Islanders News: Nothing, man. (Yet.)

As has been the case for many, many weeks, there is nothing of substance to report on the Islanders front. Random connected reporters and opinionated pundits periodically throw out the “whispers” that a big free agent (namely: NAZEM KADRI) is headed to Long Island, but no one has been able to report anything concrete there.

UPDATE: And in a fantastic curve, it sounds like the Calgary Flames are landing Kadri on a seven-year deal. Brad Treliving out-Lou-ing Lou (if Lou was ever in on Kadri, which we’ll never actually know from his mouth).

We regularly say “today won’t be the day” in that reverse-jinx hope that maybe today will be the day, but that’s no way to spend a summer.

In a bit of fun irony, the lack of Islanders news — of any kind — may have an impact on another idle summertime exercise, the Athletic’s confidence surveys.

These surveys poll readers and self-identified fans about their “confidence” in the NHL’s many team front offices, then compiles the results in a way that makes them look like they’re measuring spin rate and exist velocity.

No surprise that the Islanders, who rated highly last summer after two consecutive conference final appearances, now rate very lowly after a missed playoff, a surprising coaching change, and another summer of silence.

Here’s the Athletic compilation. And here’s a tweet about it with one of the charts and some fun responses:

WJC & Other Islanders Stuff

• Both Aatu Raty’s Finland and William Dufour’s Canada advanced to the WJC semifinals, as expected, with wins on Wednesday. Neither Islander prospect registered a point or “hey this guy’s gonna be great!” moment though. [Isles]
• Jason Blake’s son, selected by Carolina in the fourth round in 2021, is following in his father’s footsteps, taking the NCAA route. [NHL]
• The Czechs upset USA to eliminate the defending champs and setup a semifinal with Canada. [Sportsnet]

Elsewhere

• The NHL releases its COVID protocols for the upcoming season. Symptomatic cases who test positive will require isolation, so expect there to be more COVID-related absences. Cases who have persistent symptoms will also require a cardiac screening. [NHL pdf]
• Mark Recchi, fired from his assistant position by the Devils, had some things to say about them Pavel Zacha vs. Erik Haula. [NJ.com]
• Negotiations with Leafs RFA Rasmus Sandin are “going nowhere,” his agent says. [Sportsnet]
• Teemu Selanne and Teppo Numminen, who never actually played for the Atlanta Thrashers, will be honored in the Winnipeg Jets 2.0 Hall of Fame. [Sportsnet]
• You know how we’re always paranoid that an NCAA prospect (like Anders Lee) will play all four years in college and then let his rights expire so he can sign with whomever? Well it actually happened! U. of Minnesota captain Sammy Walker, a 7th-round pick of the Lightning, let his rights expire and reportedly has signed with the Wild. [TSN]

What else is going on...?