Islanders Moves, & "News"

So there have been some minor news since the playoffs began, so I'll briefly touch on a few noteworthy moves/news and add a comment or two on each.

The Islanders officially came to terms with defense prospect Calvin de Haan on a three-year entry level contract.  The Islanders picked de Haan with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

This is somewhat significant, considering he was making a case for the Islanders to keep him with the big club at the start of last season. I do believe however, with the depth on defense, that de Haan needs a perfect camp to make the team this year. A year or two of AHL grooming will be very beneficial for both parties.


Goaltending prospect Stefan Ridderwall turned down the Islanders' offer for next season, which means that the Islanders will not retain his rights as of the June 1st deadline.  Ridderwall has agreed to play with Djurgarden IF Stockholm to become the team's starting goaltender next season.

Not really surprised here. Ridderwall really wasn't on the radar until this year when he began to show significant improvement in net. If he does improve and then decides to become and NHL goaltender, he would probably be too expensive to be an Islanders backup anyways. Best of luck to him.

Final thought: Okay, so I've been  reading a lot about the Islanders possibly moving to Queens and the Wilpons (New York Mets owners) are involved. Here is a small take on my part: The Islanders still have a lease with Nassau County until 2015. So for now, I'm taking this news as a strategy to get Kate Murray and Co. to get there act together and get ANYTHING done. I just read that Bud Selig, MLB commissioner, has no problem with the Wilpons getting involved with the Islanders. For now, it's just news worth reading, but it's just preliminary. Five years is a long time, however, if Charles Wang can get a great deal that could allow him to recoup close to 200+ million dollars in loses, then he should seriously consider talking with the Wilpons.