Islanders Odds & Ends – Coliseum, Brooklyn, CBA. ‘The Usual’

Happy summer 2012 Islander’s Country. Hope you have enjoyed our year-in-review for the players (thanks to Paul for bailing me out on the last two!)

Just a quick post summarizing all of what has been going on this July.

• If you haven’t yet read it, BD Gallof at CBS New York put together an exceptionally thorough article related to plans for an RFQ for a new or renovated Coliseum.

Not sure how this new Nassau RFQ can work when the developer would be sharing revenue with the NY Islanders. Risky hmmmmm? Not sure anyone wants to take that plunge. Not to mention, owner Charles Wang would be exceptionally hesitant to share revenue. I think anyone that is paying to attention to this situation sees Brooklyn as the most viable option as of right now. Some folks pipe-dream about keeping the team on the island but I just don’t think so. The counties don’t have money and they DO have angry taxpaying bases.

• Chris Botta recently mentioned via Twitter the following quote from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the possibility of moving to Barclay’s Center in 2015, when Nassau lease expires. He mentions: Now that he has seen Barclays Center, Bettman on #Isles in Brooklyn: “It’s something we’d have to look at.”

• Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy has chimed in as well as he states that the Barclay’s center has open arms in welcoming the Islanders when the lease expires.

I find it next to impossible that Gary Bettman and his offices have not yet considered this as an option for the NY Islanders. He is a metro-NY area guy, born in Queens, educated in NY. This situation is happening in his backyard and he hasn’t thought once about it? He is playing coy. His ‘dancing’ only indicates to me that he is a much bigger player in this thing than he is alluding to. And it only strengthens my opinion that the NY Islanders WILL NOT be leaving the NY metropolitan area at the end of the 2015.

• Speaking of Commissioner Bettman, there is something that is holding his attention this summer. The current NHL collective bargaining agreement expires this summer. Ken Campbell of the Hockey News (for Yahoo!) has a level-headed take on the negotiations.

The 2004-05 NHL lockout that cancelled the 88th NHL season was a s*&%show for fans(only North American league to ever miss and ENTIRE season). It took the league a long time to bounce back from that. A silver linings to this process. First, the Islanders might benefit from an amnesty clause, that would essentially allow them to drop one bad contract (Dipietro?). Second, as BD Gallof replied to me via Twitter, it would allows the young fellas to develop in the ‘A’. There would be no need to rush these kids, giving more time in Bridgeport. Imagine all the eligible young Isles prospects playing a for the Soundtigers for as long as a lockout might last. They’d be STRONG.

Enjoy folks!

Don’t forget. Travis Hamonic will be at the Islanders team store tonight (7/17/12) from 6:30-7:30PM. Apparently ‘The Hammer’ has a new t-shirt!

As always, visit www.toomanymenonthesite.com for overall NHL news and coverage.

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