Surprisingly, there are a few conversation pieces for the middle of August.
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Islanders readings
- Christopher Gibson is back as one of the many, many goalies in the Islanders system. [LHH]
- Highly-coveted NCAA free agent Jimmy Vesey has a list of teams he's interested in and the Islanders... are actually on it? Hm. Now they get to pitch him on signing a contract. [Newsday | ESPN]
- No. Seriously. John Tavares isn't looking to bolt the Islanders in 2018. He... are you sitting down for this? ... he likes it here and wants to continue to see the team rise. Can we all move on now and let the poor man go to work? Okay. [Newsday]
- A handy task list for Jack Capuano for the upcoming season. [Eyes on Isles]
- Video: Jon Ledecky talks to NBC's Bruce Beck about his niece Katie and that little hockey team he owns.
- A consultant's report revealed that attendance at Barclays Center for both Islanders and Nets games was much less than what was reported on official game sheets. The fact that "real" attendance is very different from the "official" numbers shouldn't be a shock with any arena anywhere. But it does raise more questions about the relationship between the Islanders and their home arena. Nets Daily has a breakdown of the original article from Atlantic Yards Report, which goes into more detail specifically about the Islanders. I probably have more thoughts on this. I just don't know what yet.
- Comedy Central's The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore has been cancelled. Its final episode will run on Thursday. Let's remember when Cal Clutterbuck went on the show to teach Brooklyn about hockey. [LHH]
Beyond Brooklyn
- The Ducks signed Antoine Vermette. Okay... [OC Register]
- And it sounds like Radim Vrbata will return to his spiritual home in Arizona. [FFH]
- What other available free agents are worth signing? [Sportsnet]
- A few simple ways teams can become more analytical, besides capital A "Analytics." [Flames Nation]
- In which Taylor Hall learns about these mysterious things we have in the U.S. called, "Toll Booths." [NHL.com]
- The full NWHL schedule is out, so pick out some games and check it out.
- Air hockey is great. [The New Yorker]
Okay. I guess we'll just keep him, then.
John Tavares, mid season form with the stick handling. pic.twitter.com/jwqHLtqVUc
— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) August 15, 2016