Deadline Day...or, How hard it is to love something that don't love you back

Every so often, something happens regarding the Islanders that simply defies logical explanation. It often makes us fans want to stick our heads in the toilets and wonder why we even care about this team.

This year's item: Bill Guerin.

A consummate pro and respected leader, Guerin was sent into exile on Saturday because speculation was that a trade was imminent. Banished from the team, Guerin's situation has caused many in the league and in the media to shake their heads, chuckle, and say, "Same old Islanders."

Problem is, the fans aren't laughing.

The way this entire situation has been handled has been unprofessional and embarrassing for the team. By banishing their captain, Scott Gordon and Garth Snow have essentially given a peek into the future for the young and impressionable Islanders; all of whom are probably saying, "If they can do that to Billy Guerin, what the heck will they do to me?"

Shame on the organization.

All of this comes out as allegations surfaced that coach Scott Gordon was not treating the entire team with deserved respect. The whispers about the headstrong coach and the veteran players butting heads all season have been confirmed. Gordon has been accused of not coaching the entire team and holding meetings with the younger players that the older experienced guys have not been invited to.

Let's examine that charge for a minute.

Gordon makes a reasonable argument that the kids are the ones who need the extra tutoring after school. He also has apparently pulled aside some key vets like Doug Weight and Guerin and told them that he can't count on them being on the team next season so he needs to spend his time teaching the players who are going to be the teams' leaders into The Lighthouse Era.

Let's face it: veteran players on the Islanders are desperate to win and to keep their careers alive. Guys like Weight, Guerin, and Witt have, with all due respect, seen better days. They're not part of the future of the New York Islanders. They're stop-gaps. They are either on their way out of the league after freaking commendable careers or they're biding their time until some other opportunity opens up. And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's just like any other job. Some people come and stay and try to make the place they work better. Others just show up and work hard but have priorities in other places. The paycheck is nice, you know, and there's no shame in that. You do what you have to do for your family.

Saying that, you bet your backside Bill Guerin wants to play for a contender and get some more playoff action under his belt. He doesn't know if this is the end of his career--let's remember he didn't have a lot of options in the NHL when he signed with the Isles to begin with. He wants to go out on the highest note possible...and the Islanders deserve to be compensated with a player or a draft pick as they continue to rebuild the once-proud franchise.

Again, I say "once-proud" because, as the DVD set that comes out next week further validates, all we as Islander fans have is (perhaps) misguided hope and our memories of better days at Fort Neverlose.

Memories are great and can get you so far but after a while, you need something more. We sit there and take the crap sandwiches and delude ourselves into thinking it tastes good because the jerseys and logo we love keep feeding it to us.

Which makes this whole Guerin mess puzzling. The whole exile thing didn't have to happen, as Mark Herrmann wrote in Newsday over the weekend. The team could have kept playing Guerin while waiting to see if Washington could dump Michael Nylander's salary to take on Billy for the stretch run in the Southeast.

But see, that would have been the classy move. Management sent him home to wait so that their precious asset wouldn't get injured while the trade wheels were in motion. This precious asset is going to fetch either a third or fourth round pick. Nice, but no windfall. Instead, a proud man who has been nothing but admired and professional is suspended from school for no apparent reason other than he is a good, useful player who is sought after by other teams with much more to gain this season that his present employer.

And that, in a word, sucks.