NHL Cancels Through December 14th & ASG

According to various news outlets, earlier today on the 69th day of the NHL lockout, the NHL announced that they would be canceling games through December 14th as well as the All Star Game this year in Columbus.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-puts-star-game-misery-cancels-games-december-191023487--nhl.html

Islanders Raise $28,071 For Sandy Relief Efforts

Today, the Islanders announced that they raised $28,071 for people effected by Hurricane Sandy.  The money raised will go to the American Red Cross fund to help Long Islanders in need.

For more on this check out the link below:

http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=646129&cmpid=rss-News

CBA News: NHLPA & NHL Get Closer!

Update: According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the NHL Board of Governors will be meeting on December 5th.  The exact nature of the meeting isnt yet known.

Today, various reports came out that suggest with the NHLPA's latest offer in the CBA negotiations that the NHLPA and the NHL are only 182 million apart over the next five years.  That is indisputable now!  Previously, the NHLPA thought they were under 200 million apart.  Meanwhile, the league thought they were much further then that apart saying even close to one billion dollars.

For more on todays happenings check out the links below:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/20329/complete-nhlpa-offer-to-the-nhl

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-nhl-lockout-nhlpa-20121121,0,6592815.story

BREAKING: WE'RE MOVING

Sometime in the near future we here at savetheisles will be moving to a new domain.  We will fill you all in on this as we know more.

I hope that all of you continue to support us after our move as great as you all have over the last year and a half.  From me and Robbie you have no idea how much we appreciate the support!!

photo courtesy of http://www.singleblackmale.org/

REPORT: Donald Monti To Be Awarded Nassau "Hub" Project

According to the LIBN, developer Donald Monti and his firm Renaissance Downtowns were picked by Nassau County to be the master developers of the Nassau "Hub" site which by now we know as the land that the Nassau Coliseum sits on.  Ed Mangano is expected to announce this news tomorrow the report says.

If you remember in an interview with islanderspointblank.com Monti was the first of the developers vying for the property to declare that he was intent on keeping the Islanders here in Nassau.  This is of course was before the news of the teams relocation to Brooklyn came out.

This isn't the only interesting aspect of this, on top of this Bruce Ratner the owner of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was selected to provide a report to Nassau County on how to best market the Coliseum.  It is interesting as to why Ratner would be interested in doing this for the county.

More to come as news breaks

http://libn.com/2012/11/19/monti-ratner-picked-for-nassau-hub-project/

Some Players Shows How They Feel About Gary Bettman

According to puckdaddy, recently some NHL players practicing in Montreal chose to exhibit how they really feel about NHL commissioner Gary Bettman by wearing "Puck Gary" hats.  Montreal forward Eric Cole told Dave Stubs of the Montreal Gazette that the hats may at some point become available to the public with proceeds going to charity.

You can see an image of the hats below:


image courtesy of puckdaddy

Islanders Auctions For Hurricane Sandy Victims

A bunch of NY Metro area teams have donated various items and on their site the Islanders have listed them with the proceeds being donated to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. 

Some of the items include the opportunity for your and 3 guests to watch batting practice on the field before a Mets game next season.  Also the opportunity to be the Islanders assistant equipment manager for a game.

To see the other items and bid for a great cause check out the link below:

http://auction.nhl.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/User?id=nyiNHL&wl=12717464&type=L

CBA News: NHL Calls For 2 Weeks Break In Negotiations

Tonight, various news outlets reported that the NHL requested a 2 week break in labor talks between themselves and the NHLPA. 

The NHL lockout is now over 60 days old and sadly for die hard fans it doesn't have an end in sight.  In an recent interview, former Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark when speaking about the CBA nonsense which at this point is what it is coming to said, "...You run the risk of your avid fan that is absolutely at every game and then he finds other things to do. You’re giving people a different choice because there wasn’t hockey around."

Sadly, the NHL doesn't realize it but they are there and the number of people who qualify for that group is going up seemingly by the day.  In fact, a neighbor of mine who is an Islander season ticket holder through last season recently told me that if this lockout goes the full season that he is done with the NHL.  This really struck me because for as long as I known him the one common interest we've both always had was hockey.

When I asked him why he felt like that, he told me that it wasn't so much that he found other things to do, but that he was just frustrated with everything.  On top of that he mentioned that if this happens now, whats to stop it from happening again when this one which hopefully will be agreed to upon soon expires?

Well, all we as fans can hope for is that the NHL & NHLPA are finally able to come together and give us our joy back.  Additionally, stopping other people from becoming like my neighbor.

https://mobile.twitter.com/aaronward_nhl/status/269230093673570304?p=v

Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser Tomorrow at the Coliseum

Tomorrow afternoon, from 2:00PM-8:00PM the Islanders will be holding a fundraiser at the Coliseum to benefit those who were effected by Hurricane Sandy.

At the event, there will be an open skate (bring your own skates), also activities set up for kids.  Additionally, they will have stations where you can donate food and clothes to victims of this disaster.  All proceeds from the event will also go to relief efforts.