State of the Isle

Unfortunately, I can't find the original blog post that made this point (if I can, I'll post it here) but here's the New York Islanders offseason in a nutshell...

-Hired Neil Smith
-Hired Pat LaFontaine
-Fired Neil Smith
-Fired Pat LaFontaine
-Made the backup goalie the GM
-Signed a goalie with a career record of 58-62-8 to a 15-year, $67 million deal that will keep him under contract until he's 40

Brilliant. For more on the ludicrous Rick DiPietro signing here's what the Mad Dog had to say about it the other day...

“He’s not even that good. The longest contract in NHL history goes to Rick DiPietro? Think about that for a second. Out of all the great players who have played, the one who gets the longest contract in the sport’s history is Rick DiPietro? Are they trying to lose on purpose? That’s stupid. I mean that’s just stupid. Why? The Islander fan was not going to be upset if Rick DiPietro signed a five year contract, or a three year. What has he done so far? This is the same franchise that gave that dog Yashin 10 years and he doesn’t know how to play in a big game. Out of all the great franchises in NHL history, I know they won 4 cups, but I don’t consider the Islanders one of them. In the last 25 years, they’ve been a disgrace, 20 years, whatever it is. If you’re an Islander fan, if you have confidence in this management, you’re nuts.”

Amen, brother.