Not to hit any of this stuff too hard....................however.
It seems a few years ago the New York Islanders were one of the first clubs to go all out on the camp invites and folks were critical then as Park, Dunham were brought into camp without an NHL contract and tried out to make the club.
Now it seems unless a bunch of players are invited it's a mistake again?
Times sure have changed.
Anyone ever think all these prospects need the best chance to win a spot over someone with a one-way deal and perhaps between waivers/ possible trades the Islanders already have their plan?
They still have first call on all players placed on waivers based on last seasons standings and with clubs against or over the cap Garth Snow if he wants holds the cards.
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Regarding informal workouts Michael Peca still skates in Buffalo, it does not mean he's about to become a Sabre but as the Buffalo News article I posted stated this is one venue former players gather to skate before a season contract or not.
How many McCabe to the Islanders rumors surfaced because he spent part of his summers working out here?
Benoit Hogue worked out here also, it never meant he's about to be resigned by the Islanders.
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If Mr Botta wants to report he has sources where the Islanders could relocate just give us all the locations interested (plus who) and please spare us the teasers.
It would also not hurt to report once again the team has a binding lease with Nassau/Smg for the next six years so maybe folks can concentrate on this season and not have them thinking Charles Wang can relocate by next summer or next week?
At the very least start being as critical of the newspapers for not covering the club as you used to be in your old job and put the blame on the papers/editors where it belongs. It would not have been a bad idea to call out the Times who had space to talk with you about Point Blank but not New York Islander hockey print coverage in their newspaper/blogs?
Bottom line here if you are going to correctly write the Isles website is 80/20 ads vs hockey content you have to blame everyone or why bother at all because the Knicks are going to be covered regardless of how brutal they have been so it's not about games and results?
I don't recall the Post spending more than a day in Moncton the last few years if that and the News/Times did not go at all.
We all get the coverage is poor and involves only part of one newspaper.
The other bottom line is Mr Botta is no longer obligated to write about the New York Islanders yet still provides excellent interviews like the one we got with Bergenheim.
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As for the New York Islanders website if an amateur blog like NYIFC can have Steve Webb's update four or five days ago they are not giving the fans enough new information.
No one is asking for infomercials daily from Snow, Gordon or even the players but how about a crummy list of who is attending camp like so many other clubs have already released on their website?
It's not a state secret to do a pdf file of who is attending and post a link? Isn't the idea to get folks excited about camp and the start of hockey with a televised game in a few days?
The Ct Post Michael Fornabaio tonight had the list of Bridgeport invites so we have that, if the Islanders are not inviting anyone it should only make it easier to release the full camp list now.
Updated:
The Islanders on the website for the Coliseum preseason game against NJ have the camp roster listed so perhaps I was wrong on that. Still announcing the complete roster in a separate update would not have hurt.
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Bottom line Mr Wang-Rechler will get their vote/certainty (or not) at some point and it still may happen by opening night. If TOH hired agency does not do it's job over a disagreement on billing and slow the process the TOH will suffer the fallout for their part if Wang-Rechler walk away from the project after opening night.
Charles Wang is stuck in his Islander lease certainty or not unless Suozzi cannot get him a new lease agreement after a TOH approval regardless who is interested.
Mr Suozzi sure has been quiet lately, just as he was for two years after the MOU.
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I'm getting interested to see how many owners still want to turn down Jim Basillie over spending 140m of their own money to carry the Coyotes under the NHL umbrella and forfeit his 200 plus million bid and relocation fee.
For those scoring at home that's about a 400m dollar swing with a relocation fee included vs owners spending out of their own pocket to run the franchise through the league.
Character has it's price too.
I'm also fascinated to see Richard Peddie and the Leafs teachers pension fund make a case for keeping a team out of Canada while the same media lobbied for another team in Canada all these years who will wrap themselves in the Leafs media flag if it comes down to a relocation vote.
I guess for them a team can only relocate to Winnipeg.
You can bet Buffalo does not want another team near them also.
By my count (or the media articles at the time) the Coyotes lose as much as the Rangers did heading into the lockout in a far more modern building so why shouldn't they stay and see if a winning club changes the financial dynamic?
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So the International Ice Hockey Federation approved the disputed transfer of Jiri Hudler from the Detroit Red Wings to Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday even though he was Wings property as Radulov was a year ago?
I'm curious what can any of these organizations/leagues do to stop anyone from doing anything?
Was Rene Fasel going to call the KHL police and haul Hudler off the ice during a game for playing in the KHL or if Alexei Yashin wanted to sign with an NHL team tomorrow was the league going to lock him out of an NHL facility with league security once he came to terms with someone?
Nikita Filatov last week pretty much said (if not misquoted or misinterpreted) that if he does not get NHL ice time he could have signed in the KHL despite his NHL contract with Columbus like he was doing the Jackets a favor.
Twenty years ago we had players in Europe escaping countries to come play in the NHL, it feels in terms of contracts the same thing is still happening with no apparent hope or even discussion of a transfer agreement.
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