Islanders News: The annual 31-in-31 series strikes Long Island

The Islanders are getting the annual 31 in 31 treatment today at the NHL mothership as the 19th NHL team in alphabetical order, so there’s plenty of Isles-centric content related to that.

I wonder how they’re going to title that preview schedule when the Seattle ____________(s) join and the league constitutes a greater number of teams than there are days in August. Maybe by then the Ottawa Senators will have been relegated to the AHL.

31 in 31, Islanders Edition

The series comes in five parts:

• New York’s season preview
• 3 questions facing the Islanders
• The Isles’ top prospects
• The fantasy preview
• And some key statistics.

Other Islanders News

• Al Arbour and Bill Torrey were faced with some potentially tough decisions in the 1982-83 season, but decided not to make any rash moves and were rewarded for their patience. [Maven’s Memories]
• I mentioned last week that the Soundin’ Off blog contained a link to the Sound Tigers’ promotional offering lineup. Here is that link. [Sound Tigers]

Elsewhere

• Craig Custance had some new information about the league-wide RFA stand-off, something relatively unheard of in the past. No one wants to be the first one to sign. [The Athletic]
• Relatedly, Patrik Laine spoke with Sportsnet before the Finnish Alumni All-Star Game and said that he’s “prepared for anything.” He didn’t sound confident it would work out in Winnipeg, but said he’d welcome a return to the Jets. [Sportsnet]
• And in the same vein, Mikko Rantanen is “not stressful” about not having a contract completed with the Avalanche. [NHL]

Rasmus Ristolainen remains in the Sabres’ plans this season despite all the trade rumors and will be at training camp with Buffalo if he’s not moved before then. [NHL]

However:

• Drew Doughty collectively took the blame for he and his teammates for this past season, saying that the Kings would rebound after they “failed the entire organization.” [NHL]
• Joe Thornton is “likely” to return to the Sharks for the ‘19-’20 season. [Yahoo]
• Buffalo unveiled a 50th anniversary season commemorative jersey and gold as a direct replacement for yellow looks sharp. A lot better than the Flyers’ 50th anniversary jerseys from a couple years ago. [NHL]
• Speaking of Philadelphia’s regrettable decisions, Kevin Hayes reportedly only signed with the Flyers because they overpaid him. I smell a future buyout in the air. [Yahoo]
• LISTEN: Roger Rönnberg, the bench boss for Frölunda in the SHL, is arguably the best coach in Europe. He discussed how he has achieved success over the years. [EOTP]
• Since retiring from skiing, Lindsey Vonn has been helping her boyfriend, P.K. Subban, train for the upcoming season. [Yahoo]