Islanders listed the remaining players currently with the club today.
Fair to say we now have a good idea of how few spots are available unless a trade happens or someone like an Andy Hilbert(with a new two year contract) are put on waivers to play in the AHL which is very unlikely.
DiPietro and Dubielewicz are the two remaining goaltenders so the goal tending is set.
Forwards (18)
7 Trent Hunter
10 Richard Park
11 Andy Hilbert
12 Chris Simon
13 Bill Guerin
15 Jeff Tambellini
16 Jon Sim
17 Shawn Bates
18 Mike Sillinger
20 Sean Bergenheim
26 Ruslan Fedotenko
27 Darryl Bootland
37 Kip Brennan
57 Blake Comeau
63 Josef Vasicek
72 Jeremy Colliton
81 Miroslav Satan
89 Mike Comrie
Nineteen skaters for what are eleven spots if Nolan has to dress seven defenders as the club's website said he would do a few days ago.
You take Bates (injured) Bootland, Brennan, Colliton off that list and you are down to fourteen skater for eleven spots. This does not count a suspended Simon for five games who can only play preseason at this time which starts us at thirteen.
Then take Comeau, Tambellini, Bergenheim off the list and we have ten forwards, when Simon returns they have eleven forwards so right now three players are fighting for one temporary spot for five games if seven defenders dress or one permanent spot if six defenders dress.
Of course there will be injuries to present opportunities but this is what it boils down to. I would suggest watch where Nolan uses Tambellini, Comeau and Bergenheim more than the other players.
On defense:
Defensemen (9)
2 Aaron Johnson
4 Bryan Berard
8 Bruno Gervais
14 Chris Campoli
24 Radek Martinek
25 Andy Sutton
32 Brendan Witt
44 Freddy Meyer
47 Marc-Andre Bergeron
If seven defenders dress two players have to go and we know unless a trade happens Martinek, Sutton, Witt and Bergeron are going to play on this team. That leaves five players for three spots and all of them who played significant NHL minutes last season. Campoli, Meyer would have to clear waivers.
This includes signing Bryan Berard which is not a lock for a lot of reasons.
For argument sake you want to get down to seven defenders without a trade just to start the season. You take Gervais and Aaron Johnson and send them to the minors because neither one have to clear waivers. Even if this happened your left with an extra defender to find time for each game which is not the best situation and you have at least one defender in the AHL (Gervais) who should not be there while the other (Johnson) has been impressive in camp reports and played sixty one games in the NHL last season and may not belong in the AHL either.
Of course that is for the present. This is a group of defenders with a long history of injury problems.
Still for right now it's going to be a very interesting week to see who does make this team and what Garth Snow and Ted Nolan do to improve the roster if someone is available who can help.
Updated 5:30pm
Islanders website this afternoon had more on this as Nolan singled out Comeau, Colliton, Tambellini for their work as well as Aaron Johnson. Isles also gave the combos from practice earlier today with comments from Fedotenko and Johnson about tonight's game.