Top Shelf : Islanders Daily 7/9/13

Apr 25, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Islanders goalie

(60) makes a save against Philadelphia Flyers right wing

(17) during the third period at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers defeated the Islanders, 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Middletown, N. J – Another quiet day in the National Hockey League as it pertains to free agency has come and gone and I have to be honest, I don’t remember such silence being registered so quickly after day one.

Granted the market was not extremely strong to begin with and the major players did sign on day one, but to not even see a trickle coming in afterwards is curious to say the least.

There is still some talent left on the market in the form of Mikhail Grabovski, Jaromir Jagr, Nathan Gerbe, Mason Raymond and others but as of this hour, they still remain un-employed and looking for work.

The biggest news in Islanders country yesterday was that backup goaltender Kevin Poulin accepted his qualifying offer on a two way contract. With the CBA rule stipulating that he does have to clear waivers to return to Bridgeport, it seems like this is prove it time for the young backstop, who should be counted on to make 20-30 starts to spell starter Evgeni Nabokov.

Plenty of material hit the pages of Eyes yesterday and we hope you enjoy the quantity and quality of work our newly constructed team of outstanding writers is pressing forth. We are almost fully staffed and getting ourselves ready for training camp in September, when we will cover a full 82 game slate of Islanders hockey.

In Case You Missed It

• Christmas in July as we take a look at who was naughty and who was nice in Eastern conference free agency (EOI)
• Willhoft breaks down the signing of KP (EOI)
• Perspective from contributor Kevin Kopf on Peter Regin (EOI)
• From a different angle, Chris T tells you why you should like the addition of Regin (EOI)
• Ashley March on Mikhail Grabovski and why he would look good in blue and orange (EOI)
• Snow and Capuano like the Isles chemistry (Newsday)
• What the signing of PMB really means for the Isles (Isles Optimism)

Around The Twitter-Sphere

• Prospect camp starts tomorrow with the open to the public scrimmage on Thursday. Always a fun time to check out the potential stars of the future if you can make it out to the Coliseum. Click the link for the full roster.

• It’s about time! I think Tom and I are the few in Isles country these days totally on board with not only the off-season but the chance that Poulin is about to be given. Let’s see what the kid can do before hanging him out to dry huh? What do you say? 

• I am struggling as well Kara, and much more so than in previous years. Probably related to a number of factors such as the Isles return to relevance coupled with my waning interest in baseball being the two biggest.

• And the countdown begins…..Its really not THAT far away right? My therapist says if I think it, it could become my reality. ?

• Chris sarcastically points out that with growing relevance comes heightened and most of the times, unrealistic expectations.

• They sure are Brian. Two fiscally responsible long term deals for potential blue line stars? I must be dreaming, because based on the actions of some others, I didn’t think it was possible.

-AG (@tazman19)