Despite loss, there is hope

Not too long ago, we Islander fans were faced with hockey armhegedden. Elimination in mid November. Then something so simple happened. Islanders management was forced to start Al Montoya basically everyday. And his play (up until tonight yet its not his fault entirly) has been stellar. And his stellar play alone can be attributted to the turnaround. Unfortunately, when you fall so far behind, and you can't win in OT or shootouts, 1 loss brings it all back to reality. 13th in the east. Too many turnovers. Sloppy play in the defensive zone. No big defensive stoppers on the blueline. The fact that we cant battle night after night against the Eastern division because the team is too small and too soft. Would a 1.5 mil cap hit for claiming character tough guy Sean Avery really be too much too ask. He would have helped. He is exactly what this team is missing. A semi talented, Tough, heart on his sleeve type player. all due respect to Matt Martin, hes no Avery. At least not yet. While i think the team will continue to battle and win almost half its games, this roster is not playoff caliber. And that is the goal after 4 years nada. Whats next? Do they shrug this off and continue to battle every night? Winning at least half of the time? Is that even satisfactory.Evan if we compete and find ourselves in the same conference position come february, it only means snow will certainly trade al montoya for a garbage draft pick. Its almost a better bet to hope the team returns to losing so perhaps after another year with lost revenues, Wang finnaly decides to change managment. But i fear this team is talented and prideful enough that come march, they will be near the .500 mark and that will justify another Dianetics believe speech from wang, another lost year, another lost draft, and another rookie non nhl coach, and ultimatly another lost season for us fans.

August 5th rant

SO its August 5th and the isles have been all over the news. Of course for the wrong reasons. Nassau county voted down a new coliseum. No surprise.what's surprising is the optimism and hope that the isles will stay there. As it stands Brooklyn,Kansas city, Quebec will have buildings by 2015. All paid.zero investment. Move right in. And as expected, those options are shot down by press and fans Alike. Clearly their not paying attention. For 20 years the isles have needed an upgraded building or a new building. No one. I mean NO one wants to fund it. There are several reasons. The isles don't make money. Nassau county and hemstead more specifically  are like the old boys network when it comes to that land that the arena sits. They want all the say in what is put there or not put there yet think some idiot is gonna finance projects under such rediculous circumstances. They also want some control of any future revenue streams generated. A deathgrip on any potential investors. Its clear that nothing is going to change and the isles will move when the lease is done.

Where do they go? I don't think there are many viable options. No one wants to buy the team. No one wants to finance an arena. And banks aren't lending money. Brooklyn makes the.most sense. Here's why....the Barclay center is being built. No more hurdles. No more opposition. And most important, no investment! Or at least not 350,000,000 worth. Some say Gary bettman will not allow an NHL team in,such a small arena. Well he's not stupid either. The isles have a TV contract that pays them between 15 and 30 million dollars yearly as long ad they are in the.NYC market. So a 17,000 seat arena in Quebec or Kansas city can not come close to matching the revenues generated by the TV contract alone. And 14,000 seats in Brooklyn! Can generate more revenue than 17000 seats anywhere unless you are an original 6 team. A hockey Jersey with the Brooklyn name alone would prolly Garner more revenue than the isles have made in years.

All that said. I hear queens, Suffolk county, and few other local options but there is no actual factual data to back up these rumors. No financial possibilities for such moves has ever surfaced. If this comes about or by some modern miricle they stay in Nassau, I'd be very happy. In light of the reported TV deal, I'm very confident that the isles will stay in new York.