Islanders News: Barzal in the area; Camera placement; Tahoe Bell

A few quick extra Bits for your New Year’s Day morning.

Lou Lamoriello had a conference call with media yesterday (good thing no one had any NYE parties to go to) and answered some questions about a few pressing Islanders topics. You can listen to the whole thing below, or check out the highlights here. You can also read a breakdown with more notes via Arthur Staple at The Athletic. Of course, these are all “Lou Answers,” which means he talks and says things but reveals very little.

In brief:

• No, Mathew Barzal still isn’t signed but is on Long Island and quarantining, which seems to indicate that people expect him to sign and be in camp in a couple of days. [Newsday also]
• Cory Schneider, Andy Greene and Matt Martin have all agreed to terms, so they’ll be back.
• Casey Cizikas and Adam Pelech are healed and will be ready for camp, too.
• From Staple, Lamoriello’s answer on the Ho-Sang question:

— On Josh Ho-Sang, who will not be among the 37 players assembling for Sunday’s camp, Lamoriello said: “When we went over our whole group as to who we felt had the best chance of making the taxi squad, he was not one of them.”

The Islanders will have 21 forwards and 12 defensemen at camp for seven lines and six defense pairs. Ho-Sang was seemingly edged out among the depth forwards by A.J. Greer, acquired from the Avalanche in October, and Dmytro Timashov, acquired from the Red Wings in December. Timashov is believed to have signed a one-year deal after coming over as an RFA.

In other words, they don’t expect him to make the team out of camp and they’d prefer him in the AHL playing than sitting on the taxi squad. [Newsday also]

More Stuff

• Barzal took the time to video chat with a young Islanders fan who is awaiting a kidney transplant. Yes, the kid and his parents are aware of the contract thing. But whatever. It’s still very cool. [NY Post]
• That Islanders website live cam of the UBS Arena construction that you’ve been fixated on for the last year or so is getting moved so that we can watch the interior get completed. The change is supposed to happen today, and you can also watch it at UBSArena.com. I’m irrationally excited for this. [Newsday | News 12]
• A shortened season apparently won’t keep the outdoor games from happening. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Bruins, Flyers, Avalanche and Golden Knights are set to play in Lake Tahoe in a few months.
• Speaking of Philly, the Flyers are going to try young defenseman Samuel Morin at forward during training camp. It’s an unusual move to say the least, but everyone thinks it’s a good idea. If you’re like me and like to play the “What If The Islanders Had Done This?” game, this is a fun one to try. [BSH]
• Notable Columbus RFA Pierre-Luc Dubois signed a two-year extension yesterday after a few hours of people salivating over a possible trade request. Feels like this might impact Barzal’s talks. At least we know the sharks will start circling some new meat in the meantime. [Cannon]