Free Agency #3 Episode Preview

Be sure to tune into Hockey Night on Long Island Thursday 7/26 at 5:30 PM EST for a 30-minute Free Agency edition. Alex and Steve will discuss all of the news and signings that have occurred within the last two weeks in Islanders Country, including Al Arbour, Chris Simon, the new Assistant Coaches, Chris Campoli and much more. As usual, we will take calls (718-664-9597), IMs (AIM: hockeynightli), and e-mails (show@hockeynightonlongisland.com) throughout the show. To listen, visit http://www.show.hockeynightonlongisland.com/.

Arbour Returns To Coach One Game with the Isles

The Islanders have announced that Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour will coach his 1,500 regular season game with the team on November 3, 2007 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Nassau Coliseum. Current Isles coach Ted Nolan sent an invitation to Arbour earlier this week so that the legendary coach can reach an important milestone. He will sign a one-day contract on 11/2. The NHL approved the Islanders request of making him the coach for a game. I think this is a great gesture made by the team. Fans will enjoy seeing Arbour coach one last game for the team, having it be his 1,500 with the Islanders. It is great how Ted Nolan, Garth Snow, and Charles Wang continue to be very active in maintaining the great history that surrounds the team. This game is actually very big for the Isles since they are going to be facing Sidney Crosby and the Pens in an Atlantic Division battle. The Pens should be a great team this season and hopefully Arbour will be able to help get the Islander their 2 points for the game. This definitely tops the list on notable games for the Islanders this upcoming season.

Programming Update:

*Hockey Night on Long Island will be having an episode next week. Please keep checking this site for updated schedule information.

Isles Ink Campoli

The Islanders announced today that they have singed young defenseman Chris Campoli to a 3 year contract that will keep Campoli on Long Island until 2010. Campoli, who impressed with a solid rookie year in 2005-2006, struggled a bit in 2007 after missing the first 30 games of the season due to injury. Along with Bruno Gervais, however, Campoli was impressive in the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres.

Campoli has shown shades of brilliance in his short NHL career and it is good to know that he'll remain with the Islanders. At the same time, however, there is still a lot of development needed. During the next few years, Campoli could become a big time player if he just improves his defensive play and continues to shine offensively.

Free Agency #2 Episode Preview

Be sure to tune in Thursday (tomorrow) 7/12 at 5:30 PM EST to the second Free Agency edition of Hockey Night on Long Island. Alex and I will discuss all of the news and signings of the week. Also, we will discuss the recent press conference that introduced the newest Islanders. Of course, we will be taking calls (718-664-9597), IMs (AIM: hockeynightli) and e-mails (show@hockeynightonlongisland.com) throughout the show. To listen to the show, visit www.show.hockeynightonlongisland.com

Episode #20 Recap

The 20th episode of Hockey Night on Long Island was one to remember. Alex and I were joined at a special day and time by guest Andy Facini (nyicastaway.blogspot.com) to discuss all of the news and signings that had occurred so far during this year's Free Agency period. We started with all of the Islander's free agent losses and signings and then moved onto notable signings that occurred in the Atlantic Division. However, while we were about to discuss about some other signings, there was breaking news. We were thrilled to report that the Islanders had just signed veteran Bill Guerin to a two-year, $9 million contract. Guerin had produced decent numbers last season playing with the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks. This was the biggest signing so far that the Isles have made this Free Agency period. How nice to have this signing occur during this special edition of HNLI. Throughout the episode, we were joined by many knowledgeable callers and IMers. If you were not able to listen to this episode live, be sure to listen to it archived in the "archived segments" tab of www.show.hockeynightonlongisland.com, in the iTunes Music Store by searching "Hockey Night on Long Island" or by using the player on the right column of this website. Be sure to keep checking this website or subscribe to our e-mail updates for updates of when the next episode of Hockey Night on Long Island will take place.

FREE AGENCY UPDATE #1

Hi! It has been a while since I was blogging but Alex and I have been preparing a lot for the summer episodes of HNLI. The last few days have been very sad in Islanders Country. After an extremely busy opening day on Sunday, the Isles had fallen short of signing all the top unrestricted free agents that were out on the market. It started with Jason Blake, signing a five-year deal worth $20 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although it seemed as if Blake was not going to re-sign with the Isles, it was still sad to see him leave Long Island, where he just experienced a career season and many good ones before that. Also, Tom Poti, by far the most underrated Islanders defenseman of last season, signed with the Washington Capitals a four-year, $14 million contract. I would have liked to see Poti be an Islander for the future because he was very quietly successful and seemed to always have a good shift on the ice (he had a lot of ice time). All hockey fans knew that the Isles were desperately trying to resign Ryan Smyth, who was acquired minutes before the Trade Deadline from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for three first-round prospects (Ryan O'Marra, Robert Nilsson, and a 2007 First-Round Draft Pick). However, it was devastating to see Smyth sign a five-year contract worth $31.25 million with the Colorado Avalanche. It was reported by Newsday's Greg Logan that the Isles actually offered more money ($32.5 million for five years) than the Avs but it seems as if Joe Sakic and others in Colorado were able to successfully lure Smyth back to the Western Conference. When the signing was announced at about 11:00 PM Sunday, Isles Country froze and was dead silent. The trade had brought so much noise and attention to the Island on that afternoon in February and that noise seemed to escape just as fast it came. As Isles fans were use to seeing not too long ago, the media has began to bash the Islanders for not being able to sign any of these big free agents. To add to all of these names the Islanders missed on, many of them were able to find their way to the Atlantic Division, with Chris Drury and Scott Gomez both being signed by the Rangers (17 minutes apart to be exact), Daniel Briere signing a huge deal with the Flyers, and the Devils who today signed Dainius Zubrus. And we can’t forget the Penguins, who seem to be quickly fitting all of the pieces of the puzzle with Crosby, Malkin, and Staal. It was amazing to see the Islanders roster to shrink and become much weaker than the other teams in their division all in one day. Sunday felt like one of the longest days and it kept getting worse for Islanders fans. With a lot of negativity being expressed towards the New York Islanders by their fans, the Islanders have been expressing patience and that the team is searching for the players that will fit into the Ted Nolan game-style. I think that the Isles were alarmed by how much money was being given to these players but that should be no excuse. They should have been able to get at least of these players. Also, Greg Logan reported today that Garth Snow, Islanders GM, thinks one reason some of the top free agents would not sign with the Islanders was because of the facility that the team plays in (the aging Nassau Coliseum). I guess we will just have to wait it out and see who the Islanders sign...

Notes:
*The Islanders signed winger Jon Sim to a three-year $3 million contract, and Andy Hilbert to a two-year deal worth $1.35 million.
*Victor Kozlov, who also had a career season with the Isles last season, signed a two-year deal worth $5 million with the Washington Capitals. Richard Zednik, who was acquired before the Trade Deadline and was only to play a few games with the Isles, signed a two-year deal, $3.25 million contract with the Florida Panthers.
*HNLI announced that the next episode will be a 60-minute edition on THURSDAY 7/5/07 at 5 PM EST. Be sure to call in, IM or e-mail us during the episode with your questions and comments.
*HNLI will publish Free Agency Updates throughout the summer when important Islanders signing are made. Remember, you can sign up for e-mail updates with our blog entries in the e-mail by typing your e-mail address in the Feedblitz box which is located on the right column of this site. This is a very useful tool especially during the Free Agency period and it allows you to read our blog entries while reading your other e-mails.
*Have a Happy Fourth of July!