The Islanders franchise finally gives Pat LaFontaine his due this afternoon (3:3o start) with induction into their Hall of Fame if not a number retirement — never mind your Sims, Ladds and Berubes who’ve worn #16 since — and they face the Lightning for the third time in two weeks. But across the NHL, league news is dominated by a couple of big trades that broke on Friday.
More on those further down the page, but first we’ve got a chance to celebrate a great and (hopefully) sweep the Bolts.
First Islanders
Goal picks go here.
Islanders News
Our Islanders Anxiety lead Dan is a classic, #1 LaFontaine fan, and he’ll be there today. For me, my experience was a little more conflicted: I loved LaFontaine, but at the time of LaFontaine’s (completely understandable in retrospect) walkout and trade demand, I felt betrayed. (Brent Sutter’s concurrent trade also hit me in the gut, but somehow I cut all Sutters except Darryl more slack.) Anyway, to have Pierre Turgeon come back in return — back when blockbuster like-for-like trades like that were more common — and for Turgeon to be such a key part of the breakout 1993 team, that really helped heal the wound.
Anyway, relive, bask in the nostalgia: “Now you know why they win,” said LaFontaine’s dad after his first game, when Bob Nystrom stood up for him against the Leafs. A nice, lengthy feature on LaFontaine:
- LaFontaine’s Isles mentor Bryan Trottier (great photo of the two of them here) and rookie peer Patrick Flatley reflect on his impact. [Isles]
- For today (and then some) Bo Horvat is out, but Jonathan Drouin should be back in. [Newsday | Isles | Post]
- Previewing tonight: Special teams have sure helped December get off on the right foot. [Isles]
- Semi-updates on Ethan Bear and Isaiah George, each out with injuries for quite a while in Bridgeport. [THN]
- Weird Islanders: Talking about Mathieu Schneider, who had a storied career with 10 teams. (It’s weird, no pun intended, to think his Isles tenure was so short.) [LHH]
Elsewhere
There were only two games yesterday, neither of which affect the Isles, but it was a blockbuster news day thanks to two massive trades — one of, um, er, inconsistent goalies that absolutely no one fears, the other of the top trade name on the market.
- The Oilers (or at least Stan Bowman) believe the long-awaited answer to their goalie issues is…Tristan Jarry? I am here for it. [NHL]
- Why the Oilers did this. (Or should be: “Why did the Oilers do this???“) [Sportsnet]
- The Penguins upgraded their D in the deal, so they can waive Matt Dumba. [TSN]
- Bill Guerin swung big for Quinn Hughes, giving up a first-rounder and three recent first-round picks. [Athletic]
- It’s a terrible day for the Canucks franchise, but they realized Hughes was never going to sign another extension, and they acted swiftly. [Athletic]
- The Sabres are reportedly discussing replacing Kevyn Adams as GM. Finally. [Sportsnet]
- Victor Hedman will have elbow surgery but should be healthy for the Olympics. [TSN]
- Working on a comeback via the AHL, goalie Laurent Brossoit makes empty net goals look easy. [Sportsnet]
- “It’s just hard,” says Steve Yzerman — refering to picking an Olympic roster, not to getting his team into the playoffs at least once this decade. [NHL]
