September 6th, 2012 at 11:29 AM
By PJ FotiThe New York Islanders made a move in the right direction to be competitive this season on draft day, dealing a 2013 second round draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.
Visnovsky, however, found a loophole in his contract and went to the league about voiding the deal.
He said he was happy as an Islander, but went to the league anyway because he had the right. The NHL scheduled his arbitration hearing for Sept. 4, and expect to come to a decision by Sept. 15.
Arbitrator George Nicolau will have to look back to a 2010 trade between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks and rule whether or not the trade permanently eliminated Visnovsky's no-trade clause.
Visnovsky’s agent, Neil Sheehy, who was a witness at the hearing, said Wednesday he thinks the outcome is “50-50.”
Even if Visnovsky wins the case and goes back to the Ducks, he'll likely force a trade. Chances are, one of the teams on his preferred list will be the New York Islanders. He probably just wants to find out whether or not the no-trade clause will still be intact moving forward incase the Isles look to deal him.
Read more... Join the Conversation... September 4th, 2012 at 3:01 PM
By PJ FotiAlthough nothing is exactly close to settled with the new collective bargaining agreement, Sports Illustrated reports that with the if/when the labor dispute is over, a new rule change will likely go into effect. That change is the trapezoid.
The trapezoid was a newly instated rule that came with the CBA in 2005. The trapezoid is located directly behind each goal, and a goaltender is only allowed to possess the puck inside that box if the puck is behind the red line.
The trapezoid prevents a goalie from going into the corners to corral the puck for his defenseman, like we see in Olympic play.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League have both elected to get rid of the trapezoid because of its risk of injury. When the puck is in the corner, a defenseman must race back to beat an offensive player, and usually will receive a big hit for his efforts.
With all the concussions taking place in the NHL, it would be smart for the league to remove the trapezoid so defensemen won't be taking unnecessary and defenseless blows in the corners. Instead, they would only have to go back far enough to receive a pass from their goaltender.
Read more... Join the Conversation... August 29th, 2012 at 4:42 PM
By PJ FotiThe NHL has issued it second proposal to the NHL Players' Association on Tuesday when the two sides met in Manhattan. 
The offer came six weeks after the league's initial proposal, and this one doesn't seem much better for the players like NFL Commissioner Gary Bettman suggested. Instead, it seems as though the NHL will be heading toward yet another lockout, which would start Sept. 15 if a deal is not reached.
According to ESPNNY.com's Katie Strang, the alleged six-year deal would include a phased yearly reduction in re-defined hockey-related revenue for the players from 57 percent (the current share) to 50 percent for the last three years.
The initial proposal wanted the players to scale back immediately down to 43 percent, which wasn't even close. The new deal makes more sense for the players hockey-related revenue wise, but now the league is trying to take away player salaries.
The new deal proposes a fixed salary cap that would look like this:
2012/13 – $58 Million
2013/14 – $60 Million
2014/15 – $62 Million
2015/16 – $64.2 Million
2016/17 – $67.6 Million
2017/18 – $71.1 Million
Read more... Join the Conversation... August 27th, 2012 at 12:11 PM
By PJ FotiWe here at Islanders 101 are set to being a long series of team and player breakdowns as we inch closer and closer to the drop of the puck. We'll start where fans are confident, the first offensive line.
This is by far the best unit on this team, as any team's Line 1 should be. However, is it better or worse than last year's is the question. Remove P.A. Parenteau from the equation and add Brad Boyes. The line already includes John Tavares and Matt Moulson, but we'll get to them in a bit.
The New York Islanders front office made the decision to let Parenteau walk in free agency, eventually landing with the Colorado Avalanche, and signed Boyes to a low-risk, high-reward contract.
For those who don't know, Boyes signed a one-year, $1 million deal. A huge bargain for someone projected to be on the team's top line.
The reason for Boyes coming at such a discount is in large part due to his disappearing act the past few years. He was a 30-goal scorer a few years back in St. Louis, but only registered eight goals in Buffalo last season. He said his 23 points last season, the fewest he's ever scored in a season since his rookie year, were attributed to the fact that he didn't fit into the Sabres' system.
Read more... Join the Conversation... August 10th, 2012 at 3:30 PM
By Chester BakerAs the final medals begin to be awarded, the London Olympics are reaching their end, with the highlights of these games soon becoming classic moments in Olympic history. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to enjoy the 2012 Summer Olympic Pubcrawls, brought to you by Pubcrawls.com and Sports Media 101. With just a few more chances to enjoy the summer in New York City, make sure to experience one (or all!) of the remaining events! And remember, you can receive 25% off tickets for the Pub crawl, just for being a Islanders 101 reader.
Join us on August 11th for the Annual NYC Golf Games, taking you to all the best bars from Chelsea to Gramercy! The course begins at Sidebar on East 15th Street at 5PM, with great prices on all drinks throughout the night, with $2 drafts, $3 bottles, and $4 well drinks. If the round of pub golf isn’t enough to whet your Olympic appetite, you can come out to the East Village on August 12th for the Closing Ceremonies, beginning at noon. All bars will have plenty of televisions, so you won’t miss out on any of the action from London!
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