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Islanders News: Camp is less than a week away

Big decisions are still to come.

By Steven E. Smith

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New York Islanders v New York Rangers
The season opens against those Blueshirts.
Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images

Hey folks. It’s been a while! I’ve missed all of your fresh faces and bright eyes. But hockey is finally coming back, and my semester from hell is finally over. I can’t wait to get back on the ball with the team this season. I hope everyone has had a nice holiday season thus far.

Let’s get into some hearty, holiday leftover Bits.

Islanders News

  • The Islanders and Rangers open their seasons against each other with two games, and will play each other six more times after that. That and more about the schedule. [LHH | Newsday | Islanders Site Takeaways | Islanders VIDEO]
  • The Islanders organization is planning for the difficulties of the 2021 AHL season. [The Athletic]
  • It will be made more difficult by the taxi squads the NHL clubs will keep this year. Here’s an early projection of the Isles’ roster and taxi squad. [The Athletic]
  • And when camp opens, there will be slots to fill. [Newsday]
  • Gary Noll, a scientist, a member of the Islanders booster club, and the child of deaf parents, has advocated tirelessly for the Islanders to introduce closed-captioning on the scoreboards at UBS Arena. [Newsday]
  • The Islanders made their hospital visits virtually this year. [Islanders]
  • It’s no coincidence that the first time the Islanders franchise beat the Rangers was the game in which Denis Potvin notched his first NHL goal. [Maven’s Memories]

The countdown begins:

Elsewhere

  • Nikita Kucherov will be unable to serve the Lightning this season. He is having hip surgery. [Raw Charge]
  • Blackhawks wunderkind and Team Canada captain Kirby Dach suffered an injury during Canada’s exhibition game before World Juniors. He probably shouldn’t even be there. [Second City Hockey]
  • The Senators made two trades this weekend. First, they acquired Derek Stepan from the Coyotes for a second-round pick. [Silver Seven Sens]
  • Then, they eased Tampa Bay’s cap burden by taking Cedric Paquette and Brayden Coburn off their hands, in addition to a second-round pick, sending back only the ghost of Marian Gaborik (for LTIR purposes) and old friend, goalie Anders Nilsson. [NHL]
  • Mike Hoffman joined the Blues on a PTO. [NHL] There is most likely a one-year deal in place, but the season needs to start before St. Louis can use LTIR. [Sportsnet]
  • The Capitals signed former Penguins and Sabres forward Conor Sheary. [Japers’ Rink]
  • Tampa Bay re-signed defensemen Erik Cernak and Jan Rutta last week. [Raw Charge]
  • Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland announced his retirement. [Knights on Ice]
  • Ilya Kovalchuk retreated back to the KHL, signing with Avangard. [NHL]
  • Provided by the NHL and NHLPA, this was the initial slate of critical dates for this season. [NHL | LHH (Bonus about the offside rule change, as well)]
  • In retirement, Bob McKenzie is still deeply entrenched in the game. Here’s what he’s been up to. [The Athletic]

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