China officially has been beached.

The Islanders' scheduled training-camp trip to China this fall was scrapped in late May after planning snags surfaced regarding NHL and union procedural requirements, according to Newsday.

The nine-day, four-city trek initially was approved both by the league and the NHLPA, but union officials reportedly hoped to send representatives ahead to China beforehand to ensure all facilities met league standards. But Newsday reported that Islanders owner and Charles Wang, who was born in China, objected to that request because he was concerned that might cause problems with Chinese officials.

"It's disappointing," Islanders GM Garth Snow said in the report.

Posted under NHL

The Rangers are getting defenseman Jyri Niemi from the Islanders for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft. The trade announced Tuesday is the first between the New York area rivals since forward Ron Stewart was dealt to the Islanders for cash on Nov. 14, 1972, during the Islanders' first season.

Posted under NHL

Why is Chris Noth standing in front of the Union Jack and dressed like Dick Duff? Actually, that would be Ron...

Posted under NHL

Who’s left?

Miro Satan? Phil Kessel? Mike Peca? Kyle Calder? Robert Lang? Viktor Kozlov?

With the better players being picked up already, the Islanders don’t seem willing to take a chance on any of these players. Kessel would be a great addition, but he wants too much money and hasn’t proven himself in this league yet. If he had say, two 30-goal seasons under his belt, he’d be signed by a team right now.

Kozlov would just be a hired gun, the same thing goes for Lang. Neither one would want to be part of a rebuilding plan. Satan and Peca are in the last legs of their careers and Calder has lost the potential he once had. Maybe the Isles are better with a straight rebuild.

What do you guys think?

Posted under Offseason 2009

We knew it was all coming when Sillinger played in only seven games last season. Nevertheless the guy was uber solid when with the team and set a great example. A former first round pick, ending your career with 240 goals is pretty damn solid if you ask me. A shame he didn’t really develop until his last few seasons in the league too. At one time, I wished the entire Islanders team could consist of clones of Silly, Richard Park and Jason Blake. A tad under-sized sure, but feisty nonetheless.

Good luck in your future endeavors Silly.

Aside from that, there hasn’t been much Isles news, so my video game exploits have continued.

Check out my NHL 10 demo thoughts here. Goddamn this game is so much fun. Even if you don’t play games, click the link anyway. I’m sure the screenshot alone will scare the crap out of you. It’s hard to believe video games have come this far. I still remember loving NHLPA 93 despite how ugly it was and now sometimes it’s more fun to play this than actually watch the real thing.

http://reviewfix.com/2009/08/nhl-10-demo-rocks-like-a-hurricane/

Posted under Offseason 2009

Newsday is currently reporting that former Islander Miroslav Satan is interested in coming back to the Island.

Aside from a solid first season with the team, the last two years of his contract were a jumbled inconsistent mess, where he showed the energy of an overweight puppy. Sure, he’s an asset and can still score 15-20 goals and can perform in the shootout. But are the Islanders in a situation to take a chance on this guy?

I say, if they really want to take a chance on someone, go with Mark Parrish; at least then the guy has more potential and can anchor a third line. He’s a bit more aggressive as well and has a soul. Plus, he’s only 31 and is in a desperate need of a change of scenery. Satan is like a Cylon and not the hot and sexy ones on the recently completed incarnation of Battlestar Galactica- I’m talking about the 1978 version here. He’s on the supreme downswing and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

Unless they can get him dirt cheap, like just above NHL minimum and he gets powerplay time where he isn’t on the point [what a disaster that was a few years ago], then maybe it could work, but when you’re looking to add veteran character, this isn’t a guy I’d run to.

Posted under Offseason 2009

It’s on my other site, here’s the link!

http://reviewfix.com/2009/08/relive-the-isles-glory-days-in-standard-definition/

Posted under Uncategorized

It boggles the mind why people would be upset that John Tavares signed an entry level contract. I mean, seriously guys, do you really want another Alexei Yashin or Rick DiPietro contract to stare at if the kid gets hurt or under-performs? This way, the kid knows he’s not untouchable and has to earn his keep. If you ask me, there’s nothing worse than a cocky teenager who hasn’t accomplished anything yet. That, now, obviously won’t happen here. It’s a situation where the Islanders have to protect themselves and signing a player, who hasn’t played a single pro game yet, to anything more than an entry level contract is ludicrous.

Posted under Offseason 2009

Aside from Doug Weight, the Islanders don’t have any real playmakers and John Tavares needs someone to pass him the puck.

This is where Alex Tanguay fits in.

He’s in desperate need of a change of scenery and is coming off an injury-plagued season last year, where he still managed to score 41 points in 50 games. He also doesn’t need to shoot the puck much, probably about 110 shots will do the trick, and can still score 20 goals a year. He makes the most of his shots and is incredibly unselfish with the puck. Sure, he’s fragile and sometimes inconsistent, but I still think that if he plays with Tavares, it could be something special.

The fact that the rest of league has passed up on him means the Islanders can get him cheaper than they could have done before. If they sign him to a two or three-year contract, they get him through his early 30s and if he doesn’t perform, they could always trade him to a contender for a draft pick.

However, if he performs, Tavares and who ever else is on the line with him and Tanguay, most likely Kyle Okposo, will be able to learn from a guy will some experience and will be able to get more of an opportunity to step up their game as well.

Low-risk, High-reward if you ask me.

Posted under Offseason 2009

I’ve been saying for the past few weeks that the Isles needed to sign a more than competent veteran backup goaltender, one that can pick up the slack if Rick DiPietro is unable to play as much as he would like to this season.

Dwayne Roloson can definitely be that guy.

He’s got playoff experience and has proven he can be more than dependable, especially when on a team lacking offense. This plays a huge role when you consider the fact that even with John Tavares on board, the Islanders offense will be questionable and will be struggling to find its identity this season.

While I would have liked the Isles to have taken a shot with Marty Biron, the question remains if he would have came to the Island. To get a guy that has a solid resume and a hefty amount of playoff experience is a plus that could come in handy this season. Signing a two-year contract, I have no doubt that if healthy, D-Ro will be a damn good backup goaltender and far better than the other big name backups the Isles have had over the past 10 years that have failed to fill the bill for this team.

However, the team still has work to do this offseason.

If the Isles can now somehow find a way to sign another goal scorer, someone who can deposit about 25 tallies a year, I may start feeling much better about this team next season.

Posted under Offseason 2009