Islanders News: Optimism vs. realism and the NHL season

First Bits of April, still living quarantine life. This is the new normal! And I’m getting skeptical about the season starting back up.

Islanders News

• Isles GM Lou Lamoriello, however, is “extremely optimistic” the season resumes, whether it’s June, July, or August. [Newsday]
• But Jordan Eberle acknowledges that time may be running out—that the league may have to prioritize next season over this one. [Newsday]
• Scott Mayfield is a competitive guy, so the NHL’s indefinite hiatus is killing him. But, he’s playing “Settlers of Catan” with his fiancée, so he’s a man of taste. He and his fiancée are trying to not think about their planned wedding on July 25 and whether it will happen yet. [The Athletic]
• LISTEN: Barry Trotz went on Hockey Central to have an 18-minute chat about the Islanders, his Calder Cup-winning in Portland, and his thoughts about the pandemic. [Islanders]
• With the season on pause, the NHL website’s fantasy team is taking stock of each NHL team and how its players performed. Brock Nelson was a pleasant surprise and Anders Lee is Team MVP. [NHL]
• As far as tickets go, the remaining home game tickets remain valid until the games are officially canceled, at which point the team will communicate details about refunds or credits. [Newsday]
• The best player to wear every number, from 1 to 96, in Islanders history. Matt Donovan sighting! [The Athletic]
• LISTEN: The Lighthouse Lookback Podcast caught up with Marty McInnis, who Dan profiled last week. [LHH]
• Islanders of the Day since our last Bits (thank you, Dan): Alan Kerr | Brad Isbister | Richard Brodeur
• Daily Islanders Quizzes since Bits last week (thank you, Afro): Career Reg. Season Wins | 5+ SHGs in a Season | No. 27 | 2000s Pts | 2016 Game 6 Roster

Ours is a good team:

Elsewhere

• Here are the NHL local broadcast rankings when considering the opinions of local fans and out-of-market fans. The Islanders’ team made it up to 11, with Brendan Burke garnering universal praise in- and out-of-market. [The Athletic]
• There were 10 games this season that Travis Yost was able to identify as “stolen.” The Islanders did not steal one of those games, nor did they have one stolen from them. [TSN]
• Elliotte Friedman tells some good stories to raise spirits and acknowledges athletes and teams whose careers may have been cut short by the pandemic. Interesting nuggets: Noah Dobson is friends with Brian Savage’s son, Ryan, from PEI; and Sven Butenschon, who will come up again today on this blog, is the coach at the University of British Columbia. [31 Thoughts]
• Beer, of course, is the star of “Strange Brew,” but hockey played an important role in the design and attitude of the film. [The Athletic]