Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Is it October yet? (This is being asked a whole lot more after NFL Week 1)
We’ll be back with an update on the results of our Isles Fix subscriber survey in the next week or so as we finalize some new content features for this season based on your feedback.
I’m excited about the new voices you’ll hear and read this season to bring more diverse takes on the Islanders, in addition to our daily dose of news that’s delivered into your inbox every morning during the week.
Coming up, the door remains open for Zach Parise, Romy will be ready, and the power-play has the right ingredients. Plus, a PTO, Hickey is back in the studio, and Barzy melts faces with his guitar.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: GM Lou Lamoriello spoke with the media on Monday morning ahead of the start of this month’s developmental and training camp. For rookie camp, those players who are under entry-level contracts will be invited, regardless of whether they spent time at the NHL level or not.
If you thought we would get clarity on Zach Parise's situation, you would be wrong - we’re still in limbo of sorts. Lamoriello stated that while Parise hasn't notified the team that he is retiring, he won't be joining the Islanders at training camp and remains home with his family in Minnesota.
"The door is always open," Lamoriello said of Parise's opportunity to rejoin the team at a later date during the regular season.
Back in May at clean-out day, Parise indicated that it would likely be the Islanders are nowhere if he decided to come back for a 19th NHL season. “Of course, it’s going through my mind, but I haven’t decided anything,” said Parise. “I’ll take a couple weeks and get away from stuff for a little bit and just see where it’s at. But I haven’t decided anything yet.”
It appears that after several months, not weeks, he still hasn't decided.
“Zach will be with his family,” Lamoriello said. “We'll see how the rest of the season goes. Right now it's important for him to be there [after] he spent a couple of years away. That is the decision at this point.
Lou made it sound like he isn’t retiring, so it may be better than 50/50 that Parise ends up in an Isles uniform this season. As a reference, Justin Williams rejoined the Hurricanes in January of the 2019-20 season.
Additional News & Notes
◾️ After missing the final five games of the regular season and gutting his way through four games against the Carolina Hurricanes, 23-year-old defenseman Alexander Romanov underwent shoulder surgery this off-season. The prognosis is good for the regular season, but Lamoriello indicated that he might not be ready for the start of training camp.
"If he's not (ready for the start of camp), it'll be close. He's skating. He's doing everything. We will be as cautious as we possibly can. If it was up to him, he'd play with two broken legs."
◾️ A member of Da Beauty League, Minnesota-born Jackson Cates, will be in Islanders camp for a Professional Tryout (PTO). An undrafted player out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Cates made his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers on April 23, 2021.
He’s played 20 NHL games, all with the Flyers, across three seasons, scoring one goal. He played in five NHL games last year. With the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he scored 11 goals and 12 assists in 23 games.
◾️ Lamoriello confirmed the entire coaching staff was returning, which includes assistant coach John MacLean, who was in charge of the power-play unit that finished 30th in the league last year.
“I’m not concerned about the power-play,” said Lamoriello. “I think the power play will rebound, respond. We have the ingredients.”
Everyone else is concerned, so we shall see if Lamoriello’s confidence in his coaching staff and players is warranted. The Islanders' PP converted just 15.8% of the time last season. The next closest playoff team was the Seattle Kraken at 19.8%, good enough for 21st in the NHL.
📺 🎶Video killed the hockey star 🎶 When it comes to the New York Islanders TV broadcast, there's nothing wrong with running it back. On Monday, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported that former Isles defenseman Thomas Hickey will be returning to MSG Networks as a studio announcer for the 2023-24 season.
Speaking of MSG Networks, they released their TV schedule on Monday.
📚 SOUND SMART: Corey Sznajder of All Three Zones pointed out that Andrew Ladd is (probably) the only player whose first career playoff goal was assisted by his future head coach. Ladd, who announced his retirement on Monday, played under Doug Weight, his teammate in Carolina, during the 2017-18 season.
“The time has come for my next chapter,” Ladd wrote. “When I was a kid I never thought I had a chance to make a living playing hockey.
“There was my love for the game. I loved being a part of a team; I loved competing, I loved the next chance to win, I loved the challenge, I loved the escape of immersing myself in the moment, I loved the feeling of belonging; I loved the confidence it gave me, I loved proving people wrong.”
🎥 ISLES REWIND: Can you believe it’s been a decade? On September 9, 2013, the Islanders named John Tavares their captain. The 23-year-old became the 14th player in team history to wear the “C,” replacing Mark Streit.
“I’m honored,” Tavares said. “To represent my teammates, coaches, management, and the incredible fans that support this historic franchise is something that I take seriously.”
🎧 Islanders Anxiety: BONUS: Patreon Monthly Mail Bag podcast - September 2023 As a special bonus, subscribers to the main Islanders Anxiety feed can enjoy this month's Patreon-only Monthly Mail Bag podcast. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing at Patreon.com/IslandersAnxiety to receive more exclusive podcasts, written posts, ad-free episodes of Islanders Anxiety and Weird Islanders
🔗 Islanders rookie camp opens Thursday; Lamoriello 'extremely excited' by Andrew Gross, Newsday “The New York Islanders will be opening rookie camp on Thursday, with Islanders president / general manager Lou Lamoriello stating on Monday that he was "extremely excited" about what he's seen his coaching staff do over the summer and the physical shape the players are in.”
And we leave you with this…over the weekend, Mathew Barzal posted a video of himself taking the stage with a band and supplying the opening guitar licks of Tom Petty’s Mary Jane's Last Dance.
Wearing all black with white sneakers, he didn’t look as confident as he does when skating through the neutral zone but remained poised enough to deliver the opening chords flawlessly.
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