Rick DiPietro News

John Tavares' confident stride, friendly wave, broad smile and polished words didn't give away nervousness that had to be running through him on his first real day as the face of the New York Islanders .

Out goes veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson; in comes a former Stanley Cup champion.

In this age of players in all sports not being loyal to a team, we here in the 'Burgh know what it is like to win championships in ALL Sports.... Yeah, like Detroit has not won any championships in any other of the major sports the last 25 years.

The New York Islanders chose Canadian center John Tavares as the first overall pick in the National Hockey League draft.

On the second day of free agency, the Islanders focused on rebuilding the support system for their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, signing yet another goaltender and adding some minor-league muscle.

As we all expected the Islanders were not huge players in the free agent market, but did fill a glaring need and did so with in my mind the best free agent goaltender available... by Frank Trovato 12 reads Sports July 02, 2009 As we all expected the Islanders were not huge players in the free agent market, but did fill a glaring need and did so ...

Dwayne Roloson has left the Edmonton Oilers, signing Wednesday with the New York Islanders for two years in a deal worth $5 million US.

Louis, D, National U-18 * 2005: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh, F, Rimouski * 2004: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington, LW, Dynamo * 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh, G, Cape Breton * 2002: Rick Nash, Columbus, LW, London * 2001: Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta, C, Spartak * 2000: Rick DiPietro, N.Y. Islanders, G, Boston Univ.

They did it right. Now can the Islanders do the rest, right? John Tavares was the man all along, the sniper the Islanders needed, the potential 40-goal scorer they haven't had since Ziggy Palffy.

New York mets third baseman David Wright, left, greets New York Islanders first draft choice john Tavares before the mets-Yankees game on Sunday at Citi Field.

It generally is not a good sign when a team's draft party draws more fans than many home games, but at least the Islanders sent their faithful home happy on Friday night by picking John Tavares with the top overall pick.

After almost 20 years of ineptitude, the New York Islanders finally have a bright future.

One day after filling the franchise-player need with John Tavares, the Islanders ignored their need for size and toughness to concentrate on the more pressing problem of developing a goaltender safety net in case Rick DiPietro 's multiple knee operations lead to a crisis in the crease.

The biggest surprise of this year's N.H.L. entry draft was how few surprises there were.

Published: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:32 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 11:32 p.m. MONTREAL The New York Islanders kept everyone guessing, including John Tavares himself, right up until they made the high-scoring center the No.

The New York Islanders have selected London Knights center John Tavares with the No.

Having the No. 1 overall pick in the draft should fill Islanders fans with a sense of hope and optimism.

Garth Snow might be better served to trade the coveted No. 1 pick for an improvement package.

Mike Milbury, a TV expert these days, was the GM of the New York Islanders in the summer of 2000, the last time the Islanders held the No.

Islanders finally get another crack at No. 1 >> Posted By sportsanna 21 hours, 30 minutes ago in Sports The last time the New York Islanders had the first overall selection in the NHL entry draft, they chose netminder Rick DiPietro in 2000.