and the offense can score goals? Without those intangibles, DiPietro and Dubie are going to be playing for nothing. I’m totally confident that if this team can block some shots and score a few goals, they’ll be able to challenge for a playoff spot.

That is, however, if they make a few moves. The buzz on the message boards and rumor sites is that Andy Sutton, Markov and Josef Vasicek are on top the Isles list. I think if they can manage to pick up either Sutton or Markov and add a big center that can score 40 points and take the body [not necessarily Vasicek, who reminds me too much of Oleg Kvasha] then again, they’ll challenge for the last two playoff spots.

In the NHL, it all starts with good goaltending and luckily, that’s one thing the Isles have in abundance right now. Now, they just have to build around their strengths. Hopefully the next time I write this blog, I’ll have some good news to talk about.