Community Picks: New York Islanders 0% vs Anaheim Ducks 0%

Arena talks are only slightly more enjoyable than talking about taxes, but they also happen to be crucial for NHL teams. Tuesday brought some interesting developments in both regards for the New York Islanders, although the Tavares update wasn’t exactly … detailed. First, let’s pull off the Band-Aid with the arena stuff, as Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky spoke to the media today. Continue to Article

October 10, 2017 3:17:pm EST

Islanders Point Blank founder and former SNY contributor Chris Botta will be back with us this season, posting multiple columns each week. When we last left off about five years ago, the New York Islanders were a franchise without a long-term home -- a team entering each season merely yearning to grab one of the final playoff berths in the Eastern Conference. As another season starts this week, we will get caught up in the glory of John Tavares, the promise of Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Ho-Sang, the underrated artistry of Nick Leddy, a likely return to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and all the highs and lows that come with being a passport-carrying member of Islanders Country. Continue to Article

October 03, 2017 1:00:pm EST

After years of veterans seemingly playing without fear of repercussions -- even over younger players who might have been out-performing their elder counterparts -- the Islanders find themselves entering the 2017-18 season under new leadership and counting on an infusion of young talent more than ever. Doug Weight, speaking to the media on Wednesday after practice, said Mathew Barzal has done enough to make the team coming out of training camp. Weight is also happy with Ryan Pulock's preseason, even though he did add the caveat, "there's a pretty darn good battle going on back there for starting jobs" (via Brian Compton, NHL.com on Twitter). Continue to Article

September 29, 2017 9:30:pm EST

PITTSBURGH (AP) The chance to make history doesn’t come up in the Pittsburgh Penguins dressing room. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and company understand the stakes: that no team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s has won three straight Stanley Cups, something the Penguins can do if they can navigate the next nine months with the combination of grit and talent they’ve mustered each of the last two springs. “I think you have to prove it every year,” Crosby said. Continue to Article

September 28, 2017 7:00:pm EST

With all the worries about where they’ll play and if John Tavares will continue to play for them, there have been a lot of negative bits about the New York Islanders lately. First, the more crucial bit: the Islanders submitted an arena plan at Belmont Park, according to Newsday’s Jim Baumbach. Baumbach notes that there are other entities that are bidding to develop around the Belmont Park area, and that it could take months to see who wins the rights to do so. Continue to Article

September 28, 2017 3:49:pm EST