Islanders News: Tavares Day 3, mini-camp ‘looks great’

Take pity, won’t you, in our collective enduring of the Great John Tavares Free Agency of 2017-18. Which is almost finished, we think, we hope, mercy upon our souls.

Take greater pity in Dan’s tireless chronicling of the saga, what’s been said and what’s been vomited about it, from those informed and those simply looking to stir the pot and sound cute. There were a lot of updates from yesterday, many of them vacuous, but some of them rather promising.

Yesterday it was the Sharks and Bruins, today Tavares is reported to be meeting with the Stars and Bruins, and then that may be it. We can only hope, just to end the obnoxiousness.

Meanwhile, rospect mini-camp’s on-ice activities kicked off yesterday. For a brief time (which is an eternity in Twitter), #IslesTwitter freaked out because Josh Ho-Sang wasn’t on the ice. Never mind that Parker Wotherspoon and Linus Soderstrom weren’t either. Anyway, team clarified injury concerns for the former two, and presumably surgery recovery (shoulder, not hip like I’d mistakenly said the other day) for Soderstrom.

Islanders Reading

• Seriously, Dan’s encyclopedia updates were informative, including Arthur Staple’s take on the whole “process” when interviewed on WFAN.
• At mini-camp, Brent Thompson was happy (and clean shaven, see clip below), and Oliver Wahlstrom said yeah, Rangers made a mistake. [Newsday | Post]
• Photos from camp. Skarek’s pads have seeeen some pucks, man. [Newsday | Isles]
• Whole Bridgeport coaching staff was there. (Some holdovers from Weight’s staff too.) [Soundin’ Off] Then the kids went go-karting.
• Kieffer Bellows is riding high after a big season in the WHL. [Isles]
• The first-rounders Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson say they received texts from Tavares upon being drafted. Both say they find motivation in being passed over. [Islanders Insight]
• Evidently the Canadiens though they were pretty close to trading Max Pacioretty to the Islanders and acquiring Ryan O’Reilly in one three-way exchange. [LHH | Sportsnet]
• Which free agents do you want? (Besides JT, I mean.) I’m heartened by Isles’ reported interest in Hutton. [LHH]
• Compton (and little C!) and Carver discuss Tavares. [Isles Seat on SoundCloud]

Elsewhere

• The Lightning signed J.T. Miller to a five-year, $26.25 million deal. [NHL | Raw Charge]
• Just how good (or bad) is Justin Faulk? Because he may be on the Carolina trade block, and the Isles could use some defense. But does he help? [TSN]
• After the craziest expansion season in history, the Golden Knights now face the most intriguing summer of free agency. [THN]
• The Hall of Fame announced its new inductees. In addition to players Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Alexander Yakushev (who was on the ice in Russia at age 71 when he got the call) and Jayna Hefford, Gary...Bettman is one of them, in the builder category. So is Willie O’Ree though! [NHL | TSN]
• More on O’Ree. [Color of Hockey] More on St. Louis. [Raw Charge]
• What are all these free agency negotiations like? Craig Custance talked to an agent and a former assistant GM in a really, really interesting conversation. [SoundCloud via Athletic]
• More on the pros and cons of Ilya Kovalchuk. [JFTC]
• The Senators put Alex Burrows on waivers. [Silver Seven]