2006 New York Islanders Preview

2006 New York Islanders Preview from Maddux Sports. With the NHL Hockey Season now is the time to get aquatinted with the 2006 teams and players. Remember if you are NHL hockey betting look no further, as we offer hockey picks and can help you turn a profit betting on the NHL this season.

2006 New York Islanders Hockey Season Preview

There's a lot to be said about the mismanagement of this franchise but perhaps it can be summed up by one statement of fact. After hiring Neil Smith as the team's new GM and firing him in week seven, owner Charles Wang replaced him with the Islanders' backup goaltender Garth Snow. It seems the versatile Snow was also the backup GM. Last season the team finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the league. Chances are that they will pretty much do the same this year.

The 2005-06 team point leaders, center Alexi Yashin (28 G, 38 A, 66 Pts) and right winger Miroslav Satan (35 G, 31 A, 66 Pts) are back. The first line of offense is completed by another veteran, winger Jason Blake (28 G, 29 A, 57 Pts). These are the best on a team that finished 26th in offense. Yashin, who has a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, underperformed greatly last season and should have been bought out. Instead, he's returning.

Last year, the defense wasn't much better, being ranked 25th. The good news is the club signed big man, free agent Brendan Witt in July. He should be a much needed added presence around the goal. With a penalty kill rated 26th, this team needs all of the help it can get.

The number one guy goalie, Rick DiPietro (63 GP, 30 W, 25 L, 5 OT, 3.02 GAA, .900 SP) was part of a net minding squad that was ranked 25th. At 25, DiPietro is still attempting to infuse his game with consistency. He has not been helped by a weak defense.

There's one thing that you cannot accuse the Islanders of-- being inconsistent when it comes to rankings. Along with being either 25th or 26th in most areas, they were 22nd on the power play. None of these numbers bode well for 2006.

For more information on the 2006 New York Hockey Club check out the Islanders team website.