A couple of things to get to in this entry, so let me not waste any time…

The new uniforms- It’s not that I don’t like them, but compared to some of the other team’s new garbs, the Isles look to have gotten the short end of the stick, no pun intended.

The front of the jersey looks fine to me, but those orange sleeves are an absolute eyesore. Instead of having them in orange in two separate places on each sleeve, they should have just had them orange on the ends. As a matter of fact, I don’t understand why they couldn’t have kept the same model they had before and made it work with the layout of the new jerseys. The Bruins, Red Wings and Rangers all did that and their jerseys look fine. How that jersey managed to get past so many people without anyone asking why the sleeves stood out as much as they do is beyond me.

However, I do love the numbers on the front of the jersey. That kind of old school look I am a sucker for. That to me, is the only thing that I feel should have been done in addition to the old jerseys to make them stand out more. Nonetheless, I do plan on buying it once I have the time, but that’s only because I feel that as one of the only Isles fans in Brooklyn, I need to wear the colors proud. Regardless of that though, I think they could have been much better than they are.

Now, take a look at the second picture that I touched up on the computer, that’s what the team’s new jersey should have looked like. A slight update to an already nice looking jersey and not this crazy three-toned thing they’re going to have to wear all season.

Bryan Berard tryout?- I’ve been hearing about this for weeks and if that’s the case, I don’t think Bruno Gervais is going to like it. They just signed Campoli to a three-year deal and with his offensive upside and improved physical play last season, you have to think that Gervais would be the one to go back to Bridgeport, not Campoli, if Berard still has some juice left in his boosters.

Personally, I’ve always liked Berard and even though he’s had a rocky go of things over the past few years, his ability on offense is tough to question. If he’s healthy, he might not only replace Poti’s lost offense, he could be the missing piece to the team. I mean c’mon, who would argue with Bergeron and Berard on the powerplay? Ok, sure they’d give up a few short-handed goals because those guys don’t exactly excel in the defensive zone, but they’d score more than enough goals and assist on plenty more to make it worth it.

Jason Allison? Again, at an affordable price, this guy can be another important piece to the puzzle. Even he skates like he has feet made of cement, the guy is a great passer that would be able to score 55 points if given plenty of time on the power play, which would help the Isles offense immensely at this point.

As much as I used to like Bates, he doesn’t have what it takes anymore to even center the fourth line, unless for some reason, he’s escaped the injury bug and is ready to be a more consistent player. With that being said, I do think that Nokalainen would be a decent choice, but with Allison, we could let him center the third line and put Vasicek on the fourth and have plenty of depth there. Again, while I’m not a huge fan of him being on the Island, it would a depth signing that would help the Isles stay competitive with some of the explosive offensive teams in the conference.

With a few weeks to go before camp starts, it’s going to be interesting if any more moves are made.

Posted under Isles Rumors 2007, Isles Thoughts 2007