Isles To Play In Brooklyn; Tavares Gets Star Of The Month

From New York Islanders.com

The National Hockey League announced today that New York Islanders center John Tavares was named the First Star of the Month for January, 2012.


Tavares, 21, led the league in scoring last month with nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points. He recorded a point in 12-of-13 Islanders games and had a hand in 62.9% of the team’s goals (22 points on 35 goals). Tavares’ month also included four game-winning goals to help his club to a 7-5-1 record.

This is just a taste of things to come Islanders fans. It's only going to get better because Tavares is going to get better. The Islanders are now going to be in the spotlight more often from here on out, and eventually, the free agents will come.

Also from New York Islanders.com

The New York Islanders will play the first-ever NHL game at Barclays Center on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 when they take on the New Jersey Devils at 7:30 p.m. The preseason game will mark the first hockey event at Barclays Center, the new major sports and entertainment venue, which will officially open on September 28 with the first of multiple JAY-Z concerts.  The game will also mark the first NHL game to be played in Brooklyn.

“We’re extremely excited to play the first NHL game in the new, state-of-the-art Barclays Center,” Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said.  “We already have some of the most passionate fans in the league supporting our young team, and we are looking forward to expanding our base into Brooklyn.”

“We feel Brooklyn is an untapped hockey market that offers the Islanders with an exciting opportunity to grow its fan base,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said. “Barclays Center will also afford current Islander fans with great accessibility, as the Long Island Rail Road and nine subway lines will come directly to the arena at the Atlantic Terminal transit hub.”

 I'm personally going to go to this game, just to check out the new arena, however, I'm not going to get too excited about the Islanders playing regular season games there. I found this great article by Stu Hackel  that basically shuts the door on the Islanders ever moving to Brooklyn when the Islanders lease is up in 2015. The Islanders are only looking to expand the fan base, and they have Tavares to showcase.