On the Islanders Beat

The Islanders plan to release their preseason schedule this week, but it won’t include any games against the Rangers. That means the focus should remain on hockey as opposed to the brawl-filled exhibition the two rivals played at the Coliseum last year.

For some reason, the NHL permitted Chris Simon to play even though the enforcer still was under suspension for swinging his stick at the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg the previous season. Now, Simon is in Russia, and Hollweg left the Rangers as a free agent. The two teams won’t see each other until it counts in their first regular-season meeting Oct. 27 at the Coliseum.

The Islanders have reduced their preseason schedule from nine games last year to seven this season. They will play a home-and-home set with the Devils, which should help prepare them for the season opener Oct. 10 at the Prudential Center. The preseason schedule also is expected to include a game at Moncton, New Brunswick, where training camp is held, plus games in London, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Florida and Boston.

ISLES FILES: AHL coach of the year Scott Gordon is scheduled to meet with Islanders GM to interview for the head-coaching vacancy today…The club is hosting an open house tonight at the Coliseum, where the movie “Miracle” will be shown on the scoreboard. Defenseman Chris Campoli will be on hand to meet with fans, who also can shop for various season-ticket packages.

It’s a wrap. General manager Garth Snow locked up the last of the Islanders’ restricted free agents when Bruno Gervais signed tonight. The defenseman received a three-year, one-way deal worth slightly more than $2.2 million.

Gervais has gone without a goal for two straight regular seasons, although he got one in the playoffs last year at Buffalo. But when healthy, he has been a steady defender with some puck-moving skill.

Injuries limited Gervais to 60 games last season, but he averaged exactly 20 minutes of ice time per game. With the addition of free-agent Mark Streit, there is some question about how Gervais’ role on the third pairing might be affected. At the moment, it appears he might be the seventh defenseman, which could mean some time in the press box. But as the Islanders learned last season, you can’t have enough defensemen. They used 12 different defensemen last season because of injuries.

Under the circumstances, the deal Gervais received looks fair for everyone concerned. His first-year salary equals the qualifying offer of $522,500. He will earn $800,000 and $900,000 in the next two seasons.

Gervais turns 24 a week before the regular season begins on Oct. 10, and when this contract is up, he will have one more year until he reaches unrestricted free agency. His signing means that Snow most likely is done adding players to the NHL roster at least until training camp. All that’s left now is the choice of a coach.

Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley is scheduled to meet with Islanders general manager Garth Snow about the head coaching vacancy on Wednesday, according to an NHL source. Hartley will be the second candidate to interview, but he and Snow won’t have to waste time with any get-to-know-you formalities.

Hartley once coached Snow at Cornwall in the AHL, and the two have maintained a good friendship ever since to the point of exchanging fairly regular e-mail messages. There’s little doubt Hartley meets Snow’s criteria for a coach in terms of discipline and providing structure and technical expertise. But the major question for Hartley is whether he has the patience for a long-term development project and the willingness to rely on young players in major roles.

After a 0-6 start with Atlanta last season, Hartley quickly was replaced behind the bench by Thrashers GM Don Waddell. That seemed like a short leash for a coach who led the Thrashers to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history the previous season, but it was clear Hartley had little support from the players in the locker room. He was thought to be a candidate for the Ottawa job recently, but there was speculation that Senators star Dany Heatley, who once played for Hartley, was against it.

Still, Hartley’s resume includes one thing that can’t be ignored – the 2001 Stanley Cup championship he won with Colorado during a highly successful five-year run. Hartley’s interview follows that of former Toronto coach Paul Maurice on Monday. Former Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella and former Lightning assistant Mike Sullivan also have received permission to interview with the Islanders, and Snow’s list also includes former Colorado coach Joel Quenneville, AHL Providence head coach Scott Gordon and Islanders assistant Gerard Gallant.

ISLES FILES: If anyone is so devoted to the Islanders that they have a team-related tattoo, Newsday would like to know about it. Reporters long have been known as “ink-stained wretches,” but staff writer Barbara Barker is working on a fun story about fans who could say the same about themselves. If you have an Islanders tattoo and would like to be part of Barbara’s story, please e-mail her at barbara.barker@newsday.com. Thanks.

Restricted free-agent center Frans Nielsen reached agreement with the Islanders Friday night on a four-year contract worth $2.1 million. It has a one-way provision in each year of the deal, virtually assuring Nielsen will be on the NHL roster.

The $525,000 average salary might turn out to be quite a bargain for a 24-year-old player for whom the Islanders have high hopes. In 16 games with the Islanders last season, Nielsen had only two goals and one assist, but he received fourth-line time, averaging 8:42 per game.

Nielsen is considered a very smart player, and he developed real chemistry at the AHL level with left wing Jeff Tambellini, who recently signed a two-year deal with the Isles that also is a one-way contract. In 102 AHL games, Nielsen totaled 30 goals and 52 assists for 82 points.

General manager Garth Snow was especially impressed with Nielsen’s play last season, when he centered the so-called “Kid Line” between Tambellini and Blake Comeau. That group had a stretch of about seven games, where Snow felt they were the Islanders’ best, most energetic line. He believes Nielsen’s role could be expanded to include penalty-kill and possibly some power-play time.

Nielsen’s signing leaves defenseman Bruno Gervais as the only unsigned restricted free agent who received a qualifying offer. However, Gervais attended the Islanders’ rookie minicamp Friday morning as a spectator and said he is in top condition and has recovered from the injuries that cut his season short after 60 games. Negotiations are progressing amicably.

As part of their annual midsummer camp the Islanders take their future players to a West Babylon indoor arena for paintball. Jim Baumbach went along, competed with the 45 players and wrote about the experience. There is also video.

Click here to view the package.

With two fewer games against the Rangers than in the previous format, the Islanders’ schedule released today spreads the rivalry games out much more evenly than last season when they were bunched at the beginning and the end. There’s one Isles-Rangers meeting per month for the first six months, starting Oct. 27 at Nassau Coliseum.

The reduction from eight to six games per season against division rivals was made to ensure teams would meet every team in the opposite conference at least once per season, and they will play three teams from the opposite conference twice to fill out the 82-game schedule.

The Islanders open the season Oct. 10 at New Jersey and meet St. Louis the following night in the home opener. Details of the home schedule that will most interest Islanders fans include 15 games on Saturday and nine matinees, five of which are on holiday dates plus two Sunday afternoon games. Normal starting time for night home games is 7 p.m.

Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh, featuring former Islanders Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedetenko teaming with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, makes its first Coliseum visit on Nov. 8. Seven of the Isles’ first 11 games are at home, but December will be a rough month as they play nine of 14 on the road. The toughest stretch is in March, when the play six straight on the road (broken into two trips) to begin a span in which they play 10 of 14 on the road before wrapping up the season with home games against Philadelphia and Boston on April 11-12.

Here’s the full schedule (All times Eastern):

Oct. 10 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 Buffalo, 2 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Florida, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 Dallas, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 Carolina, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 Montreal, 7 p.m.
Nov. 3 Columbus, 7 p.m.
Nov. 4 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Nov. 6 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Nov. 11 Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
Nov. 13 at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Nov. 21 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Nov. 24 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Boston, 12 p.m.
Nov. 29 Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Dec. 4 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Dec. 8 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dec. 11 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Dec. 16 Washington, 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Dec. 23 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Dec. 26 Toronto, 7 p.m.
Dec. 27 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Dec. 31 Florida, 2 p.m.
Jan. 2 at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Jan. 3 at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Jan. 5 at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Jan. 8 at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Jan. 13 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 Boston, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19 Washington, 2 p.m.
Jan. 21 Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Jan. 29 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 Florida, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Feb. 5 at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Feb. 16 Pittsburgh, 2 p.m.
Feb. 18 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Feb. 19 Carolina, 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 26 Toronto, 7 p.m.
Feb. 28 Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Mar. 2 Colorado, 7 p.m.
Mar. 5 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Mar. 7 New Jersey, 2 p.m.
Mar. 8 Phoenix, 3 p.m.
Mar. 10 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 12 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 14 at Boston, 1 p.m.
Mar. 15 at Chicago, 3 p.m.
Mar. 20 at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Mar. 21 at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Mar. 25 Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Mar. 27 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 28 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Apr. 1 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Apr. 2 Montreal, 7 p.m.
Apr. 4 Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Apr. 7 at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Apr. 9 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 11 Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
Apr. 12 Boston, 5 p.m.

Worried that some might misunderstand his comments about the departure of coach Ted Nolan, Islanders Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier sought me out yesterday to explain his feelings in a little more detail. When news of the decision to replace the coach broke, it caught Trottier by surprise and hit him hard because of his friendship with Nolan.

Trottier is a stand-up guy, and he certainly wasn’t going to take a slap at a friend on his way out the door. That reaction not only is understandable, but it’s admirable. But when he read his comments in Newsday, Trottier realized it might appear as though he was at odds with general manager Garth Snow and the organization.

That’s not the case. As director of player development, Trottier is intimately involved in working with the very prospects that Snow is attempting to introduce to the Islanders’ lineup. In our conversation, Trottier emphasized how happy he is in that role, how excited he is to work with the kids and the fact that he is very much in agreement with the direction set by Snow.

Relating a talk he had last season with center Frans Nielsen, Trots said that the modest Nielsen perceived himself as a candidate for the third or fourth lines. Trottier said: “I told him, ‘Frans, you have skills. You can be a second-line center. Can you be first-line? You have to work very hard, but anything is possible.’”

Trottier went on to explain how he feels it’s important to give positive encouragement to the prospects, especially now that they can see a future in the Islanders’ organization, not only this season, but in the ones ahead. If you look at the roster, several veterans are in the final year of their contracts, and there should be many openings in the future. Trottier expects to be a part of the development process in the hope of doing his part to revive a franchise he once led to prominence.

ISLES FILES: The NHL just made the formal announcement that the next Winter Classic will match Detroit and Chicago on Jan. 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field. As part of the release, NHL commissioner Gary Bettmann thanked the Yankees and New York City for their interest and promised to hold future discussions to hold the Winter Classic at the new Yankee Stadium. There was no mention of either the Islanders or the Rangers or, for that matter, the Boston Bruins. Hopefully, that means the Isles, who originated the idea of closing Yankee Stadium with a game between themselves and the Rangers, still are under consideration for a future Winter Classic that would showcase one of the NHL’s most bitter rivalries.

In case you missed it on the Live Chat earlier this morning, I mentioned that the 2008-09 schedule coming out on Thursday has the Islanders opening on the road at New Jersey and then playing their home opener the following night against St. Louis. The schedule begins a week later this season on October 9. The Isles’ home schedule also includes quite a number of Saturday night games and several matinee games, including a number of holiday dates.

Greg Logan will answer your Islanders questions today in a special live chat at 10:30 a.m.

Forward Sean Bergenheim, who was the only Islander to file for arbitration, avoided a hearing when he reached agreement today on a two-year deal worth $1.725 million. It appears Bergenheim’s recent decision to change agents facilitated the process.

Bergenheim switched to Allan Walsh. His previous agents, Mark Gandler and Todd Diamond, have clashed with Islanders management several times in the past. Once he made the change, negotiations began in earnest. Bergenheim, who will have one more season as a restricted free agent when the contract ends, will make $800,000 this season and $925,000 the following season.

“We’ve always had a high regard for Sean,” general manager Garth Snow said. “The events that transpired a week ago allowed us to get this done.”

Following a trend started a year ago by captain Bill Guerin, Bergenehim plans to donate a significant amount of money to the Islanders Children’s Fund.

Forward Jeff Tambellini, whose difficulty breaking into the Islanders’ lineup the past two seasons under Ted Nolan, came to symbolize the former coach’s resistance to a youth movement, agreed today on a two-year deal worth $1.175 million.

Tambellini, who made an NHL salary of $882,000 last season, including bonus money, actually took less than his qualifying offer of $660,000 for the chance to prove he belongs in the NHL fulltime. In exchange for accepting a lower salary, Tambellini gets a one-way contract that virtually assures a full shot to play a role as a top-six forward. The deal calls for him to make $550,000 next season and $625,000 in the second year.

Centers Ben Walter and Jeremy Colliton both accepted the two-way qualifying offers they received before the 5 p.m. deadline for restricted free agents to make a decision to take their qualifying offers or not. Forward Frans Nielsen and defenseman Bruno Gervais declined their qualifying offers but are continuing negotiations with general manager Garth Snow. At this point, Snow has all the leverage because he can lower his offer to the take-it-or-leave-it stage, but so far, negotiations are moving forward amicably.

Forward Sean Bergenheim still is headed for arbitration, but Snow said he’s “making progress” in talks with agent Allan Walsh, which means there’s still a chance to reach agreement and avoid a hearing.

Islanders cell phones began lighting up early Monday morning as word of coach Ted Nolan’s ouster spread quickly. General manager Garth Snow called several key players to deliver the news personally and offer an explanation.

While most expressed some degree of surprise, captain Bill Guerin didn’t pretend that the obvious rift between the GM and coach didn’t affect the team. “It’s not a real shock to me,” Guerin said. “There was no secret the two sides just weren’t seeing eye-to-eye during the year and over the summer.

“I definitely think it became a distraction. Guys read papers; guys hear what’s going on. We just kind of wondered what was going on and if it was going to resolve itself. So, it has, and you move on.”

From a practical standpoint, Guerin said a coaching change and Snow’s emphasis on giving more ice time to young players shouldn’t have a major impact on the Islanders. “We’ve all been in many different types of situations before, including coaching changes and prospects coming in,” Guerin said. “It’s nothing anybody on our team hasn’t seen before.”

Mike Sillinger had a more sympathetic reaction than Guerin, who only spent one difficult season under Nolan. When the Islanders defied low expectations during Nolan’s first season and made the playoffs, Sillinger was one of the veterans who enjoyed career seasons and reveled in the trust the coach placed in them.

“Snowy called me and told me what happened,” Sillinger said. “Quite frankly, I don’t know that there was any kind of tug-of-war. I didn’t spend the last half of the season with the guys because of my [hip] injury. The year before, we made the playoffs, and Ted did a great job. Obviously, this year we had a bunch of injuries.

“Garth told me they had philosophical differences. So be it. That’s his decision. It’s really unfortunate. Ted and I had a great relationship. I enjoyed playing for him. I guess you move on.”

Sillinger’s final game last season came on Jan. 24 in Boston, where the Islanders lost just before the All-Star break to fall from seventh to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. As it turned out, that was the beginning of their slide out of playoff position.

“Players play, coaches coach and managers manage,” Sillinger said. “That’s their decision, and it’s really unfortunate. I’m not going to say a bad thing about anybody or the situation. My relationship with Ted was a good one. We had kind of a special year the first year together, and this last year was a terrible year. It’ always the coach’s fault, right? Someone always gets blamed.”

Although the 37-year-old center might see his role diminish somewhat as he fights to come back from hip surgery, Sillinger said the Islanders can use an injection of youth. “I still think we have the foundation of our team, we have good core guys,” Sillinger said of the veteran leaders. “Now what you need is the young guys to step up and play big roles, play on the power play, play in important situations, play on the top lines. I think we have some young guys that are capable of doing that.”

Goaltender Rick DiPietro emphasized that same theme, saying, “You need to develop your talent in-house and have good drafts, and you need young players to step up and play big roles on your team. You see teams that have been successful, and they have a great young nucleus and some veteran guys around to lead. We’re making good steps to get to that point. We have some exciting guys coming up with Kyle [Okposo] and Blake Comeau, and Jeff Tambellini will get a chance to step in and play a big role on this team.”

DiPietro was among the players who had an edgy relationship with Nolan, who benched the goaltender for a key Rangers game in early March and sometimes indicated a lack of faith in the franchise player. At the same time, DiPietro often expressed a desire for the Isles to play a tighter, more basic defense than the system Nolan used.

“I’m sure anyone will agree that, when we were successful, we played smart, defensive hockey,” DiPietro said. “When we play against New Jersey, we’re world-beaters. We get away from that, and things didn’t go well. The less we went in the penalty box, the better we played defensively, and the more simple we played, the better the result was.”

That was part of the reason Snow wanted Nolan out. The Isles were one of the few teams in the league playing a 1-3-1 system, if not the only one. In that setup, one defenseman mirrors the opposing center in the Isles’ zone, placing more responsibility on the wingers to stay on their man coming back.

“For it to work, everyone had to be on the same page,” defenseman Brendan Witt said. “I don’t think it was a hard system to pick up on. As a winger, you had to be very responsible, more than in any other system definitely.”

In Snow’s view, that style of defense is more suited to a team like Stanley Cup champion Detroit, which has an explosive offense and the ability to play a more wide-open game. But the Isles were more effective when they played similar to the Devils’ conservative style.

Still, Witt acknowledged the Islanders were successful playing the same 1-3-1 system in Nolan’s first season. Despite the apparent strains between the coach and general manager, Witt expected to see Nolan behind the bench at least at the beginning of the coming season.

“I was shocked,” Witt said of the coach’s departure. “I didn’t even know there were bad feelings still. That is part of the business, but I would have thought he’d be coaching us this year. If we started bad or struggled, then, management would have decided to do what most managements do when you’re struggling early in the year.”

But Snow decided to act before the Islanders reached that point. And so, they move on.

The two-year marriage of inconvenience between Islanders general manager Garth Snow and coach Ted Nolan ended today. Irreconcilable differences over the direction of the franchise led to a mutual decision by Snow and Nolan, who met earlier this morning at Nassau Coliseum, to part ways.

Nolan quickly gained popularity with Islanders fans in his first season when his motivational touch and hard-working style of play produced an eighth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth by a team most experts picked to finish near the bottom of the NHL. But last season’s playoff hopes faded because of injuries and a series of distracting internal disputes between Nolan and Snow, and several key players apparently lost faith in the coach’s methods.

The rift between Nolan and the organization became apparent last spring after his request for a contract extension before the final year of his three-year contract was denied by owner Charles Wang. When Snow became convinced that Nolan did not share his belief in rebuilding by emphasizing the development of the organization’s young prospects, he made the decision to end the power struggle and seek a partnership with a coach of his own choosing.

Describing the reasons for making a coaching change, Snow said, “There were philosophical differences between Ted and myself. Since last season and continuing into the summer, I have realized we don’t share the same philosophies. I’d like to thank Ted for his two years with the team and wish him the best.”

Asked why it took three months since the end of the season reach this conclusion, Snow said, “That’s a fair question. This has been a difficult decision for both Ted and myself, especially for me because of Charles Wang’s desire to give Ted the opportunity to coach in the NHL and because of his loyalty to those he hires.

“I understand there could be some criticism, and if there is, it can fall on me. What I can tell you is there was a process. I spoke with Ted regularly following the season and when the draft and free agency ended. Our strong belief about our philosophical differences led me to believe, and Ted as well, that we needed to part ways. I know this decision will be best for not only the team and our fans, but for Ted as well.”

No successor is in place, but Snow said he plans to begin a search for a replacement “as soon as possible.” Three logical candidates who figure to be on the list include Paul Maurice, John Tortorella and Bob Hartley. Those three were fired last season by Toronto, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, respectively. There is a strong connection between Snow and Hartley, who once coached the Isles’ GM.

Former Islanders stars Bryan Trottier, who is now executive director of player development, and Butch Goring, who is a part-time television commentator, are not expected to join the list of candidates, and neither is Jack Capuano, who coaches the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.

Nolan, who compiled a two-season record of 75-68-21, must be paid for the final year of his contract, which is believed to be in the vicinity of $600,000 per year. In a statement released by the Islanders, Nolan said: “While I am disappointed I will not be coaching the Islanders next season, there have been philosophical differences and we’ve agreed it’s a good time for me to move on. I want to thank the Islanders organization for giving me a chance to coach in the NHL again.”

It was Wang who hired Nolan two years ago in an earlier shakeup that saw former general manager Mike Milbury moved out of hockey operations to become vice-president of marketing. Nolan had been out of the NHL for nine seasons after a two-year coaching stint in Buffalo ended in a controversy that also cost Sabres GM John Muckler his job. Nolan, who is a member of Canada’s First Nation, expressed the belief that racial bias was partly to blame for his long absence from the league.

After hiring Nolan, Wang named former Rangers president Neil Smith as the Islanders’ GM. But after only 40 days on the job, Smith was fired because he resisted the management-by-committee approach favored by Wang, who replaced him with Snow, who was the Isles’ backup goaltender at the time.

In their first season working together, things seemed to go smoothly for Snow and Nolan. No one was more excited than Nolan when Snow pulled off the trade for Edmonton forward Ryan Smyth to help with the playoff drive, and no one was more disappointed than the coach when they lost Smyth and several other free agents last summer. But Nolan was heavily involved in all the personnel decisions when Snow signed free agents Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedetenko, Jonathan Sim and Andy Sutton a year ago.

As the season progressed, differences between Snow and Nolan became apparent. Nolan preferred to rely on tested veterans, while Snow privately urged him to give more playing time to such young players as Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Frans Nielsen. Snow also was concerned about the Isles’ 29th-ranked power play and Nolan’s refusal to give young players an opportunity and his insistence on playing forward Miroslav Satan at the point, where he committed several turnovers.

Nolan’s 1-3-1 defensive system in which one defenseman was designated to mirror the opposing center as he entered the Isles’ zone was another bone of contention. When Nolan finally changed the defensive system, and the injury-weakened Islanders shut down high-powered Pittsburgh in a 4-1 home win in late March, Snow took it as a sign that the Islanders should have been playing that way all along.

As the season deteriorated, the flare-ups between Snow and Nolan became more public. Snow second-guessed the coach’s decision to play backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz ahead of a healthy Rick DiPietro during a radio interview before a home game against the Rangers in early March. The coach carped about not being invited to the “Core of Four” dinner celebrating the Islanders’ Stanley Cup teams from 1980-83, which later was disputed by a team source.

The rift grew when Nolan raised the contract extension issue and then complained publicly about Snow’s characterization of his role in the decision to part with Dubielewicz in free agency. When it came time for the draft and free-agent signings this summer, Nolan was completely out of the decision-making loop.

The break was irretrievable, so, the divorce became final today.

Forward Sean Bergenheim, who is the only Islander to file for arbitration, has fired his agents, Mark Gandler and Todd Diamond. General manager Garth Snow was notified of the change earlier this week and just began negotiations that potentially could avert a hearing. Snow declined to name Bergenheim’s new agent.

Bergenheim is one of six restricted free agents on the Islanders’ roster. Forwards Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Jeremy Colliton and Ben Walter and defenseman Bruno Gervais also received qualifying offers. Those five have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to accept their offers or negotiate a deal before the offers come off the table.

Snow said on Friday he has deals beyond the qualifying offer on the table for Tambellini and Gervais and expected to hold talks with Nielsen’s agent. It’s anticipated that Colliton and Walter, both of whom spent the majority of last season with AHL Bridgeport, will accept their qualifying offers.

If an RFA is unsuccessful negotiating a contract and doesn’t accept his qualifying offer by the July 15 deadline, his only recourse is a holdout. Bergenheim used that tactic two years ago, and when he didn’t show up for the first day of training camp, the Islanders stuck to policy set by owner Charles Wang and refused to sign him the rest of the season. Bergenheim wound up playing in Russia and Sweden in 2006-07.

Bergenheim’s decision to exercise his one-time right to file for arbitration this summer, when he is coming off a modest year of 10 goals and 22 total points, caught some by surprise. He could have accepted the Islanders’ offer this year and waited until next summer to file for arbitration after having a chance to build on his statistics in the 2008-09 season.

Who knows? Maybe Bergenheim took a page from Alex Rodriguez’s playbook, albeit on a much smaller scale. As soon as Rodriguez fired agent Scott Boras, he was able to reach a deal with the Yankees last winter. That pattern might well repeat itself for Bergenheim and the Isles.

ISLES FILES: Elsewhere on the negotiation front, Nashville forward Alexander Radulov, who has one year remaining as an RFA, reportedly agreed to return to Russia to play with Ufa in the new Russian Continental League (KHL). The agreement came two days after the announcement of an agreement between the NHL, KHL and other European leagues to respect each other’s contracts. The Islanders will be watching close to see what kind of precedent might be set because it could affect their dealings with Russian forward Kirill Petrov, one of their third-round picks in the recent draft…Asked if he has any interest in forward Ladislav Nagy or any other unrestricted free agents left on the market, Snow said he’s not inclined to sign anyone else at this time, but he did not rule it out as an option.

Russian forward Kirill Petrov won’t make his first appearance on Long Island for at least another year. Petrov is one of four key prospects who will miss the five-day rookie camp that begins Monday at Iceworks in Syosset.

Petrov’s absence is more of a timing issue than anything. The lengthy process to obtain a U.S. visa and the fact that his club team, Ak Bars Kazan, opens training camp on Saturday prevented Petrov’s attendance this year. Denver University forward Rhett Rakhshani, University of Minnesota defenseman Aaron Ness and Swedish goaltender Stefan Ridderwall also will miss the camp.

Prior to the recent NHL draft, Petrov was the second-ranked European skater behind countryman Nikita Filatov, but the big winger lasted to the third round because of concerns over his contract status and the lack of a transfer agreement with the new Russian Continental League (known as the KHL in Russia). Negotiations between the NHL, KHL and several European leagues yesterday did not produce a transfer agreement, but each league agreed to respect the contracts currently in force.

The Islanders have been told by Petrov’s Ottawa-based agent that he has two years remaining on his deal, but in recent published comments and in conversations with the Islanders at the NHL scouting combine, Petrov indicated his desire to one day play in the NHL. “He told us in the interview that he wants to be an NHL player when we met him at the combine,” Islanders assistant general manager Ryan Jankowski said today. “We put a lot of stock into that, and it’s reassurance for us that, at some point, we’ll be able to get him over here to be an Islander.”

At this point, Petrov doesn’t speak a word of English, so, the Islanders are working strictly through his agent. They plan to monitor his play with AK Kazan throughout the season and expect to see him on the Russian team at the world junior championships in Ottawa. “That gives him some North American exposure there, and it gives us a chance to see him and meet with him at some point,” Jankowski said. “We’re not rushing into anything. We know it’s going to be a long process.

“The NHL and the Russian Federation have agreed to respect each other’s contracts. It’s no transfer agreement by any means, but at least there’s an agreement in place that we’re respecting each other’s contracts. It’s going to be more of a marathon than a sprint to get him over here, but what we do want to do is let him know how excited we are that he’s an Islander. Hopefully, now we can start the process to get him at least here for minicamp next summer.”

Ridderwall also had a scheduling conflict with the beginning of training camp for Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League. He’s expected to compete for the starting job. Jankowski said the absence of a transfer agreement means the Islanders have an extra year until next June 1 to sign Ridderwall or lose their rights to him. Rakhshani will be absent because of obligations to the University of Denver, and Ness, who was the Isles’ first pick in the second round in June, is completing his high school studies so he can attend the University of Minnesota in the fall. He began last school year as a junior but was asked by Gophers coach Don Lucia to accelerate his graduation to reach college a year early.

Watch this space for more information on rookie camp over the weekend.

Some Islanders fans refer to defenseman Brendan Witt as “Braveheart,” and after 12 NHL seasons, he has more than enough dents in his armor to merit such an honorific. Considering the wear and tear on his 33-year-old body, there was ample reason to wonder whether the last year of Witt’s original three-year contract with the Isles meant he was destined for the trading block in February.

Witt wondered, too, which is why the decision by general manager Garth Snow and owner Charles Wang to give him a two-year extension worth $6 million that will keep him on Long Island through the 2010-11 season is so meaningful. “I was surprised when they told me,” Witt said last night from his summer home in Florida. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ Most teams, the way they operate is they don’t make that decision until Christmas when they realize which direction the team is going, and they ask what you can get for them.

“Snowy has always complimented me on the way I play, the ‘warrior-type mentality.’ I appreciate that, and I appreciate Charles agreeing to do it, too. That shows a lot of loyalty, which you do not find in major league sports too often. It’s really nice. I’m honored. They didn’t have to do anything at all, but they chose to and that shows a lot of commitment to me.”

If nothing else, it shows that Islanders management has identified at least one strong leader in the locker room, and they understood the value of locking Witt up. Because he’s a defensive defenseman, Witt tends to fly a bit under the radar. With the exception of certain nights when he made life absolutely miserable for Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr, Witt generally lets the goal scorers and goaltender Rick DiPietro take the bows after wins.

But after the worst losses, alternate captain Witt often is the one who speaks for the team and puts the blame where it belongs. Behind closed doors, Witt is a powerful force, and over the past two seasons, Snow and Wang have come to understand his passion for winning and his commitment to the team very well indeed.

Thanks to a third-degree sprain of his right knee, Witt was forced to miss the final 11 games of the season and played only 59 total. But he has been working out since May, and he’s running again. “It’s good, it’s strong, back to normal,” Witt said.

Lately, he’s been following Snow’s offseason moves, and he’s pleased with the signing of offensive defenseman Mark Streit and veteran center Doug Weight. “We needed a power-play-type defenseman,” Witt said. “By getting Streit, who had a great year last year with Montreal, we’ll add that. To have him for five years shows the team’s commitment to getting a solid defenseman. Doug Weight adds another veteran to us, and he will be helping the younger kids develop.”

Asked where he thinks the Isles’ scoring will come from now that Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedetenko and Josef Vasicek have moved on as free agents, Witt said, “It’s going to be interesting to see young guys step into their roles and take advantage of situations. I think Kyle [Okposo] showed how well he could step in. Even though he was only with us for a month, he stepped in and made an impact. It’s interesting. Who knows? They may still be trying to add a couple pieces here or there. You never know what can happen from now to training camp.”

No, but you do know there will be plenty of rough spots, especially for such a young team. It’s good to know the Islanders have a leader in place who will set the example for toughness.

It doesn’t exactly fit in with the Islanders’ youth movement, but for those who value team toughness, it should come as good news that general manager Garth Snow has rewarded 33-year-old defenseman Brendan Witt with a two-year contract extension worth $6 million. Terms of the deal were disclosed Tuesday night.

Witt already was under contract for next season at a salary of $3 million in the final season of a three-year deal worth $7.5 million. The new deal runs through the 2010-11 season. Injuries limited Witt to 59 games last season, and he missed the last 11 with a strained medial collateral ligament. When healthy, Witt might have been the Islanders’ most valuable player last season in his role defending against the top line of each opponent.

The bump in pay puts Witt on a par with Andy Sutton as the second-highest-paid defenseman on the team behind free-agent acquisition Mark Streit, who will receive $4.1 million per season to quarterback the power play.

We will get started at noon.

Have your Islanders questions ready for beat writer Greg Logan. There will be a live chat to discuss all things Islanders Monday at noon.

...Are the ones you don't make.

As it turned out, San Jose was the only team for which Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle agreed to waive his no-trade clause. None of the other six teams involved in the bidding for one of the NHL's top offensive defensemen ever got the chance to step to the plate. That includes the Islanders, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Ottawa and Atlanta.

When you see what the Sharks offered for Boyle, it's easy to understand why Lightning management was most interested in making a deal with San Jose. Not only did the Lightning get cap relief, but also they got a solid young top-four defenseman in Matt Carle, a terrific prospect in defenseman Ty Wishart, who totaled 16 goals, 51 assists and 67 points in his final season in juniors, and they got the Sharks' first-round pick in 2009 and fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft. Talk about a haul.

Boyle is a tremendous player, and defenseman Brad Lukowich, who also goes to San Jose, is a useful throw-in. But this is a deal that makes sense only for a team like San Jose that already is on the cusp of serious Stanley Cup contention.

Not that Boyle ever would have waived his no-trade for the Islanders, but for them to do an equivalent deal would have required them to send the Lightning defenseman Chris Campoli, forward Kyle Okposo (taken nine spots ahead of Wishart in the 2006 draft) plus their first-round pick next year and a fourth-rounder in 2010. That would have short-circuited the building process general manager Garth Snow has implemented, and even with Boyle in the lineup, there's a chance they would finish with a very high and very valuable pick in the first round next June.

The price was too high for the Isles. At the same time, it's good to see Snow still is working to find ways to improve the Islanders. This trade didn't work out, but it's a sign that he's prepared to take advantage of other opportunities that may arise if teams like Anaheim, Calgary, Dallas or Edmonton try to clear salary-cap space.

Islanders general manager Garth Snow recently said he probably is done shopping for free agents, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t working the phones and, as he says, “kicking some tires.” Earlier this afternoon, I received a tip the Islanders are one of six teams in the running to trade for Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle.

The new owners of the Lightning reportedly have asked Boyle to consider waiving the no-trade clause in the six-year deal worth $40 million that he signed last season before the ownership change. Thanks to a spate of recent signings, the Lightning is over the salary cap and has 27 NHL contracts, according to a report in the St. Pete Times.

Boyle's agent, George Bazos, told the Times his client plans to think things over tonight and make a decision on Friday about whether or not to waive his no-trade clause.

Dumping Boyle’s average annual salary of $6.667 million would go a long way toward solving that problem. The Lightning is believed to be seeking a puck-moving defenseman at a much lower salary plus draft picks to replace the ones they’ve dealt away. It’s pure speculation, but the Islanders could offer a choice of defensemen Chris Campoli or Radek Martinek. While they likely don’t want to part with their first-round pick in 2009, which would be part of the Lightning's asking price, the Isles could sweeten the pot with two second-round picks.

Snow declined comment through a spokesman. Considering the power Boyle has via his no-trade clause, the Islanders have to be considered a longshot to land him. Ottawa, which is Boyle’s hometown, and San Jose are viewed as the likely frontrunners. But at least the Isles are on the list of teams Tampa Bay is considering.

EX-ISLES: No doubt, many Islanders fans saw the news earlier this afternoon that Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko both signed with Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh. That means the former Isles will face their old team in six division games next season.

Both signed one-year deals. Satan took a cut from $4.485 million to $3.5 million, while Fedotenko dropped marginally from $2.9 million to $2.5 million. Not bad for two players coming off mediocre 16-goal seasons. Suddenly, the deal Snow gave Fedotenko last July doesn’t look like such an “overpayment.”

Considering the Penguins lost Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone as free agents, it will be interesting to see how the former Islanders do if they’re teamed up with centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They just might score more than 16 goals apiece.

Based on general manager Garth Snow’s comment that he doesn’t anticipate any more free-agent signings at the moment, I believe the Islanders’ roster for the 2008-09 season basically is complete. However, I erred in the previous blog and in today’s Newsday story when I said the Isles have 24 one-way contracts. In fact, they only have 17 one-way deals at this time.

Snow telephoned this morning to tell me he nearly spit his coffee when he read what I wrote. After we hung up, I banged my head against the wall a few times as punishment. To keep this as simple as possible, here’s the breakdown on the seven players who are not currently on one-way contracts:

Kyle Okposo – Entering the first year of his three-year entry-level deal because he played only nine NHL games last season.

Blake Comeau – Has one year left on his entry-level deal.

Frans Nielsen – Qualified on a two-way contract for 30 more NHL games.

Jeff Tambellini – Qualified on a two-way deal.

Bruno Gervais – Qualified on a two-way deal.

Ben Walter – Qualified on a two-way deal.

Jeremy Colliton – Qualified on a two-way deal.

It’s possible Tambellini and Gervais might negotiate one-way deals before the season. Even if they accepted the Islanders’ two-way qualifying offer, Tambellini, Gervais, Walter and Colliton all would have to clear waivers on the way down to the AHL if they were assigned to Bridgeport. Tambellini and possibly Gervais likely would be claimed by another team in that scenario.

So, while Snow still has room to add more veterans on one-way deals through free agency if he chooses, the practical effect would be to create a crowded situation, especially at forward, that either would force Tambellini to be exposed to waivers or would force the Isles to send Comeau, Okposo or Nielsen back to Bridgeport to make room for a veteran. But Snow’s plan all along has been to create room to blend in Tambellini, Comeau, Okposo and possibly Nielsen to develop them at the NHL level.

Unless Snow has a change of heart and decides to seek more veteran help, the roster identified in the previous blog as your Islanders for the 2008-09 season still is correct, except that only 17 of those players currently have one-way deals.

After signing 37-year-old center Doug Weight this afternoon to give the Islanders a total of 24 one-way contracts, general manager Garth Snow acknowledged he likely is through signing free agents for the NHL roster.

“I would say so,” Snow said, “but I’ll still poke around and make calls.”

Since there is a 23-man NHL roster limit, the Islanders already are in a situation where one player under contract would have to be exposed to waivers when the season opens. You know, assuming someone doesn’t develop a sudden back problem that puts him on injured reserve.

When you look at the roster Snow has assembled, it’s easy to see that one reason he hasn’t added a proven scorer at winger is to give sniper Jeff Tambellini the best possible chance to prove he can score as well at the NHL level as he did in the AHL. Here’s one man’s opinion of what the lineup might look like heading into training camp:

Forward lines

Jeff Tambellini – Doug Weight – Bill Guerin
Blake Comeau – Mike Comrie – Kyle Okposo
Jonathan Sim – Mike Sillinger – Trent Hunter
Sean Bergenheim – Frans Nielsen – Richard Park

Defense pairings

Brendan Witt – Radek Martinek
Andy Sutton – Freddy Meyer
Chris Campoli – Mark Streit

Goaltenders

Rick DiPietro
Joey MacDonald

Extras

F Andy Hilbert
F Ben Walter
F Jeremy Colliton
D Bruno Gervais

As Snow sees it, Nielsen and Walter should compete for the fourth-line center position. If you project Tambellini to a top-six position at forward, that leaves Bergenheim, Park and Hilbert to contend for the two forward spots on the fourth line. Colliton is the odd man out unless, say, Sillinger hasn’t fully recovered from hip surgery or Guerin isn’t ready after shoulder surgery or Comrie still is battling his injuries.

At least, that’s how I see the lineup from what I imagine is the GM’s perspective. It could be very different from coach Ted Nolan’s vantage point, and he is the one who decides the combinations and the ice time.

Nolan likes the combination of Hilbert and Park killing penalties and playing a sound defensive game on the fourth line. But where would that leave Bergenheim, who was a ball of energy and is one of the Isles’ few physical players?

I’ll tell you. If Tambellini doesn’t produce coming out of the gate – maybe even in the exhibition schedule – it’s easy to imagine Nolan moving Bergenheim to the top line as an agitator and puck retriever for Weight and Guerin while playing Park and Hilbert on the fourth line with Nielsen and sitting Tambellini in the press box.

One other note of interest about this Islanders lineup -- I mean, aside from the lack of the big-time enforcer most fans want – is that the top three centers all are in the final year of their deals. Maybe the 28-year-old Comrie will earn a long-term extension, but it’s hard to envision the two 37-year-olds, Weight and Sillinger, playing much beyond next season in major roles.

Snow better hope the crop of free-agent centers is a good one come next July 1.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: In an earlier blog, I asked readers to watch for an interview with new Islanders power-play quarterback Mark Streit in Thursday’s edition of Newsday. But news of the Weight signing pushed the Streit interview back one day. It should appear in Friday’s edition of Newsday...In response to questions about D Jack Hillen and the possibility of adding an enforcer to the NHL roster, I believe Hillen will get a lot of time as the power-play quarterback at Bridgeport as he makes the transition from college to the pros. He would be an obvious callup in the event of injuries. I think Snow is content to add enforcers to BP's roster so they could be called up on an "as-needed" basis.

Well-traveled 37-year-old center Doug Weight just signed a one-year contract with the Islanders. The deal is worth $1.75 million plus performance bonuses that could push the value to $4.3 million. Weight spent last season in Anaheim, where he had 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 point sin 67 games. Islanders general manager Garth Snow added an older pivot in the hopes that he not only will be a solid playmaker for the team’s young wingers but also serve as a mentor.

More details to follow later.

Since the defection to Russia of goaltender Wade Dubielewicz, Islanders fans have been wondering who would be in net this season in Bridgeport. The answer came this afternoon when the Isles signed Yann Danis, a four-year AHL veteran from the Montreal organization who figures to start for the Sound Tigers.

Danis, who played four years of college hockey for Brown University, is coming off his worst season with the Hamilton Bulldogs. He had a record of 11-19-4 in 38 games with a goals-against average of 3.28 and a save percentage of .893. His career W-L-T in the AHL is 79-67-18 with a GAA of 2.78 and a save percentage of .908. In his only six NHL appearances with the Canadiens in the 2005-06 season, he had a 3-2-0 record with a 2.69 GAA and a save percentage of .908.

In other goaltender news, it appears Islanders prospect Stefan Ridderwall will spend the coming season in the Swedish Elite League, but the club will retain his rights. In the absence of a transfer agreement, the NHL has granted “defected” status to each team’s European prospects for at least the next year. An Islanders spokesman explained that is why Ridderwall was not signed to an entry-level contract.

He played the backup role with Djurgardens in the SEL last season and also played for the junior team in that organization. Ridderwall is expected to become the starter for the big team this season, which should provide him with tremendous experience in a league that surpasses the AHL. The Islanders can sign him next summer, or the NHL again could extend the use of “defected status” so that each team continues to maintain the rights to its prospects in the absence of a transfer agreement.

ISLES FILES: Check Thursday’s edition of Newsday for a lively interview with new Islanders defenseman Mark Streit. Speaking today by telephone from Zurich, where he is working with his conditioning coach, Streit had some interesting comments about how he was used the past couple of seasons in Montreal and about why he is looking forward to the opportunity to join the Isles in an expanded role playing strictly as an offensive defenseman.