The Barclays Center has signed a deal with Neulion Inc. to provide streaming video of the arena’s live events. Under the deal, Neulion will exclusively stream the Barclays’ non-NBA events to end-user’s computers, tablets and smartphones. Users can purchase ‘digital tickets’ that will allow them to watch the shows online.
Currently, Neulion provides streaming video to NHL fans via the NHL Center Ice Online apps and website. Neulion was created by Islanders owner Charles Wang, who serves as Neulion’s Chairman of the Board.
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According to CBC’s Elliotte Friedman, goalie Tim Thomas is considering a comeback to hockey next season. Friedman mentioned the possibility on CBC’s Hot Stove intermission report during Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Friedman said that according to Thomas’s agent nothing has changed to indicate Thomas would come back, although other sources tell him that Thomas is considering playing either in the NHL or europe next season.
According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the Islanders do not have the rights to Tim Thomas as they are not tolling his contract for another season.
Today was the signing deadline for 2011 draft picks Brenden Kichton (5th round) and Mitchell Theoret (7th). If unsigned, they would be free to re-enter this year’s draft. According to Arthur Staple, the Islanders did not make an offer to either player.
Theoret, a seventh rounder, was always a long shot and did not put up much in terms of numbers until this season, his fourth in the OHL. With the Islanders forward pool being very deep, it’s not a surprise that they passed on Theoret.
For Kichton, he’s had impressive numbers in the WHL and was captain of Spokane. His numbers plateaued and with a full draft of defenders behind him in 2012, plus the signings of Scott Mayfield and Andrey Pedan, the Islanders like see him as expendable. Maybe there were some ruffled feathers there on one side or the other, but we’ll never know.
It might have been nice to see Kichton in Bridgeport this year, and I’d bet he’ll eventually get a shot somewhere else, but there’s no reason to get extremely worked up over the situation. The Islanders will have a lot more decisions to make with a lot more defenders — higher drafted defenders — over the next year or two. This is the first decision of many.
5:34PM: In response to the tweet below from Luongo, McKenzie wrote “I hung that one out over the plate. I’ll take that as you’ve waived to go to Isles. I’ll talk to Mike. Sure he’s agreeable.”
5:12PM: The Islanders are showing interest, under the right circumstances, of bringing in Roberto Luongo, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
McKenzie notes that the team’s first order of business would be gauging the cost on Evgeni Nabokov
He notes that “it goes without saying” that the Canucks would need to take Rick DiPietro back in the trade with the purpose of using an amnesty buyout on him.
McKenzie said “No question in my mind Luongo is a good “hockey” fit for NYI but whether Isles or Canucks could ever finesse a workable deal is the issue.”
Luongo has nine years left on his deal and has a cap hit of $5.3 million.
McKenzie also writes that the Isles are not “tolling” the contract of Tim Thomas, whose NHL contract expires and will be a unrestricted free agent.
The University of Maine has a lot of ties to the Islanders: GM Garth Snow, coach Jack Capuano, and Bridgeport coach Scott Pellerin are all alums of the school. Over the last few weeks, as Maine was looking for a new coach, Pellerin and Capuano’s names came up in the press but it seems as though there was never any serious discussion (alums are always the first rumors in a coaching search; just see the Rangers and Mark Messier yesterday).
Maine finally named a new coach on Tuesday: Red Gendron. According to the Portland Press, Snow was an advisor to Athletic Director Steve Abbott:
Stanbrook was one of the people who advised Athletic Director Steve Abbott on the search process, as was Garth Snow, the former Maine goalie and current general manager of the New York Islanders.
Throughout the next month plus, we’ll be reviewing the season that was and over-analyzing the various players that contributed to it. That’s what the offseason is for, after all. This post is part of a series. Read them all here.
Colin McDonald — RW — #13
7-10-17 in 45 games
Most often seen: being a solid, bottom-six contributor
Contract status: signed through 2014-15, $700k salary in 2012-13 ($700k cap hit)
Obligatory YouTube video of: his hit of the week
Thoughts on 2012-13: Last summer the Islanders signed McDonald, who at the time appeared to be a career minor-leaguer that had bounced around to a few different organizations. 27 at the time, McDonald only had seven NHL games under his belt split between Edmonton and Pittsburgh.
Throughout the next month plus, we’ll be reviewing the season that was and over-analyzing the various players that contributed to it. That’s what the offseason is for, after all. This post is part of a series. Read them all here.
John Tavares — C – #91
28-19-47 in 48 games
Most often seen: doing the goal scoring and the team leading and the, well, everything
Contract status: signed through 2017-18, $4M salary in 2012-13 ($5.5M cap hit)
Obligatory YouTube video of: screw it, here’s a ‘best of’ reel
Thoughts on 2012-13: Here’s John Tavares’ 2013 season:
Nominated for the Hart trophy alongside Ovechkin and Crosby
Led team to the playoffs for the first time in a long time with team leading goals and points
Scoring more goals in 48 games than in his entire, 82 game, rookie season and was on pace to shatter his career goal-scoring mark over a full 82
The Islanders will play a pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators at the Barrie Molson Centre in Barrie, Ontario on Sunday, September 29th, according to a source.
The Islanders were originally scheduled to play a game in Barrie last year on September 30, but the game was canceled due to the lockout.
As part of their pre-season schedule, the team has already announced that they will play the New Jersey Devils at the Barclays Center on September 21st.
The Barrie Molson Centre is the home of the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
NHL teams have two years to sign junior hockey players after drafting them, and this year for the Islanders that means Mitchell Theoret and Brenden Kichton. Both players were drafted in 2011, and if left un-signed by June 1st, they can both re-enter the draft.
The rest of the Islanders 2011 draft class is signed with the exception Robbie Russo who still has time left at Notre Dame (college players don’t need to be signed until they leave school). The other five players from ’11 all spent time in Bridgeport this year: Ryan Strome, Scott Mayfield, Johan Sundstrom, Andrey Pedan and John Persson.
For Kichton, the road to this point has been an odd one. When he was originally drafted by the Islanders in 2011, it was because he had re-entered the draft after being passed on by everyone in 2010. Kichton was the captain for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, totaling a career-high 85 points and 22 goals in 71 games this past season.
It’s your last chance to sign up for a chance to 
