30 Teams In 30 Days: The Tavares Era Set To Begin On The Isle

To say that the 2008-09 New York Islanders were dreadfully awful would be an understatement. However, considering their loss of 582 man games to injury, the Isles were seemingly already out of the race for a playoff spot and were in the race for John Tavares. Luckily for them, this was the one race that the Isles actually won in 2009.

Notably the injuries struck the Islanders key players and veteran leaders as Mike Sillinger missed 75 games, Doug Weight missed 29 games, Trent Hunter missed 27 games and face-of-the-franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro missed 77 games.

The injuries to DiPietro, who's under contract until the end of the 2022 NHL season, essentially threw the Islanders goaltending department to the wolves of the Eastern Conference. As former Bruins goaltender Joey McDonald was given the starting nod for Scott Gordon's club, the team also relied heavily on Yann Danis and even used Peter Mannino when the injuries piled on.

Despite the lack of success in 2008-09, a ray of light is hopefully showing for the Islanders in the form of 2009 NHL Draft number one overall pick John Tavares. The 18-year old Tavares totaled 104 points in 56 games between the Oshawa Generals and London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League in 2008-09 and tallied 15 points in 6 games for Team Canada in the World Juniors, where he won the MVP award.

Along with Tavares, the Islanders also nabbed promising defensemen Calvin de Haan with the 12th overall pick in the Draft. Although de Haan is expected to remain in the Ontario Hockey League for at least one more season to continue his development, his offensive upside and potential to be a defensive stud make him a valuable asset towards the future.

Tavares, who's drawn many comparisons to Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is expected to play alongside Kyle Okposo, the Islanders other prized young forward in the hopes that they will create a one-two punch for the future.

As the draft concluded, the Islanders appeared to have their number one center of tomorrow, but with the status of Rick DiPietro's knee relatively unknown the Islanders needed a goaltender. They addressed this issue with the signing of Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson to a two year deal worth five million dollars. Roloson went 28-24-9 for the Oil with a 2.77 GAA with a .915 SV%. Roloson's biggest contributions for the Oilers in 2008-09 was his 36 straight starts for the Oilers in their attempt to make the playoffs.

When the Roloson signing was made official, the Islanders goaltender core appeared set. However, the additional signing of Marty Biron to a one year deal worth 1.4 million dollars, the idea that Rick DiPietro wouldn't be playing in the 2009-10 NHL season seemed likely. Biron, who's spent two a half seasons in the Atlantic Division playing against the Islanders, went 29-19-5 for the Flyers with 2.76 GAA.

With DiPietro not yet cleared to practice more than just light skating, the Isles appeared ready to roll with a Biron-Roloson tandem in 2009-10.

The newest news regarding the Islanders without the word "lighthouse" or "project" in it involves the retiring of 17-year NHL veteran Mike Sillinger. The 1,000 game veteran Sillinger had spent three seasons on Long Island where he put up a total of 87 points in 141 games. However, hip injuries put an end to the 38-year old's career as he announced his retirement last week.

Sillinger's departure gives the Islanders 15 million dollars remaining in cap space as they still lack serious depth on the wings and on the blue-line. A player who seems to have interest in returning to New York is free agent right winger Miroslav Satan. The 34-year old winger, who spent three seasons with the Islanders before joining the Penguins in 2008-09, is coming off a season where he put up 36 points in 65 games for Dan Bylsma's Pittsburgh Penguins.

Along with Satan, some free agent defensemen that could help the Islanders on the cheap are Mathieu Dandenault, Marc-Andre Bergeron and even Rhett Warrener. All remain unsigned as of today and could be a solid depth signing for around a million dollars or even less.

Barring any moves from here until their season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 3rd, the Islanders line-up is expected to go as follows.

Sean Bergenheim - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo

Blake Comeau - Doug Weight - Trent Hunter

Jeff Tambellini - Josh Bailey - Richard Park

Jon Sim - Frans Nielsen - Joel Rechlicz

Extra Skaters: Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman

Mark Streit - Andy Sutton

Brendan Witt - Radek Martinek

Freddy Meyer - Bruno Gervais

Extra Skater: Jack Hillen

Dwayne Roloson

Martin Biron

Basically, the rebuilding of the Islanders will continue on into 2009-10 as this team doesn't have enough strength from the blue-line and offensive depth to compete for a playoff spot.

Prediction: 5th in the Atlantic Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference.

10 Bruins Games You Need To Watch Not Played At Fenway Park

As jubilant as Boston is that they'll be the host of the third Winter Classic, there's still 81 more games to be played in the Bruins quest for a Stanley Cup. Despite these games having roofs over their heads and lacking a 37 foot tall monster (although they do present us with a near seven foot tall captain), there's no denying that there's still a lot of buzz generating around these games.

10. New York Islanders at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 10th: 7 PM)
Rarely is it a big deal when the 15th place team battles against the 1st place team from the year before, but the buzz about the newest Islander makes it worth the viewing. This game marks the debut of Jonathan Tavares at the TD Bank Garden. If the hype is correct and this kid is on the same level as Sidney Crosby was in his first year, then this battle between the rebuilding Islanders and Bruins should be a good one.

9. Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins (Saturday Nov. 28th: 7 PM)
Will Dany Heatley still be a member of the Ottawa Senators come November 28th? I suppose that doesn't really matter because the story here is created by Boston's favorite player to hate, Alexei Kovalev. The long despised Canadien traded in his Montreal sweater for a divisional foe Sens jersey, but I'm sure that won't change the way the Garden faithful views him. It'll certainly be interesting to see how loud and long-winded the boo's are for L'artiste, even without the Montreal jersey on.

8. Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins (Saturday Feb. 6th: 1 PM)
Much of the excitement behind this game in my opinion, comes from the fact that this is Vancouver's second trip back to Boston since the lockout ended. Since then, both teams have found a new jersey styles and along with new directions for the better within their franchise. This game will also likely pit two of the best goaltenders in the NHL against one another.

7. Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins (Thursday Nov. 5th: 7 PM)
It's hard to make the case that any Bruins vs. Canadiens game lacks excitement because, well it's just plain not true. This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the Bruins four game sweep of the Canadiens in their centennial season. With the Habs adding two former Bruins in Paul Mara and Hal Gill while the Bruins add former Canadien tough-guy Steve Begin, expect things to get awfully chippy (per usual) in this Original Six clash.

6. Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (Sunday Nov. 1st: 1 PM)
This game may be competing against the time slots of most NFL teams, but I'm already locked in on this match-up. The Rangers are coming off a frustrating end to their season as they blew a three-game series lead to bow out of the conference quarter-finals and always provide great competition against Boston. A stat worth mention is the fact that seven out of the last eight meetings between these teams were decided by one-goal, including four over-time thrillers. In these eight match-up's the Bruins are 5-1-2.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Saturday Dec. 5th: 7 PM)
Fairly new Leafs GM Brian Burke is already putting his pattened Burke-stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As he did in Anaheim, where he put together a Stanley Cup winning team, he's loading the Maple Leafs up with good ole' fashioned North American bruisers. Undoubtedly, his biggest splash came with the robbery of defensemen Mike Komisarek away from, Montreal, a player loathed by Boston fans and players alike. Along with Komisarek, the additions of Colton Orr and Garnet Exelby make the Leafs a lot scrappier and will ultimately provide a great physical contest when they come to the Garden for a Saturday night in Boston. Doesn't this one have Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins Part II written all over it?

4. Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins (Thursday Oct. 1st: 7 PM)
Opening night always has a great feel to it. From the fan fare outside the stadium, to the anticipation of the fans within the building. With Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Southeast Division winning Capitals in town, additional excitement may not be needed for most fans.

3. Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (Thursday Jan. 7th: 7 PM)
The excitement around this one is stemming from this being my pick for the 2010 Stanley Cup. It may be early, but I fully feel that with the additions these teams have made and the continuing development of their young stars into NHL studs that this game has all the makings to be a fine preview of what could be come June.

2. Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 3rd: 7 PM)
The villian of all villains, Hurricanes forward Scott Walker and the rest of those Cardiac 'Canes will be making their first trip to Boston on October 3rd, the Bruins first Saturday night game and second game of the season. The reception for the boys from Raleigh will certainly be unwelcoming, as a sure to be rowdy Saturday night Garden crowd will let their feelings be known to the team that knocked the Bruins out of the second round. Also, it'll be interesting to see how the Bruins handle their (not announced, but sure to happen) retribution to Scott Walker for his sucker punch to Aaron Ward in Game 5. The series may be over, but as Shawn Thornton said "We (hockey players), have long memories.".

1. Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens (Friday Dec. 4th: 7 PM)
This will be the final send off to the Montreal Canadiens centennial (we can only hope) as the Bruins will square off against their most hated rival at the Bell Centre for the first time in the 2009-10 season. This date also marks the first game the Habs ever had in the league, making it the true centennial. With the crowd of 21,000 plus screaming Canadiens fans sure to give this game a playoff feel, expect the players to have an extra jump in their stride. One query I've pondered is whether or not the Habs will break out their prison-jumpsuit throwbacks for this one? We can only pray not.

Top 10 Ugliest Jerseys in NHL History

As I'm still rubbing my eyes to fight off the daze the Canadiens jerseys threw me in on Sunday, I took time to wonder, just what is the ugliest jersey in the history of the NHL? There's been many throughout the years, almost too many. Some of us make them go, people wore that? Or some of them make us say "God, who approved this?". But just what is the ugliest jersey in NHL history?

10) New Jersey Devils - This christmas-esque jersey lasted from the eighties to the early 90's. It was truly a sewer water colored green, I guess it represents New Jersey well. One thing come to mind when viewing this jersey: "Hey don't the elves working at the Mall wear these?".

9) Edmonton Oilers - This was an alternate jersey for the Oilers up until this year when they made their alternate the famous 1980's blue and orange. I always asked "what the hell is this?" when seeing the center logo, is it an oil drop with cranks? Why does an oil drop have cranks?

8) Pittsburgh Penguins - In between the early 90's and early 21st century, the Penguins were stuck in an apparent crossroads in where they wanted to go with their uniforms. It appeared that they were trying to become more modern, but didn't want to move on from their current logo at the same time. While they did they have one of best duos in the game with Mario and Jaromir in their prime the result of this crossroad? Uglier than Jagr's hair-cut.

7) Atlanta Thrashers - Much like the Oilers 3rd jersey, this one left me scratching my head. Was it a bird or a grappling hook? Was it anything? I don't even think they knew really. The Thrasher is the state bird of Georgia, so obviously what you're expecting is a big, probably angry looking bird holding a stick, nope. It's a pure grappling hook if you ask me.

6) New York Islanders - This bad boy worn from '95-'97 made the Islanders even more of a laughing stock. I guess they have alot working against them, it's hard to make orange, blue, white and an odd purple-ish color look nice. It didn't take long for this one to get thrown into the dumpster. Since when is the Gorton's Fisherman guy the goalie for the Isles?

5) Phoenix Coyotes - Another closet dweller, and for good reason. The alternate of the 1998-99 Coyotes screamed "Look at this and not need to sit down!". It was far too busy for a hockey jersey, it looked more like the wallpaper pattern of a TexMex restaurant. It's a shame a player as great as Jeremy Roenick had to wear this garbage and not a B on his chest. And what's up with the desert pattern along the bottom of the jersey? Better question, why's the coyote have two different colored faces, is he Harvey Dent?

4) Boston Bruins - This brute was an alternate jersey up until the 2006-07 season. The Bruins, one of most historically documented franchises, known for hard hitting and fights were wearing a yellow mustard colored jersey with a smiling bear. Yes, a smiling bear. This bear wasn't promoting forest fire awareness or doing tricks, he was just sitting there looking content. Anyone who still wears this deserves to be arrested.

3) Montreal Canadiens - These are their throwbacks from 1911. There's a reason they're not worn anymore fellas. It looked like they were wearing Scrooge's pajamas out there. All they needed was a candle and a hat and to be creeping around with 3 ghosts (of The Forum) to complete the package.

2) Nashville Predators - Puke yellow, always a good choice. History proves that, just look at the Nashville Predators 3rd jersey.

The "Predator" himself looks like a yawning house-cat with tooth picks in his mouth. Also, who thought putting the same logo that's on the chest on the shoulders would be a great and interesting idea?

1) Vancouver Canucks - This beauty, worn from 1978-1985 was simply horrifying to everyone. Women fainted, small children cried and for justifiable reasons. The epic Vancouver Canucks jersey looked like something out of an 80's hip-hop video. I mean how lazy could you get? It's just a V, V for Vancouver? V for Victory-less. The Canucks are still cup-less, and because of this jersey they don't deserve to win a Stanley Cup for 100 years.