NEW YORK ISLANDERS: 08-09 Season Preview

07-08 RECORD: 35-38-9 79 points
DIVISION: 5th
CONFERENCE: 13th
RESULT: Missed playoffs

OFF-SEASON:
ARRIVALS: C Doug Weight(STL/ANA), D Mark Streit(MON), G Yann Danis(MON), D Tomas Pock(NYR)
DEPARTURES: C Shawn Bates, G Wade Dubielewicz, LW Ruslan Fedotenko, RW Miroslav Satan, C Josef Vasicek

The Islanders are the weirdest ran franchise in the league. Last summer their back-up goaltender retired to become the teams GM then this off-season they fired last season's Jack Adam's trophy winner, Ted Nolan. Anyways this is the way Garth Snow wanted it and now he has put his mark on the team. After a dismal 13th place finish last season the Islanders are in full re-building mode. The Islanders signed PP specialist Mark Streit and veteran Doug Weight in the off-season and have left the rest of the holes to be filled in by youngsters from within their organization.

CAP HIT: 43.49 million

FORWARDS:
My Projected Lines:
1- T.HUNTER-M.COMRIE-K.OKPOSO
2- S.BERGENHEIM-D.WEIGHT-B.GUERIN
3- J.TAMBELLINI-A.HILBERT-B.COMEAU
4- J.SIM-F.NIELSEN-R.PARK
E- T.JACKMAN-M.SILLINGER(INJ.)-B.WALTER

The Islanders were dead last in scoring last season and they only added Weight in the off-season and he is in no way going to change that 30th rank, he will help but just him wont be enough for the Islanders to score more goals. Welcome the Islanders young guns, Kyle Okposo, Sean Bergenheim, Jeff Tambellini and Blake Comeau. There will be alot of pressure on these guys to produce, the time is now for all of them and the Islanders cant afford to wait any longer. They will battle for PP time but should all get a sniff during the season. Mike Comrie lead the team with 49 points last season but is more suited as a second line center. Bill Guerin lead the team with 23 goals, but at age 37 those numbers aren't going to improve much. Trent Hunter who brings tons of grit to the line-up will have added pressure to produce offensively.

DEFENSE:
My Projected Pairings:
1- M.STREIT-B.WITT
2- F.MEYER-R.MARTINEK
3- B.GERVAIS-T.POCK
E- C.CAMPOLI(INJ.)-A.SUTTON(INJ.)

If the Islanders top-6 can stay healthy all season the Islanders have a decent group of defenders. Streit was brought in for his ability to move the puck and to help the 29th ranked PP. Streit will have huge pressure to prove he can be a top-4 defensemen and lie up to his contract. Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton bring the leadership to the group, both are good defensively and both bring good toughness. Freddy Meyer was a pleasant surprise after coming over from the Flyers last season and the Islanders are hoping his development continues. Radek Martinek has been injury prone throughout his career but when healthy is a capable top-6 defensemen. Chris Campoli had a terrific rookie season but has faltered a bit since with injuries and will start the season on injured reserve.

GOALIES:
1- R.DiPIETRO
2- J.MacDONALD
3- Y.DANNIS

This is easily the Islanders strongest position when Rick DiPietro is healthy. DiPietro has lived up to his 1st overall status the last couple of seasons and has been the lone reason why the Islanders have even been competitive. His nagging hip problems are a concern for the Islanders organization. They have a 15 year contract riding on this guy who is their franchise player. If DiPietro's hip doesnt hold up the Islanders will be in trouble after letting Wade Dubielewicz sign in the KHL and now only having un-proven Joey MacDonald backing DiPietro up.

OVERALL:

Where is the offense going to come from? Who knows when you look at the Islanders roster because on paper they look to be in trouble. Youngsters Okposo, Comeau, Bergenheim and Tambellini look to be solid NHL players but to what extent is unknown. Okposo has the best shot of being a top-6 forward but all 4 of them have to step up in order for the Islanders to be competitive. Even more important is how good is DiPietro's hip, cause if he goes down for an extended period of time, the Islanders will be in even more trouble than if they can only score 2 goals a game. It is up to new head coach Scott Gordon to get the most of the young guys and with so many, it wont be an easy task.

PREDICTION: 5th Division, 14th Conference