Brooklyn Islanders Not Likely?

(New York Islanders)

So I guess Bruce Ratner did not get the memo from Gary Bettman regarding moving the New York Islanders to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. Ratner who's the minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets thinks moving the Islanders into the brand-new arena would be a good idea.

Normally I would agree but I don't know how the Islanders could survive or compete against the Rangers in an arena that would have the smallest seating capacity in the NHL. I also don't see how having three NHL teams within arms length of each other is good for the NHL.

Unlike Gary Bettman I do believe that Islander fans are smart enough and loyal enough to travel to Brooklyn to support their team. But what I do believe is more than a new arena the Islanders need new ownership as I can't believe the Islanders will develop into a winning franchise with Charles Wang as their owner.

What I do think is that the NHL is trying to pressure politicians on Long Island into finally make a decision on whether or not they will build a new arena for the Islanders. I believe that 2013 is critical regarding the fate of the Islanders as I don't believe Gary Bettman wants to let the Islanders move into New York City.

The Gary Bettman mindset is how can he best take care of two of his loyal supporters. The answer is the arena in Kansas City where Charles Wang can either relocate the team or sell it while fellow Bettman supporter AEG (owners of the Los Angeles Kings) manage the arena.

Welcome to the National Hockey League in the Gary Bettman era where taking care of one's friends comes before taking care of the sport. Forget all the jokes about Kansas City and steaks as I'm still waiting for somebody to show how exactly NHL hockey would sell in a small market as Kansas City.

If I am a New York Islander fan then I would not trust Gary Bettman or Charles Wang when it comes to the long-term future of the franchise. Gary Bettman didn't even wait until after the preseason game between the Islanders and New Jersey Devils before trashing the idea of the Islanders moving to Brooklyn.

That's not exactly smart way to sell fans on your sport by saying nobody will be able to find the arena. Never mind the number of subway lines that stop right into Atlantic Avenue and the other options available for mass transit.

In the end I fear that Islander fans will be given the wink, nod, and then the knife in the back by the NHL.

J.T. Miller (USA Hockey)

Up at Lake Placid, Team USA took on Finland in an exhibition game at the Summer Evaluation Camp. All three Ranger prospects (Fogarty, Miller, and Skjei) played but other than Miller taking two penalties none of them stood out.

It's clear what the intentions are going to be for the roles that Team USA down the road is expecting of the Ranger trio. Miller will be looked at as part of the top six forwards, Fogarty as expected on the bottom six as a checker/penalty killer and Skjei at the minimum their hoping for Top 4 pairing.

If I am the Rangers then I'm going to be real happy seeing how their prospects are being used. It's almost a mirror image of where the Rangers would be projecting the prospects to develop themselves.

Soapbox time

I respect that everybody has the right to an opinion and that not everybody is going to agree with what I say. I don't normally call somebody out when they write about the Ranger prospects but I'm not going to name names but if you want to write about the prospects do some homework.

Don't say guys have legitimate shots at making the Ranger roster when it's not even close to the truth or reality. If you gonna write something at least a couple of minutes and do some background research on the people you're writing about.

It's a pet peeve of mine because there are some very talented guys (and gals) writing about the New York Rangers but it's the people who don't do the job right, who don't bother to get their facts straight and who don't try to be professional.

Those are the bloggers who are holding back the really talented ones because when the Rangers and the National Hockey League decide who does and who doesn't deserve to be credentialed; they point at the lowest denominator among bloggers.

I'm going to do my part by cleaning up the blogroll of people that I say write about the New York Rangers. I used to just add anyone who asked but I think that's the wrong approach.

Call me a snob, quite frankly go ahead call me anything you want but I think if blogging is ever going to be accepted by the NHL and the New York Rangers then we the people need to police ourselves. The best way we can do this has to be by supporting those who bust their butts to bring you quality work.

Those guys deserve your support and I think we as Ranger fans should give it to them. One of these days they will develop a policy for credentialing bloggers but in order for us to reach that day we need to separate the hard workers from the pretenders.

It is the best way we can ensure that one day bloggers will be entitled to sit in press row. Support your local blogger.