Alright, we may not be able to do this exercise after tomorrow's game in Newark -- SnowGo will make those decisions for us -- so here goes: Who would you choose for the Islanders' 23-man roster to open the season?
Consider the lines at Monday's practice, which exclude Doug Weight, Trent Hunter and Calvin de Haan:
Matt Moulson | John Tavares | Sean Bergenheim
Tim Jackman | Richard Park | Kyle Okposo
Jeff Tambellini | Josh Bailey | Jon Sim
Blake Comeau | Trevor Smith | Greg Moore
Jeremy Reich | Nate Thompson | Joel Rechlicz
Mark Streit | Bruno Gervais
Brendan Witt | Radek Martinek
Andy Sutton | Jack Hillen/Freddy Meyer
Assume Weight [Update: Doubtful for Saturday], Hunter and Okposo (it appears) are ready for opening night -- who do you choose for your final 23? (Remember that the two goalies count, so it's basically a 21-man list, including three extra skaters.) Show your work.
To be fair, I'll go first: I'd put Smith, Moore and Rechlicz on the Bridgeport shuttle, and -- barring IR shenanigans -- send de Haan back now, unless they're willing to play him instead of both Hillen and a veteran. But I'm not seeing practice nor am I in Gordon's head, and I have a blind spot against Smith while he wears Turgeon's #77. Other variables that shouldn't matter but do: Hillen's is a cheap yet one-way contract; Thompson, Moulson, Reich, Rechlicz, Smith are all two-way deals according to CapGeek. One thing I know: If the players mentioned above are healthy, Gordon will have some interesting lineup decisions.