1:48 pm: At 1:10 pm, Newsday's Art Staple speculated on Twitter that the Isles may be looking to "flip" Dan Boyle's rights to another team shortly. As Boyle seems to be playing a waiting game and July 1st is fast approaching, I can't blame the Isles for trying to make something out of their chance.
11 am: Today the NY Islanders announce that Greg Cronin will be returning to the Islanders coaching staff.
Looking at the press release just received from the Isles, the 51-year-old has a long resume including the Leafs and four (or five) years with Bridgeport as Assistant and then Head coach. (The release is a little fuzzy with the math.)
Cronin also spent six seasons as Head Coach at Northeastern University and won the Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award in 2008-09 as the best coach in the Hockey East conference. And just as important -- he's an Arlington, MA native.
Also on the coaching staff this season are Doug Weight (Detroit, MI), Bob Corkum (from Salisbury, MA) and Matt Bertani (from Pittsburgh, PA). Along with Jack Capuano, that's a lot of American hockey coaches!
Who will play on John Tavares' line is still a question. But at least we know who is behind the bench.
Sidebar: For some reason, it seems a big deal that Doug Weight was announced as Assistant GM. However, I was under the impression he already WAS the assistant GM. He had a title that was similar, but not exact.