Islanders News: Goodbye, John (for real this time); Learning from mistakes

It may be an ultimately boring month for hockey (especially after the first week) but July is a great month, isn’t it? Not yet sick of summer heat, everyone’s relaxed, those on vacation are still far removed from their returns in September... a lovely time.

Islanders News

• The big item from the last two days is John Tavares’ final farewell and real explanation of his decision-making process via The Players Tribune. Over 4,000 words in which he apologizes for it not working out on Long Island, and where he discusses having been born in Toronto, but having grown up on Long Island. It’s a really good, sometimes sad read, but it did present a sense of closure to me. [The Players Tribune]
• Lou Lamoriello is excited about the prospect of the Isles’ future home at Belmont Park and believes it will happen. [Newsday]
• In which Chris Botta declares it “O.K.” to question Lou’s summer moves, particularly the glut of fourth-liners. [SNY - IPB]
• To that end, Adam Gretz tries to wade through the logic of the Ross Johnston extension in the context of having so many depth players extended on multi-year deals. [PHT]
• Anthony Beauvillier will be hosting a Spikeball tournament to raise money for Alzheimer’s awareness and research (en francais!).
• Michael Fornabaio breaks down the Sound Tigers schedule for 2018-19. [Soundin’ Off]

Elsewhere

• Auston Matthews has no issue if Tavares is given the captaincy, according to Bobby Orr. One imagines there may be a passing of the torch some day. [NHL Video]
• Artemi Panarin has already let it be known he doesn’t intend to negotiate with the Blue Jackets, and they need to avoid the same fate as the Islanders did not with Tavares. [THN]
• Calvin de Haan’s new contract with the team is a statement signing for the Hurricanes, who don’t normally land big-ticket free agents. [Hurricanes]
• The ‘Canes also promoted two members of their Hockey Ops department, including Eric Tulsky, one-time SB Nation analytics guru, who is now Vice President of Hockey Operations. [Hurricanes]
• Patrick Maroon turned down better offers to return home to St. Louis, signing a one-year deal with the Blues. [NHL]
• The Blues also signed Dominik Bokk to his ELC. Three years for a guy with no experience seems a bit much, no? [Blues]
• The Canadiens have informed Max Pacioretty they do not intend to extend him, an they do intend to trade him as soon as possible. [The Athletic]
• With that in mind, here are five potential destinations for him. The Islanders are one of them. [THN]
• Canucks fans thank Alexandre Burrows for his service. Despite being a reputable dick, his path and story of getting to the NHL is pretty astounding. [Nucks Misconduct]
• Oilers forward and old friend Ryan Strome has been undergoing vision training to help correct an issue in which one eye doesn’t see as well as the other. [TSN]
• In the vein of Erik Karlsson potentially teaming up with Victor Hedman on the Lightning, Down Goes Brown goes through the best defense pairs of the salary cap era. [Sportsnet]
• Michal Kempny brings the Stanley Cup home to the Czech Republic. [NHL]