Veteran forward, Doug Weight, has been re-signed by the New York Islanders.  My first thought was that it makes sense but then I saw that he will earn $2 million during his one-year contract extension and I was confused. 

Do you think the 39-year-old is worth that kind of money given the current economy?  I think he could be but I’m not sure.  He was injured this season so he only played in 29 games but he did manage to post nine goals and 26 assists. 

He’s also a two-time Olympian and one of only four American-born players to have recorded at least 200 goals and 700 assists in their career.

I think he could bring some leadership to the team so it will be interesting to see what he can accomplish if he remains healthy and is able to play for a full season.

image: TSN

The New York Islanders have lost forward Trent Hunter for the rest of the regular season after the 28-year-old broke his ankle during their 7-3 win over the New Jersey Devils Saturday night.  i haven’t been able to find a video of it but he apparently missed a check and twisted his leg as he fell to the ice.

He had 31 points (including 14 goals which has him tied with Sean Bergenheim for most goals on the team) in 54 games this season.

image: TSN

Reports are saying that the New York Islanders have sent Bill Guerin to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Details coming soon…

Could this be good news for the Ottawa Senators?  For their sake, I hope so.  It’s been announced that the New York Islanders have traded Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli to the Sens in exchange for veteran centre Dean McAmmond and the Sharks’ first-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (via a different trade). 

The Sens could really use a boost at this point.  They were just getting on a roll when team captain, Daniel Alfredsson fractured his jaw, and things just have been really off-course for the club these past couple seasons. 

I’m hoping Comrie can just pick up where he left off since this is his second time dressing for Ottawa.  Of the situation, the 28-year-old said: ”I played in Ottawa before and I know what’s at stake and what it’s like.  It’s an exciting place to play and a great group of guys and I’m obviously thrilled about the opportunity to play on a great team.”

Mike Comrie is dating Hilary Duff and it’s rumored that his new teammate, Mike Fisher, has been getting cosy with country music star, Carrie Underwood.  Just sayin’…

image: TSN

Forever riddled with injury, Rick DiPietro is officially out for this season.  Just after Christmas, I blogged about the fact that, after returning for a single game, DiPietro somehow ended up on the injured reserve list again with a groin strain. 

Now, the New York Islanders have announced that the netminder will be sidelined for the remainder of the season to to post-surgical knee “issues.”  Wow… remember a couple years ago when this guy sat out of some crucial pre-playoff games with “general all over body achiness”?  Yeah….

Dude is in his third year of a $67.5 million, 15-year deal and, so far, he’s been on the couch A LOT.  Honestly, I’m not a fan of those huge deals and this is an example of why.  Well, hopefully, after all that rest, he’ll be able to come back next season and play for most of it.  That’d be a miracle at this point.

image: TSN

The New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings will face off in a preseason game in Kansas City.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the rumors about the Isles possibly being sold or moved.  The owner has been trying, unsuccessfully to get a new arena approved for the team so it wouldn’t surprised me if this wasn’t a coincidence since an NHL-ready arena was just built in Kansas City…

Of course, Islanders GM, Garth Snow, made it all about expanding hockey’s fan base: "We always played preseason games in different markets.  This is just another opportunity for us to bring this organization and our team to a different market."

We’ll see… I think this really could be about testing out the locale to see if a move to KC would be feasible for the Isles.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan O’Byrne scored on his own empty net during a delayed penalty after Carey Price headed to the bench waiting for the call!  As a result, the game went into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens ended up not only losing their lead but also the game to the New York Islanders. 

Just look at Price coming off the bench looking across the ice.  He must have been so pissed!

It was another chapter in the “Battle of New York” last night when the New York Rangers visited the New York Islanders.  The game got off to a crazy start when, within the first minute, the Isles made and incredible goal from behind the net.  The Rangers quickly recovered and ended up winning 4-2.  Here is the scoring summary:

• NYR: Drury, C. (00:56 in 1st), Callahan, R. (16:16 in 2nd), Gomez, S. (06:52 in 3rd), Drury, C. (PPG, 12:34 in 3rd)
• NYI: Okposo, K. (19:52 in 1st), Streit, M. (SHG, 18:04 in 3rd)

The Dallas Stars coach decided to reactivate the Mike Ribeiro/Loui Eriksson/Brendan Morrow line and it was a success!  The Stars enjoyed a 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders. The Isles had plenty of opportunities to take the lead, including a two-man advantage for a full two minutes in the second period but Dallas effectively killed that power play.  Here is the scoring summary:

• DAL: Eriksson, L. (PPG, 03:30 in 1st), Morrow, B. (14:13 in 1st), Eriksson, L. (18:22 in 1st), Barch, K. (13:05 in 2nd), Ribeiro, M. (PPG, 18:27 in 2nd)
• NYI: Guerin, B. (10:16 in 2nd), Streit, M. (PPG, 03:28 in 3rd), Sim, J. (19:57 in 3rd)

Watch the video highlights:

It’s been a rough little while for Rick DiPietro, the 27-year-old netminder for the New York Islanders.  He’s been plagued by all sorts of problems (remember the headaches and “general all-over body achiness?”) and now, after having his left knee surgically repaired, he’s experiencing swelling and fluid around that same joint.  Fans were surprised when he was a last-minute scratch in Friday’s season opener against the New Jersey Devils (replacement, Joey MacDonald, made 27 saves but they ultimately lost in a shootout) but Isles had coach, Scott Gordon, put it in perspective: “If we were to lose the first three games of the year and he is better for it, then we are a better team for it.”

The season is barely underway so I hope this is just a temporary problem for DiPietro. 

image credit: TSN