The collection, which is being sold by Heritage Auctions, includes Mike Bossys 1980 and '81 championship rings along with a number of game-worn jerseys and pucks.

It came as a pretty big surprise Wednesday to see the Islanders getting bag-skated following a physically demanding practice and the head coach devoting most of his press conference afterward to talking about trying to improve his teams compete level.

A seismic is probably not in the cards for the Islanders, but that does not mean they wont be adding.

After the false start a couple weeks ago, everyone is being appropriately careful about what they say publicly. But it is becoming one of the sports most poorly kept secrets that Benoit Desrosiers is going to join Patrick Roy on Long Island.

Lane Lamberts unpopularity among New York Islanders fans was not just a matter of how the roster was constructed, though there are issues there, or replacing a popular coach in Barry Trotz, which did him no favors.

In the case of the Islanders, they help confirm what the eye test tells us: This is a team that struggles to possess the puck.

The Islanders usually are a hard team to predict at the trade deadline because of general manager Lou Lamoriellos secrecy. Right now, they are a hard team to predict at the deadline because it is unclear what their biggest needs will be. That will depend on exactly how long Ryan Pulock and Semyon Varlamov remain out with lower-body injuries.

TEMPE, Ariz. A word here in defense of the Islanders, who have been catching criticism due to their lack of organizational goaltending depth in the wake of Semyon Varlamovs injury Tuesday night in Colorado.

National voices seem to agree the Islanders are outside the top 10 teams in the NHL. The question here is: Do they have a point? Or, more eloquently put: Is there good reason for a dose of healthy skepticism about the Islanders place in the standings?