FanHouse Garth Snow

The New York Islanders have been mum on the subject of Rick DiPietro and his injured knee and hips since the goaltender was shutdown for the season back in January. Since then, rumors have floated around the internet of fans seeing DiPietro still on crutches as recently as May and other unfounded rumors. Nothing has been confirmed and no official word has come from the team aside from repeating their statement that 'DiPietro will be with the team at training camp.'

After yesterday's signing of Martin Biron to a one-year deal valued at $1.4 million -- can TSN please, please stop using the phrase "voted on/off the island" in their headlines? -- the team doesn't need to release any statements about their oft-injured star netminder. They sent the media and fans a message as bright as a billboard in Times Square indicating that DiPietro's return may be anything but soon or smooth.

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Wednesday, the New York Islanders formally introduced their first overall pick, John Tavares, to fans and the media. A few hundred fans packed in to get their first glimpse at their young star at a lunchtime press conference on the floor of the Nassau Coliseum.

About 20 rows of fans were seated between the stage and television cameras, and they gave a standing ovation when he was introduced. So much so that if you catch the highlights on TV tonight it might look more like a political rally than a press conference.

So, on a Wednesday in July, the Islanders officially started the John Tavares Era. There was more excitement in the Coliseum than there was on most game nights last season.

Over the next week, FanHouse will preview the top players and teams in next Friday's NHL Draft. This is the first post in a six part series.

The New York Islanders had an abysmal 2008-09 season, falling to last place in November and hanging on with ease throughout the rest of the season. For their efforts, and by way of the draft lottery, they were awarded the first overall pick in this summer's draft. Islander fans everywhere are holding their breath, afraid that their team will, somehow, mess this opportunity up.

The NHL Lottery is a serious exercise in television programming. It takes an event that could be completed in less than five minutes and stretches it out into a 30 minute program that makes the jitters that much worse for the fanbases and teams involved.

That doesn't mean the Draft Lottery live on TSN Tuesday night was a bad thing, though. TSN did a nice job filling the other 25 minutes with interviews, prospect analysis and John Tavares vs. Victor Hedman hype tonight. But, at the end of the day, all we came to find out is the answer to the question "who will pick No. 1?"

If you thought the deadline week saga of Bill Guerin and the Islanders was over, think again. Today, Larry Brooks of the New York Post added some after the fact rumors to the fray. According to Brooks, the Islanders offered the Rangers the same deal the Penguins got, but Glen Sather didn't take it.

Instead, the Rangers ended up getting Nik Antropov from Toronto to help cure their scoring woes. Antopov has delivered in his short time on Broadway, scoring four points in five games and is +4. It's hard to argue that Guerin would have been able to do more than that, but we'll take another look at the trades that did -- and didn't -- happen on deadline day.

Islander fans are rightfully upset right now. Yesterday during the deadline frenzy, they witnessed a five day long hostage situation come to a disappointing end. No ones life was ever in danger, but their captain Bill Guerin and their faith in the team were both hung out to dry. After being held out of the lineup since Saturday due to potential trades, Guerin was finally shipped off to Pittsburgh for what could amount to as little as a fifth round pick. That's nothing to be happy about, for sure.

In an interview later in the day with TSN, Guerin confirmed that there had been another deal in place that fell through. The dealing of Guerin to Pittsburgh was a Plan B of sorts, something cobbled together after it became clear the Islanders had to deal their captain and were running out of suitors and time. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, GM Garth Snow did not show any disdain for the team that had presumably gotten him into this sticky situation with Islander fans. But he should have.

If you haven't been by your computer or television this weekend -- probably a good thing -- then you may not be aware of the situation that is currently unfolding on Long Island. For approximately the last 24 hours, Islander fans have been held hostage by the thought of their captain Bill Guerin being traded. They're not upset though, in fact it's more likely sugarplums are dancing in their heads at the thought of what kind of return the Islanders could get for the captain.

Still not sure what's going on? Well, you came to the right place. Let's get you up to speed.

The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? We take a look at the big names surrounding the NHL trade deadline and whether they'll be staying in place or going to finish the season in another city.

It's no secret that the New York Islanders are going to be sellers at the trade deadline. They've already shipped out Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli and, one would assume, they would be trying to send more veterans packing between now and March 4th in the hopes of bringing back draft picks or youth. Among those veterans is captain Bill Guerin and, as the Islanders have been decimated by injuries, he may be one of their only veteran bargaining chips left.

Late Friday afternoon, the Islanders and Senators agreed to swap three players and a draft pick, a move that made waves across the blogosphere. The basic breakdown of the deal seemed to be Chris Campoli for a first round pick, as the other two parts -- Mike Comrie and Dean McAmmond -- were very similar. They both have contracts that expire this summer and weren't doing a whole lot of anything offensively for their teams.

Given that both teams should be trying to stockpile draft picks (let's face it, whether or not Bryan Murray knows it, that's what the Senators should be doing), they're going to be looking to trade off veteran assets of value. So, could we see McAmmond and/or Comrie get moved again before the March 4th trade deadline?

The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.

According to Greg Logan of Newsday, the Isles are down to three candidates, and should make their decision some time in the next week. Given the nature of the Isles organizational woes, I'm rather surprised that coaches would be so eager to go to a team that could kill their career.

After a painstaking interview process in which he spoke with eight known candidates and contacted a few others, an NHL source indicated Snow has narrowed his list to three finalists. Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley (pictured), former Toronto coach Paul Maurice and current AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon still are in the running, and Snow is expected to name one as the Isles' next coach early this week.

So, we have two retreads and an unknown (to most of us) coaching prospect. How do the candidates stack up?