Islanders News: Arbitration and a memory

As you surely know, things are fairly quiet around the league right now, though arbitration is in full swing.

As with yesterday, thanks for please taking any political rants and U.S. election discussion elsewhere. It’s not that we don’t love you, it’s that the States are politically divided enough, and we don’t need this place to be another venue for airing those grievances.

Islanders-Like Substances

The arbitration hearing for Ryan Pulock, whose salary will really help determine what options the Isles have to work with, is scheduled for Friday. (Obligatory reference to Mike Milbury tearing Tommy Salo apart goes here.) The big questions are of course salary ($5-6 million?) and term (if they reach a pre-hearing agreement on a longer deal). And then you’ve got Mathew Barzal’s future to worry about, but at least the Pulock result will give the Islanders a little more clarity on that front.

Meanwhile, speaking of Islanders memories...

It always feels unreal to me that this was so long ago — and it strikes me as too early in the season, but I guess that season was already looking bleak — but anyway: Yesterday was the anniversary once again of Al Arbour returning to coach his 1,500th game, beside Ted Nolan.

That picture, man! Richard Park. Chris Simon. Bill Guerin (who’s a GM now). Mike Sillinger before his hips finally gave out.

Prospect Report! Yes, there are some Islanders prospects getting game action in other parts of the world. Here’s the official site update on a few, including a three-point week for Otto Koivula in Finland, and a couple of helpers for Anatoly Golyshev in the KHL. Oliver Wahlstrom remains out with an undisclosed injury.

Elsewhere

Now that’s an arbitration number!

• You know who enjoys the idea of a flat salary cap? Ron Francis, whose Kraken will watch and enjoy all these teams having to shed salary for negative pennies on the dollar... [TSN]
• ...But Francis is in no hurry to hire a coach for a roster that doesn’t exist yet. [NHL]
• Yikes! Five months on the shelf for Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop after offseason surgeries. [Sportsnet | NHL]
• Meanwhile, the Jets’ Mark Scheifele says he is 100% ready to go after his playoff-ending injury. [Sportsnet | NHL]
• Julius Honka is returning to the Stars after a year in Finland. [Defending Big D]
• The Blackhawks aren’t about to change their name, so they are taking some interesting steps to educate and acknowledge the Native American history their image appropriates. [Sportsnet]
• Five questions with Manon Rheaume, the woman who played goalie in preseason action for the Tampa Bay Lightning almost 30(!) years ago. [NHL]
• Hockey Fights Cancer: Remembering Bill Dineen. [Sportsnet]