Isles/NHL News: Donovan on AMac; Sather on Stepan; NHL Suspensions

Suddenly the NHL preseason has shifted back into suspension mode, with suspensions coming out from the Vancouver and Toronto sideshows the other night. Meanwhile, after an off day Monday the Islanders resume their camp today, with division of the groups expected. (Did you pick how you'd divide them up?)

Islanders News

• Matt Donovan is getting a little mentorship from Andrew MacDonald. Partners for the season?
• Eyes on the Isles talks to Casey Cizikas about how his game has evolved.
• Islanders Point Blank projects which direction the prospects in camp are heading.
• Eyes on Isles on Wang, Snow as "old-school architects."
• If you're so inclined...the Islanders jumped a bunch of slots in ESPN's all-sports "ultimate team rankings." They're the ultimate.
  
• The legislature voted 19-0 to accept the Ratner Coliseum plan, so that whole thing is probably happening.
• Ratner said it's too expensive to keep the Isles (read: build an NHL-caliber facility with boxe$ and $tuff) at the Coliseum beyond the six games they're proposing, so give up that dream.

Elsewhere:

Rangers GM Glen Sather went near-nuclear on his RFA holdout, Derek Stepan. I've never wanted the Isles to offer sheet him more than I do now, after Sather's interview broadcast on MSG:

"I don't think Derek is going to let this thing linger that long," Sather said in an interview on MSG Network during the Rangers' preseason game against the Calgary Flames on Monday night. "I don't think he is a big enough fool to think that he will sit out the year and it will do any good. He is in a gap contract and every one of our players has signed a gap contract.

"You look at the football players who are making minimum wage, they get paid after they go through that time. I find it frustrating that some teams are in a hurry to sign these guys to big contracts. I think it's because the owners or managers panic and it's unfortunate that he has listened to his agent and decided [to do] that."

• At least his goalie can sell dandruff shampoo though.
• The Oilers brought back Steve MacIntyre. Heh. They had him before. It's about to get silly in Edmonton, it seems.
  
• Zack Kassian is suspended five regular season games for his high stick that broke Sam Gagner's jaw. This is what Gagner's face looks like.
• David Clarkson's automatic 10-game suspension is official. Phil Kessel gets a telephone hearing today.
  
• Joel Rechlicz fought Milan Lucic, and they traded wild swings (with Lucic the winner). Recommend muting your audio though.
• The Panthers sale (they're being sold again?) is moving along.
• The Flames don't have a lot of offense, and now it sounds like Mike Cammalleri has a serious hand injury.
  
• At Grantland, the artist formerly known as Down Goes Brown previews this season's looming dramas.
• Speaking of humor, it's not every day we can legitimately link McSeeney's here at Lighthouse Hockey. Today is one of those days: McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: Preseason at the Supreme Court.

In the spirit of preseason tomfoolery, here is a fight-filled preseason Islanders-Rangers game from 1988. Note that none of these three Islanders did anything with the team -- Rod Dallman appeared in five games over three seasons before becoming a Flyer, Dale Kushner appeared in two Isles games before becoming a Flyer (hey, is this a theme?) and Dale Henry at least appeared in 132 over six seasons), yet they fought and got punched in the head a lot during meaningless preseason games in bids to win jobs in the National. Hockey. League!