For the second time in two straight games, Islanders forward Blake Comeau finds himself on the outside looking in – or more appropriately, on the topside looking down.

As always, there has been wild speculation as to head coach Jack Capuano’s decision to shelve Comeau in favor of heavyweight Trevor Gillies. In Gillies’ appearance last weekend against the Rangers – he played under three minutes after all – so this leads to further confusion, speculation.

On one hand, the mere possibility of Gillies playing or pummeling someone is as good of a deterrent as any. Policing if you will. On the other, it gives Capuano an option, at least a second option with Matt Martin in the lineup. It’s no secret that in the games without Gillies around, players have taken liberties with several Islanders. Perhaps Capuano is experimenting with added toughness in the lineup – before things get out of hand for his club.

But many question, and rightfully so – scratching a player who averages 12-18 minutes a game in favor of someone who averages TWO.

Let’s work it out:

In three games this season – Comeau has played 39:25, has two penalty minutes and, ONE shot on goal.

In the games I’ve seen Comeau skate this season – I haven’t been very impressed. He’s been slow to the puck, made questionable decisions on both sides and hasn’t generated much. Comeau started off last season slow as well – perhaps it just takes him a while for him to find his groove.

I’ve seen some talk on Twitter asking why Comeau over Bailey, so to be fair here are Bailey’s stats for the four games he’s played:

Josh Bailey has 3 shots and 2 PIM in 56:29 played. While it’s not too much better, perhaps Capuano sees more on Bailey’s game at this point.

I’ve also heard Capuano repeatedly refer to “passengers on the bus”, both after a loss and a win so far – so to me he’s unhappy with effort out of some of his players.

At the end of the day, this is just part of the game – it doesn’t mean a player is about to be traded or there is a huge conspiracy behind anything that’s happening. It’s a coach holding his players accountable for their play – and that’s what good coaches do.

In other words, move along folks – nothing to see here.

Nabokov, who recently signed a one year deal with the Detroit Red Wings had to clear waivers before he could report due to playing in Europe. The Islanders suddenly found themselves in need of a goaltender due to the injury to Nathan Lawson last night in Buffalo. The extent of his injury is undetermined at this time.

Nabokov’s contract is a one year deal, prorated for the rest of the season at a cool $570,000 dollars. The contract also has a no movement clause, and he cannot report to the AHL as he is ineligible because he played in Europe. What’s more, the goaltender cannot be traded without passing through waivers once again, and ANY move would need his consent.

Nabokov played in the Russian KHL for SKA St. Petersburg, before being released from his contract.

In 22 games this season with St. Petersburg, Nabokov posted an 8-8-5 record with a 3.02 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (sv%). The Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan native was drafted in the ninth round, 219th overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. In nine NHL seasons with San Jose, Nabokov appeared in 563 games, posting a 293-178-29-37 (W-L-T-OT) record with a 2.39 GAA and a .912 sv%. He also played in 80 NHL playoff games with San Jose, posting a 40-38 record with a 2.29 GAA and a .913 sv%.

Now, Evgeni has very few options should he decide not to report. He can play a decent amount of games for the Islanders, or he can sit home and sulk the rest of the season.

Good for Garth Snow for staking a claim and upgrading his goaltending, he shot himself in the foot earlier this season by trading away pending UFA Dwayne Roloson and forcing Lawson and Poulin to step it in a little too early.

I guess time will tell how this plays out, but my guess is he’ll report.

The Islanders have also placed Andy Hilbert on waivers.

Grabner, who was drafted 14th overall in 2006 by the Vancouver Canucks, played 20 games in 09-10 for the Canucks and finished with 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points.

Grabber was traded during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, along with Steve Bernier and the Canucks first round choice in the draft, the twenty-fifth selection to the Florida Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich.

This should be a pretty good pickup by Snow, being we gave up nothing to get him. Hopefully he will be another one of those great steals we have come to expect!

With training camp all but over, it’s time to trim the fat – an inevitable part of camp that many players likely do not look forward to. In my mind, (well my imagination anyway) – I picture Manny Legace or Dean McAmmond going to their locker after the split squad scrimmages last night and finding a big fat red card. What follows is a stream of obscenities or in other cases maybe even some tears.

In all seriousness, I am sure that’s not how things are handled, but it’s fun poking fun and referencing sports movies. No?

The Islanders today announced that they have cut several players from the roster and assigned them to their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers and have also released several players who were invited to camp on tryout agreements.

Forwards Justin DiBenedetto, Micheal Haley, Rob Hisey, Jesse Joensuu, Mark Katic, Tomas Marcinko, Rhett Rakhshani, David Ullstrom, and Jeremy Yablonski, along with defensemen Dylan Reese, Travis Hamonic and goaltender Mikko Koskinen have all been assigned to the Sound Tigers.

Veterans Dean McAmmond, Jed Ortmeyer, Anders Eriksson, Manny Legace and Krys Kolanos, who all accepted invitations on PTO contracts for Training Camp, all hit the unemployment line and will be looking for employment elsewhere in the league.

This round of cuts, follows a smaller cut earlier in the weekend when the Islanders placed defenseman Dustin Kohn on waivers, and assigned Robin Figren, Kevin Poulin, Anton Klementyev and Tony Romano to the Sound Tigers. Also hitting the unemployment line was Joel Martin, when he was released from his PTO – but he will be attending the Sound Tigers training camp.

It was a busy weekend, but the Islanders are that much closer to setting their final roster of 23 players – and they have until Wednesday to do so. The Islanders have five days of practice until their home opener next weekend the 9th when they take on the Dallas Stars

Per an Islanders release:

The New York Islanders have traded defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a second round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The pick was originally acquired by Ottawa along with Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo from San Jose in exchange for forward Dany Heatley and Ottawa’s fifth-round draft choice in 2010 on Sept. 12, 2009.

Sutton was signed by the Islanders on August 10, 2007 as a free agent and has played on Long Island over the past three seasons. Over the course, Sutton has played in 135 games for the Islanders, scoring seven goals and 23 assists. This year, Sutton totaled four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 54 games with the Islanders.

The Islanders have recalled defenseman Dustin Kohn from the team’s American Hockey league affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Such is the case that Islanders GM Garth Snow will find himself in should he opt to claim Nick Boynton off of waivers before 12 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.

Why should Snow put in a claim?

Let’s see, the team has now lost five straight and is still on the playoff bubble stalled at 54 points. The Islanders defensive corps is battered and bruised, having to resort to calling up two stop gaps in Dustin Kohn and Andrew MacDonald (MacDonald is playing over 21 minutes a game and has been impressive, but I digress). Jack Hillen was felled to a broken jaw thanks to Alex Ovechkin’s slapshot last week and will be out 6-8 weeks. Veteran tough guy d-man Brendan Witt has a leg injury and will be out for another 2-3 weeks at best. Lastly on the injury front, Radek Martinek (aka Glass Man) was lost to a knee injury earlier this season and will be out indefinitely.

Looking further into the depth of the Islanders d-corps depth chart:

Bruno Gervais, is just not cutting it and seems to finding himself in the red in the plus/minus column more often than not. His recent pairing with Mark Streit has allowed him better play, thankfully.

Freddy Meyer (FMIV) bounces in and out of the lineup and has been decent, but he is not a top four d-man.

You’re current top four – Andy Sutton, Mark Streit, Bruno Gervais and Andrew MacDonald. The Islanders need defensive help and they need it now.

Boynton is set to make $700,000 for the rest of this season and is a pending UFA, so it’s not really a high risk move by any means. Should Boynton clear waivers, he will be sent down to the Ducks AHL affiliate and if summoned back to the NHL will be exposed to re-entry waivers and only costing a team $350,000 at that point.

To me, shaking up your team and giving them depth by adding a waiver wire claim seems like a good move. Pundits can claim that Boynton has played for three teams in two seasons, he has had his struggles in Anaheim and doesn’t fit the Islanders system. However, the failed experiment this weekend in Philly with Trevor Gillies should point out the need for toughness in the lineup – which Boynton can bring. Looking over his fight card this season (3 fights in his limited playing time) he has fought some tough opponents.

I say give him a shot Garth, but that’s just my opinion – if he doesn’t work out, no harm no foul and you have given up NOTHING.

What do you all think? Discuss in the comments section.

This move addresses a need, but is two years for a 40 year old goalie the smartest?

Per Greg Logan’s blog.

The Islanders have reached agreement with Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson on a two-year deal believed to be worth $5 million. Signing a veteran starting goaltender solves their top priority, which was to have a 1A-caliber backup for starter Rick DiPietro in the event his injury problems continue.

Roloson turns 40 on Oct. 12, but he was the Oilers’ MVP last season with a 28-24-9 record, 2.77 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. He also recorded a spectacular .930 save percentage for Canada at the World Championships, a gold-medal effort.

The Islanders have assigned forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen to their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hillen was on the clear day roster set a few weeks back, and according to Tom Liodice from The Tiger Track, Okposo was he was “in residence” and fit into the roster due to numerous injuries. In any case, Bridgeport’s playoff roster just got that much deeper.

I will touch on this more a little later when I get home from work. Here is the official release:

The New York Islanders have announced today that right wing Kyle Okposo and defenseman Jack Hillen have been reassigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Both players are scheduled to be in the line-up for the Sound Tigers this weekend when they open up their East Division semifinal series at the Nassau Coliseum versus the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Game One is this Friday night, April 17th at 7:30 PM with Game Two scheduled for Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 PM. Tickets are currently on sale for both games at www.NewYorkIslanders.com.

Okposo played in 65 games for the Islanders this season and scored 18 goals with 21 assists for 39 points. He led all Islanders rookies and finished second on the team overall in scoring and led the team in goals scored. Okposo suited up in 35 games for the Sound Tigers in the 2007-08 season when he made his professional hockey debut and scored nine goals with 19 assists for 28 points. He was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Hillen played in 40 games for the Islanders this season scoring one goal with five assists for six points. He also played in 33 games for Bridgeport and scored three goals with 13 assists for 16 points. Hillen led all Sound Tigers defensemen in points per game with an average of 0.52. He was signed by the Islanders has an undrafted free agent on April 1, 2008.

In addition to logging onto www.NewYorkIslanders.com, tickets can also be purchased at the Islanders Team Stores at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville and the Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa, the Nassau Coliseum Box Office, or by calling 1.800.882.ISLES, ext. 1. Ticket prices will range accordingly: $29 for lower VIP center seats, $19 for lower VIP corner and lower VIP end zone seats and $15 for upper bowl 300 level seats.

The Islanders have just announced that they have signed veteran forward Doug Weight to a one year contract extension.

Per the Islanders official press release:

The Islanders have signed center Doug Weight to a one-year contract extension.

In his first season with the Islanders, Weight is third on the team in scoring with nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points despite missing 29 games due to injury.

Weight originally signed with the Islanders as an unrestricted free agent on July 2, 2008. The contract runs through the 2009-10 season. “Long Island has been a wonderful place for me and my family,” Weight said. “It was an easy decision to come back for another season. The Islanders have been a first-class organization and I’m looking forward to helping our team continue its development into a contender.”

Weight is a four-time NHL All-Star and won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2005-06 and was an Olympic Silver Medalist with the United States in 2002. Weight has played in 1,180 games and has scored 274 goals and 730 assists for 1,004 points in 17 NHL seasons. He recorded his 1,000th NHL point on January 2nd, 2009 at Phoenix and became the eighth American-born player and 73rd NHL player to reach that plateau. Weight is also one of 45 all-time NHL players, and one of four American-born hockey players, to have recorded at least 200 goals and 700 assists in their careers In addition to the 2002 team, Weight also played on the 1998 United States Olympic Team and represented the United States in the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and 2004. A native of Warren, Michigan, Weight played collegiate hockey for two years with Lake Superior State University from 1989 to 1991. After the 1990-91 season, Weight was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team and the NCAA’s West Second All-American Team.

I know I have been a big Doug Weight fan this season from the moment I interviewed him at his introduction over the summer. Weight came to the Islanders looking to prove he could still be a force in this young mans game. He proved he can and then some.

Weight has been an important mentor and leader for this young Islanders club, I am estatic he was signed prior to the end of the season. This was a very good move by Garth Snow!

Having traded veteran Bill Guerin yesterday during the trade deadline, coupled with the fact that Brendan Witt is still serving his suspension, Nate Thompson not ready, Trent Hunter not ready and Thomas Pock also not ready – the Islanders have recalled four players from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Forward Jesse Joensuu who scored in his first NHL game on Monday gets another go, while forward Joel Rechlicz gets his first call up of the season. Defensemen Joe Callahan who has been impressive while up with the big club and Andrew MacDonald another impressive young d-man also get the call. So while the Islanders did not make too many trades yesterday – it sure might feel that way with so many new faces in the locker room tonight.

Here is the official press release:

The New York Islanders have recalled forwards Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defensemen Joe Callahan and Andrew MacDonald from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.

Joensuu (YOH-ehn-soo) made his NHL debut on Monday night against Colorado and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot. In 56 games with Bridgeport this season, he has recorded 17 goals and 14 assists to rank fifth on the team with 31 points. Joensuu was drafted by the Islanders in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Rechlicz (REHK-lihj) has split time between Bridgeport (AHL) and Utah (ECHL) this season. He has seven penalty minutes in three games with Bridgeport and one assist to go along with 110 penalty minutes in 45 games with Utah. Rechlicz was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on May 6, 2008.

Callahan has one assist and a +2 rating in 13 games with the Islanders this season. In 42 games with Bridgeport, he has scored three goals and added six assists for nine points. Callahan was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 8, 2008.

MacDonald made his NHL debut on February 28th against Buffalo and has a +2 rating in two games. In 52 games with Bridgeport this season, he has six goals and 13 assists to lead all Sound Tigers’ defensemen with 19 points. He also represented the Sound Tigers in the AHL All-Star game as a member of Team Canada this season. MacDonald was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

I am going to record the call with my fancy device that allows me to do so with my digital recorder. I will either transcribe it or post the clip in it’s entirety.

More in a few!

Update: Well there were technical difficulties in the call. I think I heard Garth Snow say three of four barely audible words. Guess I have to wait for the press release – nothing went the Islanders way today, clearly.

Update #2 Per the Islanders official press release:

The New York Islanders have traded Bill Guerin to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2009 fifth round draft selection. The team has also activated defenseman Thomas Pock and center Nate Thompson from the Injured Reserve while reassigning winger Jon Sim to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

The conditions of the Guerin/Pittsburgh trade are as follows: If Pittsburgh reaches the playoffs, the draft pick is upgraded to a fourth round selection. If Pittsburgh advances past the first round and Guerin plays in 50 percent of those first round games, the draft pick gets further upgraded to a third round selection. The fifth round selection originally belonged to Tampa Bay.

“The entire Islanders organization has the utmost respect for Bill Guerin and we sincerely thank him for his time on Long Island and as the team’s captain,” said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.

Guerin recorded 16 goals and 20 assists for 36 points in 61 games with the Islanders this season. Since signing with the team as a free agent on July 5, 2007, he played in 142 games and recorded 39 goals and 41 assists for 80 points. Guerin was the 11th captain in franchise history.

Pock has played in 41 games this season and has scored one goal with two assists for three points. He missed the Islanders’ last 13 games with a hand injury. Pock was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers on September 29, 2008. In 100 career NHL games, Pock has scored eight goals with nine assists for 17 points and 51 penalty minutes.

Thompson has played in 28 games this season and has scored two goals. He missed the Islanders’ last 12 games with a shoulder injury. Thompson was claimed off waivers from Boston on October 8, 2008. In 32 career NHL games, Thompson has scored two goals and registered 42 penalty minutes.

Sim, who cleared waivers earlier today, has played in 49 games with the Islanders this season and scored nine goals and six assists for 15 points. In 51 career games with the Islanders he has scored nine goals with seven assists for 16 points and 44 penalty minutes. Sim was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 1, 2007.

The details:

Islanders trade Bill Guerin for a conditional 5th round pick that can go as high as a third rounder.

If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, it turns into a 4th rounder.
If Pittsburgh wins a round, it turns into a 3rd rounder.

Not really anything major, but I would have thought the return would have been at least a second rounder.

Bill Guerin was just on TSN when asked how it felt to be in limbo:

It was a pretty painful process. We thought we had a deal done with another team a couple of days ago.

Greg Logan has the whole exchange on his blog:

Asked about the wait to learn his fate since being scratched on Saturday night, Guerin said, “It was a pretty painful process. We thought we had a deal done with another team a couple days ago. Then, it just kind of made things a little awkward, so, I sat here in limbo for four days or so just kind of waiting for something to happen. I’ve been through trade deadlines before, and a lot of things wait until the last second to get things done.

“I’m excited about going to Pittsburgh. It’s a great opportunity for me to go to a talented team like that with their experience in the Finals last year. They’re in a dogfight right now for the playoffs, but they’re playing great and I’m really looking forward to it.”

On whether he expects to help the Pens with leadership: “I just go in and be myself. I’ve always been a vocal guy, not afraid to say anything. You just play it by ear. They get you for a specific reason. The best thing you can do is be yourself and support the leadership they have there.”

See ya on the flip side Billy.

Last year, my first with Islesblogger and as a member of the Islanders Blog Box – I spent the entire day at Nassau Coliseum live blogging the events of the day. We were interviewed by Jim Baumbach of Newsday – whom live blogged our live blogging and even had a run in with several Pittsburgh players asking if we knew if any of them had been traded. However, because this year the Islanders do not have a game, it is impossible to be allowed access to the Blog Box for something similar. Obviously this is dissapointing – but I pledge to carry on from the comfort of my own home with access to the same Canadian television, the internet and hopefully better food then what will be available to the media and Islanders Point Blank who will be crammed into Room Six.

What’s even more exciting, is now that I have access to everything on SB Nation – I will be part of their deadline day special through Lighthouse Hockey! I will have a running post of any and all the large trades made by the Islanders and may do something similar for the division rivals. I will also have a few opinion peices in addition to updating everyone here on Islesblogger – it will be a lot of work, but Dom and I promise to bring to some great stuff tomorrow later today.

Stay tuned for the fun stuff! Remember, you can subscribe to my RSS FEED or EMAIL UPDATES as well as follow along on TWITTER if you will be stuck at work without constant access to the internet!

Sim, who had three assists last night and three goals in four games before last nights three point outburst, has one year remaining on his contract at an affordable $1 million dollars.

I have two games worth of quotes from Jon Sim that I have yet to post – I guess today is the day. Look for those a bit later tonight.

More as it develops, I’m almost positive someone was interested in acquiring Sim without giving up anything in return.

It started with sitting in my seats in section 309 last night and my seat neighbor Anthony from Brooklyn and I are talking about alternate captains and who else is wearing an “A” other than Hunter with Witt out. We canvass the ice and bench and cannot find anyone. Tony from Islesnation (who sits directly over my left shoulder) says – “Uh, where is Guerin?”. The three of us break out of phones (two iPhones and a Blackberry) and begin to read every website for a hint of information. We find out that Guerin took place in the warmup and was removed after a conversation with Garth Snow. Cue bells and whistles.

Ok, we knew Guerin had agreed to waive his no movement clause for only Eastern Conference contenders – so he was likely on the move someplace. A few phone calls up to my contacts in the press box produced nothing concrete – everyone up there was scrambling as much as we were. Chris Botta, as always seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the situation and began frantically exploring every angle possible, but would not get positive proof of any specific move. Cue drama music.

Based on some of my own guesswork, I had narrowed the teams down to three, possibly even four based on the mileage factor. Earlier in the week I had heard something about a possible deal with Montreal, but heard nothing of specific names involved. Earlier yesterday I had heard that there were two Islanders scouts in attendance at the Washington – Bruins game. Why would TWO scouts be at that game? Perhaps they were each scouting a different team? I added those two teams to my list.

Just about everyone on the net seems to have a different opinion on what is going on, so that is what makes the speculation fun and exciting. However, everything seems to move back to Washington and Montreal and it can only mean one thing – Garth Snow has a bidding war on his hands and is playing this hand of poker absolutely perfect. Has he bluffed his way into having the better player muck his winning hand?

Let’s think this through hypothetically, Bill Guerin is going to be moved – you know it, I know it, Billy knows it – the league knows it. Snow’s phones begin lighting up and he has a few deals that interest him. He talks to team A and they offer X – team B offers Y – Garth tells team A that he has a better offer on the table and in an attempt to fire up both pulls Guerin from the warmup to make it appear a deal is imminent. Perhaps he is playing both teams (or even a third team?) and forcing them to up the ante. This is what makes an excellent GM in my eyes – the ability to squeeze the most out of any deal (look no further than last weeks transaction with Ottawa).

Where we stand today is even more confusing as Greg Logan wrote an article claiming a divide in the locker room. I already posted that I was concerned with three players speaking out against Gordon (Comrie, Campoli and Witt), this would make four if true. Could it be sensationalism to sell the Sunday editions or drive traffic to the Newsday site? Certainly, but what I don’t understand is that two to three weeks ago Guerin was apparently content being an Islander and preferred to remain one for the future. Logan even cites an anonymous player as another veteran whom has questioned Gordon – which could make five players. To quote a great movie line that needs no explanation “What we have here is a failure to communicate”. Something that needs to be taken into consideration is that Scott Gordon is a rookie coach in a really tough situation. His is in the middle of a full on rebuild and playing the kids as much as possible – he works well with the kids because he was in the AHL. Maybe he has been making assumptions about the veterans not needing the same type of attention – which by the article seems to be the case. Who knows, it’s another story line we must keep an eye out for.

Update 1:05pm -Everything just came full circle, Greg Logan updated his blog while I was typing this piece. Seems he is also thinking the way I am in terms of the two teams being Montreal and Washington.

Around the five minute mark of the first period against the Rangers tonight, MacDonald somehow injured his groin and could no longer continue. In his place Yann Danis jumps into the game. Now the curious case of who will serve as backup to the backup in case something should happen to Danis. Howie and Billy joked when the camera went to the skybox where both Dunham and Garth were sitting that either would be more than capable. Seems someone in management was listening, because Dunham disappeared and would be named emergency backup – you know, just in case.

It appears as if the Islanders will be giving many fans their wish if DiPietro is indeed shut down. In a pregame interview with Billy Jaffe, Garth Snow admitted concerns over DiPietro and insists that his best interests and safety are in mind with any decision. He also admitted that there may have been errors made in their decisions with DP in years past.

Shut him down and allow him to FULLY recover for next season, this way we don’t have a repeat – or should I say THREE-PEAT?

The Islanders have traded AHL Defenseman Brett Skinner to the Thrashers in exchange for right winger Junior Lassard.

Per the Islanders release:

The New York Islanders have acquired right wing Junior Lessard from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Brett Skinner. Lessard will report directly to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.

Lessard (leh-SAHR) has played in 41 games with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League this season, recording six goals and five assists for 11 points. The 28-year-old Quebec native has played in 27 career NHL games with Dallas and Tampa Bay, scoring three goals and adding one assist for four points during parts of three seasons. Lessard has also played in 298 career AHL games, recording 86 goals and 92 assists for 178 points in five seasons.

Lessard went to college at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as Top United States Collegiate Player in 2004. Lessard played 45 games in that season, scoring 32 goals with 31 assists for 63 points. He was also honored as WCHA Player of the Year and was named to the WCHA First All-Star Team, NCAA West First All-American Team and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. The Stars signed Lessard as an undrafted free agent out of college on April 15, 2004.

Earlier this summer the Minnesota Wild bought out the remaining three-years of his contract (estimated worth around $9-million). I had mixed feelings when the buyout occurred, but apparently his offensive ability trailed off the last several years and no longer fit in with the Wild’s plans. Glad to see Parry is getting a chance to get his foot back in the door – although I wish he never left.

Should he be brought up to the Islanders at some point (after 25 games?) – he will retake his old office in front of opposing goaltenders and help on the power play. What about the youth movement? Well, Parrish isn’t exactly a senior citizen at 31-years old, but Mark Parrish isn’t the same player he was. However, if the Islanders can pick him up without losing a single prospect, player or pick – AND have a chance at dictating his salary, why wouldn’t you do it?

The Islanders lack goal scoring, plain and simple. They also need that front of the net presence that Parrish was known for in his time here. He won’t score 30 or 40 goals, but anything he pitches in is that much extra compared to what was there.

This is a low risk move and hard to fault.

It also adds a known player to your back pocket, once the trade deadline comes – he can be offered a contract when some of the veterans are moved.

Thompson was drafted in the 6th round 183rd overall in the 2003 draft, he plays center and had 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points in 75 games with the P-Bruins last season.

Not a bad pickup, obviously this is a Gordon choice with all his experience in the Bruins organization.

Apparently, Thompson is quite the scrapper – as evident in the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Greg Logan also had an interesting update in his blog this evening, seems as if Brett Skinner was returned to Bridgeport and Thompson will take Skinners place in the pressbox. He also claims that this move will not affect Bailey’s playing time and had some good quotes from Gordon.

It’s uncertain how quickly Thompson will fit into the lineup, but for the moment, the Islanders are carrying 14 forwards and only seven defensemen since Brett Skinner got sent down to Bridgeport to make room for Thompson. If Thompson performs well, it wouldn’t be surprising if general manager Garth Snow looks to trade a spare forward.

Emphasis added in the last sentence of the quote, but it appears that Garth Snow has really grown comfortable in the GM role and had set the Islanders up in good position should the need arise to ship players out or form a package deal for scoring.

Does anyone else think Friday, Saturday and Monday cannot come soon enough?

Logan had this to say today on this very subject:

In a bit of a surprise, Islanders first-round draft pick Josh Bailey was named to the 23-man NHL roster, released by the club moments ago.

Why keep him if not to play him? Under NHL rules, Bailey can play nine games and still remain eligible to return to his junior team. Since he only made two exhibition appearances, the Islanders might want to take a longer look before making a decision on where he spends the rest of the season.

Obviously, the plan is to give Bailey a few games at the NHL level to really see how he is doing – as he hasn’t had all too much time on the ice for the Islanders during the preseason. Checking in on Bailey’s stats (only last nights game had any stats recorded), he has accumulated 17:37 minutes of ice time, he is -1 and has zero shots on goal. Some call it a PR move, but others may see the value in giving a talented young player some ice-time before he heads back down to juniors. If anything, it will motivate Bailey that much more during his time in juniors and he will work even harder at getting ready for the Islanders.

In other non-Bailey news, sticking to a plan nobody would see as being necessary last season, Garth Snow has also kept eight defenseman on according to Logan – including rookies Jack Hillen and Brett Skinner. Obviously, with injuries to the defensive corps before the season even began (Chris Campoli and Andy Sutton), having the extra bodies on the back end cannot hurt. This is compounded even further by the strong play of both Hillen and Skinner.

With almost five days between their final preseason game and their season opener on the road in New Jersey on Friday, Coach Scott Gordon is likely pouring over tape and finalizing the lineup. This is also a great time for the players to work with who they will be paired with – another positive.

According to Chris Botta on his Brand Spankin’ New Blog – Islanders Point Blank, these are likely the lines we are to see on Friday:

Jon Sim – Doug Weight – Bill Guerin
Jeff Tambellini – Frans Nielsen – Trent Hunter
Mike Comrie – Richard Park – Andy Hilbert
Sean Bergenheim – Josh Bailey – Kyle Okposo

Blake Comeau

Brendan Witt – Radek Martinek
Jack Hillen – Mark Streit
Freddy Meyer – Bruno Gervais
Thomas Pock – Brett Skinner

Rick DiPietro – Joey MacDonald

There are a few things that need to happen by Friday if the Islanders are to open the season with a win in New Jersey. Stick to Gordon’s system, control the flow, generate chances and capitalize on the power play. Oh, and one last thing – DiPietro needs to somehow find his MoJo, and fast.