Bits: Indiana Snow in 'Raiders of the Lost Goalie'

So much for the dog days of the NHL Off-season. Yesterday saw trades, signings, schedules, controversy and analysis.

LEAGUE BUSINESS:

• Once again, here's the Islanders pre-season schedule.
• The calendar for arbitration hearings was also announced yesterday. First dockets: The Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club versus Sam Gagner and the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club versus Chris Stewart on July 22nd.

ISLANDERS LINKS:

• Backhand Shelf's Daniel Wagner examines the Islanders' revolving door in net. For all his waiver wire and bargain bin successes, Garth Snow can't seem to get a good deal on a goalie.
• Also focusing on Snow, YesIslanders! looks at Garth's completed moves and possible future ones.
• Hockey and Moneyball are a hot topic right now, and the Islanders are always in the center of it. Sportsjerks.net examines teams seeking market inefficiencies.
• Josh Bailey was on the Brady & Lang show, no doubt discussing the recent heat wave hitting New York (at the 26:50 mark. Thanks, Keith).
• Former Islander Alert: Dom gives Copper and Blue the low down on new Oiler Jesse Joensuu, who the entire Western Conference (and most of the Eastern conference) has never heard of. They call Dom the "Islanders' most popular writer" which is a title I thought was somehow still owned by Chris Botta.
  
• Kyle Okposo has signed on to participate in a charity game for Defending the Blue Line on August 3rd in Minnesota. Okposo will suit up for Team USA, while Eric Boulton will sit in the press box for Team Canada.

ELSEWHERE...

• Justin Bourne ranks the NHL's 30 markets in order of desirability for free agents. Long Island comes in 22nd (suck it, Calgary!). Despite Bourne's concerns about the management and ownership, my belief has always been that if players got a chance to see beyond Uniondale, it would be a much different story. Big houses with big driveways for big cars, good schools, proximity to the city and a populace that will mostly leave you alone has to be pretty desirable.
• And closing out our Backhand Shelf section, Dave Lozo does some Zeitgeist-style parody stories in his latest Bag Skate.
  
• That was fast: One day after retiring, Blake Geoffrion was hired as a scout by the Blue Jackets. Good for him. Also hired by Columbus: former Islander Bob Halkidis. Bet you didn't think you'd see that name today.
• Sportsnet's Luke Fox has spent months inside every NHL locker room and has run extensive background checks on every player on every team in the league. So, naturally, he has broken down who has the divine right and proper claim to the vacant captaincies of eight teams, including the Islanders. Because team captaincies are always chosen by internet votes and media guys.
• We've been reading about Seth Jones for the last year, but this longform piece from SB Nation's Tim Sullivan is excellent and extremely comprehensive.
• Fancystats Corner: Habs Eyes on the Prize has begun a basic "Fancy Stats Summer School" primer series for those who want to learn more about the latest in NHL numbers. Lesson 1: Corsi. Think of it as the introductory class to the more advanced series of fanposts garik did a while back.
• Peter deBoer is ready to move on (via NY Post).
• Dustin Penner is a Duck again (via NHL.com).
• Pavel Datsyuk is irrepressible (via Puck Daddy).
• Jaromir Jagr may be the Unibomber (also, Puck Daddy) .
• Dan Carcillo, the man known as #GorillaSalad, was acquired by the Kings for basically a bag of pucks (via Jewels from the Crown).
  
• If you're in New York City today, you can get a chance to play NHL14's NHL 94 Anniversary Mode at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store from 4-7pm. One attendee will be newest New Jersey Devil Cory Schneider, who will be taking on players from 5-6pm. Bonus points to anyone wearing a Roberto Luongo jersey to the event.
• Who said there's no hockey news in July? Oh, right. I did.