Filed under:
Us, not the Islanders. Camp doesn’t start for a couple weeks (I think!).
If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
It has been a while since you, the readers and commenters, and we, LHH, last spoke. We needed to recharge our batteries before the new season got underway.
But Labor Day has come and gone, and vacations are over. The days are getting shorter. The temperature has cooled slightly. And my friends with back-to-back, early September birthdays have celebrated.
Now that hockey is back on its normal timeline, these annual events once again can serve as fuel for my excitement about the upcoming New York Islanders season.
That said, compared to the past few years, my enthusiasm for the next campaign has been, shall we say, muted. That also seems to be the general vibe of the fanbase, and it makes sense: Aside from Alex Romanov for Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene, they will likely ice the same crew that missed the playoffs by 16 points. A lot that could’ve gone wrong did last season, but probably not 16 points’ worth. A team that has consistently struggled to score made no upgrades to its forward group. And it fired the Hall-of-Fame coach who would have acted as something of a safety blanket for the lack of on-ice change.
But this core, in the past, has been driven by everyone counting them out. And as you’ll see below, that is beginning to happen again. So there is reason for optimism. Perhaps Lane Lambert can channel his long-time mentor and boss and tap the nerve that Barry Trotz found.
By the way, I apologize if I have written something like this already. All we can do until the season starts—unless the Islanders magically drop more news—is tee up what’s coming. Even that is tough, though, because they’re the Islanders. As such, there is no information about when the Isles’ rookie and training camps open. All we know is that their first preseason game is September 26, so presumably sometime the weekend before is when the veterans would report.
Nazem Kadri has made a donation of $1-million in support of the Ambulatory Surgical Centre at London Health Sciences Centre. It will now be know as the Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre. pic.twitter.com/PAKQ6MHvru
* 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, LS (select parishes), MI, NH, NJ, NY, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY only.
Eligibility restrictions apply. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Odds & lines subject to change.
