Islanders News: Nothing at all, in fact

The phrase “Kadri is an Islander,” as I wrote the other day, was playing on a loop in my head. Well, at least now that cycle can break.

The folks doing the real business had everyone duped. It seems as though reporters in the last week felt comfortable saying they had “sources” who believed Nazem Kadri was a member of the New York Islanders because of the length of time that had passed without Kadri’s signing being announced.

Well, Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving said that he and Kadri had something in place for a week, and he just needed to move some cap space. For all we know, it’s entirely possible that he had the same deal with the Islanders as he ultimately received from the Flames, and it was a matter of which GM was going to pony up the first-round pick to clear their cap space. Treliving did, and Kadri is a Flame.

But I think the more likely scenario is that the Flames and Isles engaged Kadri in a bidding war, and the Isles may have even offered the same contract—Frank Seravalli, one of the officially reliable reporters who was never duped into saying Kadri was an Islander, reported previously that they had put that offer on the table. Kadri simply liked better what he saw in Calgary than on Long Island. And frankly, he’s probably right. In Calgary, he goes and fills a void left by a star player and gets to play alongside a Hart Trophy finalist in Jonathan Huberdeau.

Who’s the Hart finalist here?

Islanders News

• In Kadri choosing not to sign here, Lou Lamoriello whiffed again. Whether the players make their decision in part based on the Islanders’ previous reputation is out of Lou’s control. But he clearly hasn’t done well enough with the things within his control. [amNY]
• Kadri alone probably wouldn’t have vaulted the Islanders beyond dark horse contender status (rather than a bona fide contender), but missing out on him and trotting out the same forward group as last year is a failure on Lou’s part. [The Athletic]
• Lou is essentially betting on the same group of forwards and probably putting his career on the line to do it. Not a bet I’d make, but I’m not cresting 80 wearing three Stanley Cup rings. That’s not an appeal to authority; I simply mean that I don’t know how reckless I’ll feel at that stage of my career if I have had that much success. Maybe I’d do something like this. [NY Post]

• But there’s good news everyone, good news: Travis Yost believes the Islanders have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL. Hooray! Now I’m ready to lose 2-1 again every night. I’m pumped. Here we go. [TSN]
• If that hasn’t comforted you and you’re still mad (or even if you’re not still mad!), listen to Mike and Dan curse about it with Arthur Staple, who reminds us that most of these guys did go on two Eastern Conference Final runs. [LHH]

Elsewhere

• 3ICE 3-on-3 hockey’s revolutionary first season, with Bryan Trottier serving as one of the coaches, will conclude this weekend. More on what the future could hold for the fledgling league and the sport writ large. [ESPN]
• Time heals all and failing down is tough in this league: Todd Reirden, most famous for doing a poor job of taking his boss’s job and getting demoted again, has been promoted from Penguins assistant coach to Penguins associate coach, which I’m pretty sure is the same move the Capitals pulled when they wanted to put a little heat on Barry Trotz. Todd must have a hell of an agent. [Penguins]