Islanders Team Report--Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

All eyes will be on the Islanders at the June 26 entry draft because they control the first overall selection.

But whether they grab center John Tavares or defenseman Victor Hedman as their key building block for the future, coach Scott Gordon knows the key to the future is the health of goaltender Rick DiPietro(notes).

“To me, the most important thing is going to be Ricky,” Gordon told Newsday. “No matter who we draft, it’s going to come down to what we do in net. No matter how good you are, you’re going to break down. You can’t underestimate the value of the guy in net.

“You saw Ricky’s value the previous year when he played so well the first half of the season. When he got hurt, they went from being a playoff contender to struggling. You have to have a guy who is able to run with the ball. No matter who we draft, it gets overshadowed by who’s in net.”

The last-place Islanders lost an NHL-high 582 man-games to injury last season, and none were more significant than DiPietro, who was limited to five appearances because of two surgeries on his left knee.

“It sounds like everything is going well with Ricky,” Gordon said. “I spoke with (Isles trainer) Garrett Timms, and he’s very encouraged. That’s music to my ears.

“We’ll have to see how everything goes through training camp. The first step is to get him healthy and see where he’s at.”

The Islanders will seek an experienced NHL backup via free agency this summer after going through most of last season with unproven Joey MacDonald(notes) and Yann Danis(notes), who are both slated to become unrestricted free agents, between the pipes.

Season Highlight: It’s hard to pinpoint many bright spots from a dead-last campaign. But in a season defined by growing pains for a slew of young players, resurgent veteran Doug Weight(notes) recorded his 1,000th NHL point in January and wound up third on the team in scoring (38 points) despite missing 29 games because of injury. The 38-year-old center also was rewarded with a one-year contract extension in early April.

Turning Point: The first red flag flew atop Nassau Coliseum as soon as goalie Rick DiPietro was unable to play in the season opener. The team’s franchise goalie underwent two surgeries on his left knee and ended up appearing in just five games because of complications, pretty much torpedoing any chance the Isles had of remaining competitive this season.

Notes, Quotes

• Coaching legend Al Arbour’s plaque at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto will not be altered to add the extra game and regular-season win the NHL acknowledged he earned when he came back to coach the Isles for one night in 2007, according to a report in Newsday. Referring to similar comebacks by Scotty Bowman and players Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux and Guy Lafleur after their inductions, a Hall of Fame spokeswoman said it is policy not to change any existing plaques.

“While we respect the Hockey Hall of Fame’s position regarding its policy on induction statistics, Al Arbour’s 740 wins and 1,500 games coached (both totals with the Islanders) are milestones that will forever be recorded by the New York Islanders and NHL record books,” Islanders president Chris Dey said in a statement.

• John Tonelli, an integral member of the Islanders’ four-time Stanley Cup champions in the 1980s, faced charges of driving while intoxicated in Westchester County, N.Y., after state police say he crashed his car along Interstate 684 and abandoned his Lexus at a highway ramp in Harrison, N.Y. Tonelli, who scored 325 goals with five NHL teams, assisted Bob Nystrom’s game-winning overtime goal in Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup finals against Philadelphia, giving the Islanders their first Stanley Cup title.

Quote To Note: “Hopefully we’ll score more goals. I don’t expect we’ll be a dynamic offensive team, but we’ll be going toward that. Kyle (Okposo) was our leading goal scorer last year (with 18 goals). I’d like to see everybody improve like Kyle did in the second half to the point where there was less thinking and more action. That’s part of the development process. And we did it with a ton of injuries. Now, it’s a question of everybody having better health.”—Isles coach Scott Gordon on the Isles failing to have a 20-goal scorer for the first time in their history last season.

Roster Report

Most Valuable Player: D Mark Streit’s(notes) signing for $20.5 million last summer drew some snickers around the NHL, but the Swiss-born former Canadien proved to be a bargain and far more than the power-play specialist he was branded as in Montreal. Streit led the Isles with more than 25 minutes per game and finished seventh among all NHL defensemen in scoring with 56 points despite missing eight games with injuries.

Most Disappointing Player: LW Jeff Tambellini(notes) wasn’t a disappointment to those who didn’t think he could put up big numbers at the NHL level. But the Islanders have to wonder if it’s ever going to happen at this level for the former first-round pick and AHL scoring whiz after Tambellini had just seven goals and 15 points in 65 games.

Free Agent Focus: GM Garth Snow actually went 2-for-2 with the free agent signings of D Mark Streit and C Doug Weight last summer. And with immediate holes all over, it makes sense that the Isles will look to supplement their young roster again with a few more veteran bargains.

After career minor-leaguers Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis were forced into 49 and 31 appearances, respectively, the Isles also might seek to find a proven NHL backup as insurance in case starter Rick DiPietro continues to be plagued by injuries.

With Weight re-signed to a one-year extension in April, forwards Dean McAmmond(notes), Mike Sillinger(notes) and Andy Hilbert(notes), defenseman Thomas Pock(notes) and the two backup goalies are the only significant regulars slated to be unrestricted free agents.

Player News:

• RW Kyle Okposo(notes) improved his chances of making the 2010 U.S. Olympic team with a strong showing for semifinalist Team USA at the recent World Championships in Switzerland, according to Islanders coach Scott Gordon, who served an assistant to head coach Ron Wilson. “With the exception of a couple of players, I wouldn’t take anybody on (Team USA) over him, and when he gets older, there might not be anybody I’d take over him,” Gordon told Newsday about the 21-year-old Okposo, who scored 18 goals as a rookie last season.

• C Mike Sillinger underwent season-ending hip surgery for the second straight year. Yet, despite appearing in only seven games for the Isles, the 37-year-old center is planning to attempt a comeback next season. It almost certainly will not be with the rebuilding Isles for the unrestricted free agent, who has played for a record 12 NHL teams in a 16-year career.

• LW Jon Sim(notes) didn’t sulk when he was banished to AHL Bridgeport after the trade deadline, posting 13 goals and 23 points in 18 games with the Sound Tigers. With one season remaining on the three-year, $3 million contract he signed with the Isles before the 2007-08 season, the 31-year-old Sim will attend training camp in September barring a trade or a buyout.