Islanders News: The waiting game; Optimism abounds

Good Sunday morning, everyone. (Feel free to skip the rest of this paragraph.) Not sure if anyone else is having the same experience as me today, but I’m currently waiting for Kanye to drop Yandhi, in desperate hopes that he redeems himself from Ye, an album well below his standards. It was supposed to drop around midnight to coincide with his dreadful SNL performance, and it has not yet, which feels fitting for his 2018.

I imagine many others of you also watched as your captain, David Wright, played the final four innings of his career in the Mets extra-innings walk-off win against the Marlins. A great career cut short by a debilitating condition that he tried to rehab all this year, and years past. An emotional night to be sure.

But this isn’t a music page, nor a baseball page. This is an Islanders page. They’ve had a pretty bad 2018 as well, though obviously under a different scope. And yet, we’re still here. Call it faith, I suppose.

(Almost) All Islanders

• The Islanders dropped their final preseason game against the Sabres, a 5-4 shootout in which both Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss played. [Islanders]
• The team itself is optimistic about their chances. They look forward to a new season with new looks on and off the ice. [Newsday]
• Ryan Pulock is ready to take the next step in his career and take the reins as one of the team’s top defensemen. [Newsday]
• Sabres writer Mike Harrington follows up with Lehner, the Islander, after having worked with Lehner, the Sabre, for three years in Buffalo. [Buffalo News]
• About 275 people, including former Isles legends and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, turned out for a memorial service on Long Island for storied former GM Bill Torrey. [Newsday]
• The Sound Tigers sent nearly a full AHL lineup to Hartford to take on the Rangers’ affiliate, the Wolfpack, on Friday night. [Soundin’ Off]
• They lost that game 2-1, but coach Brent Thompson was smiling afterwards, a rare sight even in a win. [Soundin’ Off | Sound Tigers]
• Michael Fornabaio lists the rule changes for the upcoming AHL season. [Soundin’ Off]
• Erik Karlsson’s heart is still in Ottawa, but he’s excited to chase a Cup with the Sharks. [ESPN]
• And there have been no discussions yet, but Bob McKenzie speculates (strictly, speculates) that Steve Yzerman may end up in the Red Wings front office at some point. As of now, though, he remains under contract in an advisory role with the Lightning. [Kukla’s Korner]