I still remember quite clearly, spending an entire day from morning to night at Nassau Coliseum on deadline day – my first year blogging about the Islanders. The Penguins were in town, we watched their morning skate from section 206, and then watched as several players ran the stairs on either side of our perch. Two players stopped and asked us for updates – it was a bit unnerving to inform Colby Armstrong he was likely going to be traded. Crazy stuff. (Another crazy bit was Garth Snow extending Mike Comrie another year…but hey – live and learn).

As a fan of the Islanders, you never want to see players you have grown to know and respect moved. But, as it has been said elsewhere thousands of times – that’s the nature of the business. At the same time, you always get excited at the prospect of adding to your core players, as the hope is to ultimately improve your chances at winning the Stanley Cup.

I came into this years deadline with little to no expectations. Garth Snow had already moved what I considered (you know – I was playing armchair GM here) – the teams most tradeable assets in Dwayne Roloson and James Wisniewski. Sure, he could infuriate the the fanbase by trading a struggling prospect like Josh Bailey if he was blown away, but at most I figured he would trade a pending unrestricted free agent or two.

Throughout the day yesterday I was glued to my iPhone – checked Twitter, TSN, watched NHL Network via Slingplayer, checked the TSN Tradecentre app, message boards, blogs – the whole nine.

Seemed as if nothing was going on – and it stayed that way all day.

At one point, it appeared that an Anaheim deal for Zenon Konopka was imminent – but big Z himself headed off that rumor with TSN directly. Radek Martinek was also spoken about as well – but Garth was apparently asking too much for each of these players. Good thing too, Martinek is one of the teams only healthy veteran defensemen and Konopka is way too important for the locker room.

As it would turn out, the only player moved from the Islanders yesterday was Rob Schremp – who was placed on waivers late last week. He was claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers. In his place, Justin DiBenedetto was called up from the Sound Tigers and makes his debut tonight against the Washington Capitals.

Kudos to Garth Snow for not wanting to disrupt what chemistry he has in his current roster for the sake of adding a draft pick or two for the upcoming draft. In addition, I am happy he decided, once again – not to mortgage the future for the sake of going after a rental player. This team isn’t quite ready to go that route – the promise land is still a ways off on the horizon.

Instead Garth Snow will likely look to add a piece or two this coming July when the free agency period opens – which for the sake of the team, I hope to be a little different this year than in years past.

When the Islanders take on the Capitals tonight in Washington, D.C. – Nathan Lawson will be the starter and DiBenedetto will be paired with Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau. I highly doubt the Capitals will be the same team the Islanders saw this past weekend, I hope they bring their A game.

Unfortunately, there seem to be some issues with my solution. Some folks are reporting varied success in creating accounts without providing a payment option and I myself – cannot seem to stream the video feed in the application. I get a “file not found” page likely due to my IP address location. That said, push notifications do work when a trade is made, complete with the ESPN dun dun da dun dun da alert (which always startles me).

Don’t fret folks, there is another option to stream the TSN feed on your device. The application is called Skyfire Web Browser and it allows you to stream flash video on your iPhone or iPad. Unfortunatey, the app is $2.99 but it works well. You can use it to stream video and audio from many websites that utilize flash.

Of course, you can always watch the TSN feed on the NHL Network if you are in front of a TV, or via Slingbox or Slingplayer – but if you are at work and moving about like me – these are your best options.

I personally use the TSN Tradecentre app for the push alerts as they are pretty quick, but I watch when I can via Slingplayer on my iPhone.

Here are some screen caps:

Update 2/28/11 at 11:00 am

Thanks to those coming in! I’ve read about some of your issues with the app, and have another solution you can also try in this post!

Sometimes, being outside of Hockey’s Hotbed (also known as Canada), can be sort of a bad experience for those of us in the US. This experience is only compounded further when our brothers and sisters up in Canada get all sorts of cool applications to follow the NHL’s Trade Deadline (which let’s face facts – is a Hockey HOLIDAY for most), while those of us here rely on our slower forms of notification.

Unfortunately, the TSN Tradecenter application is only available in Canada – likely for distribution limits. Last year, I was able to download the Tradecentre app on my Jailbroken iPhone – but this year I was determined to find a way to download the application without having to modify my phone, and I also wanted it on my iPad as well.

The solution was quite simple actually; a CANADIAN iTunes account.

When you create an iTunes (I created it via iTunes on my PC) account, you’re asked to select your current country – which for me normally would be the good ole’ US of A. I created a secondary iTunes account and I selected Canada as my home country. You can too, just follow these steps:

1. Make sure you are signed out of your account on iTunes.
2. Go to the bottom of iTunes and choose “change country” from the “Manage” tab.
3. Choose the Canadian flag.
4. Click Sign In and Choose “Create a New Account”
5. Agree to terms and conditions.
6. Enter Email Address, password and other security questions. You’ll need to verify your account by clicking a link you are emailed so use a valid email)
7. Select “none” from payment method. (Edit: varied success here, not sure why)
8. For Billing Address, you must choose a correct postal code that matches with the province of that country (I picked Oakville, Ontario here). Go on Google to search for an address with the appropriate postal code (I made up a very inconceivable address for this).
9. After email verification, you are done. Log into the iTunes app store from your iPhone or iPad and download the TSN Tradecenter app.

There is however, ONE stipulation for downloading apps of this nature, they have to be FREE. If you want to purchase an app or music from the Canadian iTunes store – you’d need to use a gift card.

Here are the application’s details per TSN’s website:

TSN TradeCentre is TSN’s first special-event iPhone and iPad app, created to keep you in the loop about every move made on and before NHL Trade Deadline Day, Monday, February 28. You’re plugged into the TSN TradeCentre wherever you go:

- The ‘Trades’ section lists all the trades chronologically, with new ones added the second we know about them

– Each trade is also sent out via optional ‘push’ notifications, so you’ll know about each trade even if you’re doing something else on your device

– Starting at 8am ET (5am PT) you can watch TSN’s live HDTV coverage of TradeCentre right on your device.

– For complete details and analysis, checkout the ‘News’ tab. Every trade tells a story, and we’ve got them all, along with blogs and columns from TSN’s award-winning team of hockey journalists

- NEW for iPad: Follow our reporters’ Tweets in the Twitter Tracker

- NEW for iPad: Video reports from our reporters and columnists, plus reaction from coaches and players

Now anyone with an iPhone or iPad (or even iPod Touch) can follow TSN’s Trade coverage all day long, anywhere they have Cellular and/or WiFi.

BONUS! Get the FAN 590 too!

So, maybe you want a Canada only app to listen to Hockey Talk beyond the trade deadline? Well – as they say, there is an app for that. You can also download the Rogers Radio app so you can stream Toronto’s FAN 590 sports talk show.

Now you can hear THE FAN 590 and your choice of Canada’s most popular radio stations – anywhere, anytime!

If you’re a Rogers Wireless or Fido iPhone customer, you can listen to THE FAN 590 and also discover new stations with the Rogers Radio iPhone App.

Choose from over 50 station streams featuring rock, country, top 40, news/talk, sports and multi-lingual formats. Listen to top-rated stations across the country, including 680News, KiSS FM, 98.1 CHFI, and SONiC 102.9.

This app gives you AAC+ audio quality, and allows you to search by station name or by the city – or just search for the station that’s closest to you. It also gives you song and artist info, and even tells you how to contact the stations.

The rookie who’s job it was to back up the rookie Poulin; Mikko Koskinen – was thrust unexpectedly into the Islanders lineup in relief of his fallen Bridgeport and Islanders teammate. Koskinen did not fair well though, allowing two goals on his first four shots and then allowing five before the night was over. The Islanders summoned Joel Martin from Bridgeport on an emergency basis and he arrived at the start of the third period of last nights game.

Earlier today, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said he was actively searching for veteran goaltender help today – apparently finding Al Montoya.

The cost? A sixth round draft choice in 2011 went to the Phoenix Coyotoes in exchange for Montoya, who coincidentally was involved in a fight with Rick DiPietro during a preseason Rangers game a few seasons ago. The Islanders immediately assigned Montoya to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he will most likely wait for the Islanders to return home from Montreal.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Per the Islanders press release:

Montoya, 25, has an 11-8-0 record with a 3.19 goals against average (GAA) and a .891 save percentage (sv%) in 21 games this season with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. The Chicago, IL, native has played in five career NHL games, all with Phoenix, and posted a 3-1-0 record with a 2.08 GAA and a .925 sv%.

Originally selected by the New York Rangers in the first round, sixth overall, of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Montoya has played in 197 career AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack and San Antonio, compiling a 96-72-7 record with nine shutouts. Prior to his professional career, the 6’2”, 195-pound goalie enjoyed a three-year career at the University of Michigan. He led the nation in minutes played (2358:51) in his final season (2004-05) and finished his college career tied for the all-time best career save percentage (90.8) in U. Michigan history, third in GAA (2.36), third in shutouts (13), and fourth in wins (86).

Toughness seems to be the focus this offseason, having already added Milan Jurcina and Mark Eaton to the defense, as well as Zenon Konopka, Jeremy Yablonksi and just this week the resigning of Jon Sim to the forward corps – Wiesniewski certainly brings an extra element of toughness, just check YouTube for some highlights. But he’s not just a physical defenseman, Wisniewski had a career-high 30 points (3 goals, 27 assists) in 69 games with the Ducks last season and logged over 27 minutes a game. Should he be paired with Mark Streit, especially on the power play, they could become quite the prominent force for the Islanders.

Something else “The Wiz” brings to the organization, a winning attitude – the man spoke nothing but praise for his opportunity to be a first pairing defenseman, his desire to restore both glory to the franchise and most importantly, his desire to win. He said all the right things during his introductory interviews, and it was no different this evening with me as we had a brief one on one phone interview.

I understand that you’ve been trying to find a place here on the Island? How’s that going?

Yes, my wife and I for the last couple of days have been looking, well today I played golf but we’ve gone to a few different towns looking at different houses to get a feel for the area.

Have you experienced Long Island at all, prior to this?

No, actually I have not. This is the first time, and I tell you what – it is quite underrated. This is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.

Glad to hear that! Have you gotten a chance to check out the beaches yet?

Nope, we haven’t been down to the beaches yet – we have spent a lot of time up on the North Shore around Huntington, Oyster Bay and Old Brookville, played golf at Sebonac today so I kind of did the whole tour of the Island so it’s been quite beautiful.

I read what you had said previously on being traded to the Islanders, You’re excited to play for the Islanders, can you tell me a little bit about how you feel this opportunity is going to be?

It’s kind of what I had been through before in a way, obviously I was part of a young core with Chicago and now I am more of a veteran guy coming into a team that is on the rise and has all this skilled talent and I am really looking forward to playing a big part and a big role in the rebirth of this organzation.

How do you feel moving into the Eastern Conference, especially the very tight Atlantic Division?

I would personally have to say that this is by far the hardest division. If you look at the teams, just the grind of every game and a bunch of teams making the playoffs. Obviously we get to play these teams six times each but the travel is going to be way better though, coming from the Western Conference where you have to take a flight everywhere, except obviously LA where we would bus up there but other than that we had one flight that was an hour, mostly two and often four hours everywhere else.

I know you spent time in the Chicago organization where you got to experience the Blackhawks – Wings rivalry, are you excited about the Islanders – Rangers rivalry and have you heard anything about it from some of the other guys?

Well yea, they asked if I liked the Rangers and I said – no! [laughs] Then they all said good, and after listening to them explain there is a lot more hatred for the Rangers then there is for the Hawks and Red Wings, so I am looking forward to coming into one of top rivalries in all of sports.

Now that guys like Chris Pronger are on the East Coast, he’s given the Islanders some trouble – especially with some hits on John Tavares last season. Will you be answering for these types of hits on the younger talent on the Islanders?

I think a lot of it is, what you have to try to do, is you answer by being physical with their forwards. You have to finish all of your checks no matter who you’re playing, and you know, that’s part of my style of play is to be physical. I’ve played with Pronger when I was with Anaheim and everyone knows that’s how he is going to play, so you’ve just got to play the same way.

Garth Snow definitely changed the physical element of this team, they recently resigned Jon Sim, brought in Milan Jurcina and Mark Eaton as well as Zenon Konopka, and Jeremy Yablonski. What do you feel you add to the organization in addition to those other guys?

Well, everyone brings a little bit of size and physical play. Eaton won a cup with Pittsburgh and Jurcina was part of the Capitals resurgence, myself I think I bring an all around element that’s part of my game – I am very physical and have a lot of offensive ability and great leadership. I think a lot of the guys are going to bring different things and I think they all look forward at taking part in turning this organization around.

It sounds like you will fit into Scott Gordon’s system. Have you gotten a chance to talk to Coach at all about what he expects from you or just given you a heads up on his style of play?

Actually, I have not! I’ve not really had the chance to talk to anyone on the coaching staff. I am looking forward to playing for him though, I love his style of play, I am a big fan of his [Scott Gordon's] he’s a very demanding coach, he expects a lot out of his players and wants high offensive players and you’ve got to be creative. It’s something I look forward to, playing in that style of play that he has.

What are some areas you feel you need to improve on personally?

Personally, I feel that everyone could work on becoming a better skater so, one thing I work on during the summertime is explosiveness. I want to be reliable to play 25-30 minutes a night because that’s the role I want to play, I want to log a lot of minutes so I want to focus on making sure that I am not tired or fatigued come the third period or throughout the season.

Do you have any goals for the upcoming season?

Honestly, my goal is just to WIN! When you win, everyone is happy. It doesn’t matter to me personally, I just wanna help this team win and you’ll get rewarded with your personal stuff when teams win.

Do you look forward to playing with the young talent the Islanders have? Specifically in a veteran role being you’ve been through a similar situation with the Blackhawks?

Oh absolutely, I see myself as having leadership qualities so, these kids can be really fun to play with, being part of the young talent is great and obviously it will be great to give advice. It’s also interesting not knowing anybody, I think I only know two guys on the team. For me it will be a little different not knowing anyone, going to Anaheim from Chicago I knew some of guys. So only knowing two guys it will be different, but, that’s the duty about being a professional athlete, you get to make new friends. You’re usually not going to be on the same team the whole time, so it’s going to be fun to meet new guys and build some chemistry with them and the organization.

Nobody Beats the Wiz!

James Wisniewski is genuine when he says he wants to win, I’ve heard many different players say that over the years – but the passion behind his voice is different. He believes in what Garth Snow is trying to accomplish here on Long Island, he’s willing to prove his value to his new team and for the first time he will be given his chance to shine. Garth has a pretty good track record when it comes to finding diamonds in the rough, Mark Streit, Matt Moulson and Rob Schremp to name a few – so it’s not out of the question that Wisniewski could find his home here on Long Island.

It’s true what they say though, Nobody Beats the Wiz.

The Islanders will be a different team when they play Dallas during the 2010/2011 opener in a few short months, I doubt the final roster is set – but I like what Garth Snow has put together so far. Is it October yet?

Some info on Nelson, according to Hockey’s Future:

2009-10: Played for Warroad High School in Minnesota. In 31 games for Warroad, Nelson scored 53 goals and added 42 assists for 95 points. He finished with a +55 rating on the season. Nelson was a finalist for the Mr. Hockey Award as Minnesota’s top high school hockey player. Nelson is the nephew of former NHL player and 1980 Team USA member Dave Christian.

Nelson is committed to play for the University of North Dakota next year.

Here is a photo of Brock Nelson on the phone with Kyle Okposo, a fellow Minnesota resident.

Today is Trade Deadline Day, somewhat of a National holiday in the US and Canada. Teams have until 3pm Eastern today to make final roster adjustments and in the past we have seen quite a bit of movement.

I wouldn’t expect too much from Islanders General Manager Garth Smow today, although he already made his first move yesterday by trading Andy Sutton to the Senators for a second round pick.

What other players are available? Here is a short list, which is my opinion of course:

Dwayne Roloson wasn’t a lock to be moved earlier in the season, as he had signed a two year deal in July. However, solid play through this point has really increased his value to teams looking for solid veteran goaltending here for playoff stretches.

Martin Biron was considered trade bait from the second he signed with the Islanders in July. Biron hasn’t played spectacular this year, and sat in the pressbox when DiPietro returned. He could be moved to a team looking for a quality backup, seeing he is an unrestricted free agent in July.

Curiously, Sean Bergenheim was a healthy scratch last night against Chicago. Word on the street is that there was some interest for Sean recently, who hasn’t been able to live up to his potential under Scott Gordon.

Jeff Tambellini is an odd man out, used sparingly by Gordon, Jiffy Jeff has been scratched for 3/4 of the games played so far and has taken it like a pro. Another underachiever coould spark interest from another club willing to give him a shot.

Brendan Witt has been playing in Bridgeport since passing through waivers. He’s got a year left on his contract and more than $3 million remaining. If the Islanders were to bring him back up on re-entry waivers, perhaps someone may be interested in the gritty defenseman.

Jon Sim has, at least to me, worn out his usefullness on the Islanders. The return on this role player won’t be much, but with Matt Martin waiting in the wings, he is taking up a roster spot. I could see a playoff bound team bringing him on for depth.

The Islanders don’t really have the assets to be real players this deadline. A majority of their players are more valuable to them than the rest of the league, which is a bit of a problem. one big plus for Garth Snow is that he has PLENTY of cap space to play with, so if a team needs to shed salary, he can pick up a player that may not fit somewhere else.

The day has only just begun, let’s see what happens.

Stay tuned throughout the day and I will update as often as I can!

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.

Just got a confusing press release from the Isles that says WE got the conditional pick:

The New York Islanders have acquired Tony Romano and a conditional pick in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for center Ben Walter. 

Romano played the last two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League.  The Smithtown, NY native was the leading scorer for the Peterborough Petes last season, scoring 36 goals and 33 assists for 69 points in 65 games.  The year prior, Romano skated in 66 games for the London Knights and registered 22 points (12 goals and 10 assists).  Romano was drafted in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and played that same year for Cornell University where he totaled nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 29 games. 

Walter spent the last two seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he accumulated 116 points.  He played in a total of 12 games for the Islanders during his two seasons with the organization scoring one goal. 

Per NHL.com:

The New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders swung a small trade Tuesday. The Devils sent Tony Romano to the Islanders in exchange for Ben Walter and a conditional draft pick in 2012.

Walter, a former fifth-round pick of the Boston Bruins, has 22 games of NHL experience spread over four seasons, including two with the Bruins and the last two with the Islanders.

He played in four games last season while also wracking up 50 points in 65 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Walter has averaged 20 goals and nearly 56 points per season in the AHL since turning pro in 2005 after spending three seasons at UMass-Lowell.

Romano, 21, the Devils’ sixth round pick in 2006, has spent the last two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, first with the London Knights and then with the Peterborough Petes. He had 69 points in 65 games last season with Peterborough.

Ok so Romano is a 21 year old prospect (and Smithtown, NY native) who has not played at all in the NHL just yet, not really any different then Walter and his cup-o-coffee. Romano is listed at 5’7″ and 170lbs but his offensive numbers seem to indicate he uses his lack of size well enough to get to scoring areas. I am unsure if he played with Tavares at all, but it just seems they seem to be targeting players from the same systems and organizations – for whatever that is worth. You can read more about Romano on Hockey’s Future.

Like I said, this isn’t exactly the same as the Rangers shipping Scott Gomez off to Montreal for Chris Higgins, but it’s a start. Only two more days till the free agent frenzy begins.

The story gets more and more interesting as the day goes on.

Picture of the interview

Picks now in the fold (updated follwing De Haan trade):

(Round 1) 1st Overall (John Tavares)
(Round 1) 12th Overall (Calvin De Haan)
(Round 2) 31st Overall
(Round 2) 56th Overall (Formerly belonged to Boston)
(Round 3) 91st Overall (Formerly belonged to Pittsburgh)
(Round 5) 122nd Overall
(Round 6) 152nd Overall

It appears as if there is a plan in action here, or could the Lecavalier rumors be true?

In all seriousness, who do you think will fall into the Islanders lap at the 16th pick? Do you feel they will make a trade to move up even more? Interesting situation going on here in the first round.

Time for a poll!

While we are at it here is another good question:

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.

Well, there is nothing really huge to report for the Islanders here this afternoon. I have been glued to my computer constantly refreshing the typical trade deadline sources that have been awesome in the past. I am lucky enough to have dual monitors so I can have an internet browser open on the left, and AIM, TSN’s streaming coverage in a small window and their live tracker next to that.

What we do know:

• Jon Sim has cleared waivers – I know Big Jayy (a loyal commenter) will be mad if he stays, but he has been producing for us as of late. If he doesn’t move – hopefully he continues to contribute. Not much there except for he may get sent down to Bridgeport for all we know.
• Miroslav Satan cleared waivers as well – check out the piece I did for Lighthouse Hockey on that.
• Still no word on Bill Guerin – the boys on TSN spoke about him earlier but even they don’t know whats going on. They did say there shouldn’t be a problem with him remaining an Islander for the rest of the year. Couple that tidbit with what Greg Logan got out of Doug Weight the other night.
• Still no word on other Islanders on the market such as Radek Martinek, Andy Hilbert, Doug Weight, Dean MacAmmond or Brendan Witt – time will tell.

More, if and when it happens.

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!

Browsing many of the Islanders blogs and message boards, a certain contingent of fans who always focus on a negative (real or assumed) seem to be doing the same thing with this situation as well. In a world wrought with economic hardships and uncertainty and a league with some teams under salary cap scrutiny – how would a trade that is seemingly taking a long time automatically fault to the general manager of the Islanders?

Whenever the Islanders face any kind of adversity, the stigma that this team is a “Mickey Mouse Organization” seems to be thrown about with reckless abandon. I just don’t get it. I am a fan of this franchise and have been for pretty much my entire life. I was alive for the tail end of the dynasty and lived through the same negative stuff as everyone else during the early 90′s to mid 90′s (the ownership changes, Mike Milbury, Spano – you get the idea) as well as the questionable contracts (Yashin and DiPietro). I don’t wear orange colored glasses by any means, I just don’t understand this way of thinking. Why is this situation being questioned?

Let’s take stock of what we do know:

• Bill Guerin acknowledged he would waive his no movement clause for the right deal.
• It was speculated as many as eight teams were possible destinations – based only on being in the Eastern Conference.
• At some point before the game on Saturday, a deal was either imminent or agreed on in principle. In order to protect their “asset”, the Islanders chose not to dress Guerin to avoid injury – common practice this time of year.
• Elsewhere in the league, Derek Morris has been scratched indefinitely till the trade deadline. Notice that the Coyotes aren’t being blasted for that decision.
• Little to no details have emerged on the progress of the trade, just speculation and the rare instance of actual sources. Perhaps this is the problem?
• Deals sometimes take days to broker, especially when that team has too many contracts and/or they are too close to their salary cap.
• Bill Guerin and perhaps even other players may also be involved in this deal, so it could be complicated.
• Not many people have taken into account that the trade partner may even be waiting for another deal to occur first before trading with the Islanders.

Patience is a virtue that many followers of this franchise clearly don’t possess – what I really don’t understand is how people who preach that they wish this organization would just do the right thing would bash them when they are actually doing the right things. If Garth Snow wasn’t actively looking to make the team better through trades – the fans would be bashing him for not doing anything. If he decided to trade a player – he would be bashed for moving the wrong player, or for not getting enough return in the eyes of the fans. It just seems like this contingent of fans will NEVER be happy with the decision made by the team. It’s disheartening and really frustrating.

Just know this, come Wednesday at zero hour of the trade deadline – Garth Snow deserves to be evaluated on whatever he did or has not done – and no sooner. In terms of draft picks garnered last year and in the last week. Glen Sather told Tom Liodice and I at the airport in Ottawa last year “Ask me about how I did at the draft in five years” – he’s right, you cannot judge draft picks until they are ready to play in the NHL.

Bash me all you want for feeling this way, I just get sick and tired of the negativity.

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.