Thoughts on Hockey at Barclays

It's been a few days since the Isles played their preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but I wanted to put my thoughts on here since most people have already beaten me to the punch.

I was fortunate to have been away from my computer the last couple of days, which has allowed me to reflect and think about what I liked and didn't like rather than write anything reactionary.

Isles Drop Both Ends of Split Squad to Flames

The Islanders got their first preseason games under their belts, playing a pair of games against the Calgary Flames in split squad matches.

Naturally it's tough to gauge anything in the early preseason games as it's more of a tune-up. In general vets don't want to get hurt, and that's the best strategy of them all.

The Moment We've Been Waiting for: Tavares Named Captain

On Monday, the Islanders made the worst kept secret of the past few months official as they named John Tavares as their captain. Tavares will be the 14th player in team history to wear the 'C' on his sweater.

Isles Strong, but Pens Streak at 15

When it comes to playing a team on the kind of streak that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on right now, you couldn't have asked for more when it comes to the Isles play.

Visnovsky Returns with Two Year Pact

All we were saying was give us a chance.

Lubomir Visnovsky finally did that in the middle of February, reporting to the Isles after a 10 game absence due to either his son's illness or his reluctance to play for the team, whichever you prefer to believe.

Isles 5, Devils 1; Team Sale Rumor; New NYI FYI Episode

The New York Islanders capped off a relatively successful and busy week on Saturday night with a convincing 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils. In a matter of a few games we went from a five game losing streak to a two game winning streak and renewed hopes for some Isles fans.

Opener: Devils 2, Islanders 1; 1/20/2013 Podcast

After a long anticipated wait, the Islanders finally opened up their season on Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. As expected after a training camp that lasted just shy of a week, the game of hockey that was played between the two wasn't the prettiest thing we've seen.

Isles add Keith Aucoin, Send Strome and Reinhart to Juniors

For the third day in a row, the Islanders made some noise on the waiver wire as they continued to try to shore up some areas where they lacked depth on the roster.

Needing an extra center with a splash of experience, the Islanders announced they claimed Keith Aucoin off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Team White (BST) Defeats Team Blue (NYI) in Scrimmage

In lieu of a true training camp, most teams have decided to square off against their minor league affiliates to prepare for the upcoming season. The Islanders were one of the teams that did this and on Wednesday night opened the Nassau Coliseum up to anyone who wanted to come see it - you didn't even have to pay to park.

A nice crowd of about 3,000 was on hand to watch the scrimmage between what amounted to the Islanders against the Sound Tigers, with the Tigers (Team White) coming out on top 5-3.

Thomas Hickey claimed by Isles from Kings

With a very thin defense that desperately needs depth, the Islanders pulled the trigger on their second waiver claim of a blueliner in as many days.

Isles Claim Joe Finley; Visnovsky Update

With the season starting in less that a week, teams need to go through the usual process of officially assigning players to the minors, meaning that those who are not exempt must pass through waivers.

Since much of the league has began exposing their players, the Islanders scoured the waiver wire for a defenseman, and came back with Joe Finley from the Buffalo Sabres.

Isles Sign Radek Martinek; Waiting on Lubo; Public Viewing at Camp; New Podcast

The NHL and NHLPA finally signed their Memorandum of Understanding late Saturday night, officially ending the lockout. For those keeping score at home, the entire thing lasted for 119 days. Now we're on to bigger and better things - for at least the next eight years.

With the legal stuff out of the way, teams were able to make transactions once again shortly after midnight. The Islanders got into the fray as well.

Lubomir Visnovsky to Stay in KHL, NHL says 'Not So Fast'

As the lockout comes to a conclusion and teams begin to reassemble for their brief training camps, we're all beginning to remember what shape teams are in.

For Islanders fans, realization set in that their top three defensemen included Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and Lubomir Visnovsky. Or...not?

NHL, Players Association Reach Agreement to End Lockout

Early Sunday morning, the NHL and the NHLPA came to an agreement on a new, 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement that will see an end to the 113 day standoff between the two sides.

Belated thoughts on Isles Day 1 of UFA

Once day one of Free Agency came and went, I had to hurry up and finish packing to head out to the beautiful state of Arizona. So, I never had the chance to give my thoughts on the Islanders day one signings aside from the thoughts on Twitter.

The Islanders signed three new players on July 1: Brad Boyes, Matt Carkner and Eric Boulton.

Let's start going through the signings in chronological order.

UFA: Potential Isles Targets?

Sunday the calendar changes to July 1st, a day which holds special meaning for NHL fans across North America. By the end of the day some fans will have shiny new toys they can talk about and analyze to their hearts content until training camps (hopefully) open up in September.

For Isles fans in particular, unfortunately the day never brings much excitement. Even Sean and myself have found ourselves getting our hopes up at times in past years only to be disappointed. Regardless of that, every team has holes and they try and fill them via free agency. The Islanders already filled one hole in their trade for Lubomir Visnovsky at the draft. But what about some of the other holes?

Islanders Bolster D on Day 1: Deal for Visnovsky, Draft Reinhart

When the final seconds ticked off the clock on the Isles final game of the season, a brutal loss to the league worst Columbus Blue Jackets, a whole new set of questions faced the team heading into the offseason.

The Islander defense was a huge weak spot and they were set to lose three bodies from a blueline that finished the year 26th in goals against. Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina will no doubt be looking for new jobs this summer, while Steve Staios already has his new job as a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Islanders have made it no secret that they want to add defensemen, and that they would likely have to come via trade due to the team's general lack of success on the free agent market. On Friday during day one of the NHL Entry Draft, Garth Snow got his summer off to a good start.

Bailey's Breakout Gives Isles Sweep of Pens

With the season rapidly winding down, the Islanders have been getting scoring out of some unlikely candidates of late. One of these individuals is Josh Bailey, who continued his hot play with a five point night on Thursday, seemingly telling the world not to count him out just yet.

Isles Win on Secondary Scoring, Strong Goaltending

All season long one of the Islanders' biggest issues had been getting offensive support from players not named John Tavares, Matt Moulson or P.A. Parenteau. Over the last couple of weeks that's slowly gotten better. On Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, it was the best we had seen it in quite some time.

Isles Split Series in Florida

The Islanders took their usual road trip to play both Florida area teams this weekend, one which generally has given them headaches over the past few seasons. The Isles were able to walk away with a split of the weekend back-to-back series.