Islanders News: The farm, the Resch, and the return to Canada

The New York Islanders are almost finished with their weird one-game-in-10-days stretch, preparing to face the Canadiens in Montreal on Thursday before taking on the Jets on Saturday in Butch Goring’s hometown.

Islanders News

Barry Trotz on the Isles’ game so far: “Parts are okay...a few parts of our game we really have to lock in a little bit better. Some stuff offensively, more support on the puck, we could help ourselves with a little more zone time, be a little more dangerous. And then a couple of our protocols we’ve just slipped a little bit.”

• After the controlled intra-division isolation of the pandemic year, the Islanders are looking forward to playing in Canada again — their first trip since before the world collapsed under the strain of a devastating virus. [Newsday]
• One benefit of these two gaps in the schedule is the Isles get to enjoy some life at home amid their 13-game road start to the season. [Post]
• Prospect Report: William Dufour’s nine-game point streak has ended, but his statement was made. [Isles]
• Noel reviews Bridgeport’s weekend: It’s a critical season for Simon Holmstrom, so performances like this past weekend help. [LHH]
• During his rehab from ACL surgery, Anders Lee pushed limits and inspired others. Just your usual fare from our captain. [Athletic]
• ICYMI: Stan Fischler on how Chico Resch came to be. [Isles]
• Are the Isles a new version of the 2000s Senators — as in a team always feared and respected despite no banners to hang? [Sportsnet]
• A short bit, simply remarking that wow, the Isles at long last will have a fancy and fitting new home. [Sports Daily]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores included just three games, but the Blackhawks finally won and the Capitals finally lost in regulation.

• Amid all the Isles hype, an argument that the Rangers are the class of New York. [THN]
• Speaking of whom, they just locked up their star Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox to the richest deal ever signed by a blueliner coming out of his ELC: Seven years and a $9.5 million AAV. [NHL | Blueshirt Banter]
• An analytic perspective on Jordan Eberle’s impact on the Kraken so far. [Kraken]
• Gary Bettman and Bill Daly spoke to media about the handling of the Blackhawks situation and defended the league’s role, and ... it did not go over well. Not at all. [THN | Second City Hockey | ESPN] “Odds are, TSN’s Rick Westhead wouldn’t have said a word had Pierre LeBrun not cattle-prodded Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly down the proper path.” [Athletic]
• Donald Fehr recommended an outside investigation into the NHLPA’s handling of what it knew about the Kyle Beach case, and the board will vote on that. [ESPN | NHLPA]
• If you’re too young to remember Sheldon Kennedy, he was a courageous NHLer who shocked the hockey world in 1996 with his story of being sexually abused by a then-respected junior hockey coach, coming forward more than a decade later, discussing how he had to “learn to live again.” I still remember what a bombshell that was to the hockey world. Since that time, he’s done a lot to prevent similar abuse across sports and all ages, but the NHL and NHLPA have never turned to him. [Athletic]
• Travis Hamonic is back, he says he is vaccinated — or at least in mid-vaccination — and spoke to media but doesn’t want to get into the personal matters for him and his family. “Everyone thinks they know what someone’s going through, but really that’s never the case.” [Canucks video]
• It will be interesting to see if Hamonic’s return has an effect, because thus far the Canucks have not answered many offseason questions. [TSN]
• Here are some subjective power rankings. The Isles drop from 5 to 14. [USA Today]
• The Athletic, which has been reportedly looking to get bought for a while now, may have turned to gambling outfits [e.g. FanDuel, DraftKings, BurnUrMoney] to make a sale. [Casino.org | The Information]
• An interview with two co-authors of a book that argues the “physically taxing, often violent, high-skill sport fosters what they and others consider a toxic culture of racism, misogyny, ableism and anti-LGBTQ sentiment” in hockey at all levels. [Marketwatch]