Rick DiPietro

Talk of a possible Islanders move has recently sprung up again, with the Barclay's Center as a landing ground. Owners of the Barclay's Center have been doing their best to attract the attention of the Islanders ownership in the hopes of making a permanent move.

But realistically, is Brooklyn the best option for this team? 

For those who are superstitious, Friday the 13th is believed to be a day of bad luck.

New York Islander goaltender, Rick Dipietro may be a believer after today, if he wasn't already. It is believed he will miss the rest of the regular season after surgery to repair a sports hernia.

"This is something I thought that would just heal up and go away, and instead it got more and more debilitating," Dipietro said to local New York newspaper, Newsday.

The Islanders' season is three games old, and this season already is different from the past few years in quite a few ways.

First of all, the Islanders came into this season with a positive on-ice outlook for the first time in many years. That in and of itself is a major change.

Four lonely playoff appearances in 15 years. Not one series victory in a decade and a half. The New York Islanders have almost done nothing but lose lately, and their plight is turning off even their most dedicated fans.  

The Islanders are building a significant young corps of key hockey players with Stars like John Tavares, Michael Grabner and a right-handed shooting power play quarterback and Olympic defenseman Mark Streit playing out of Switzerland.  With this International appeal, the Islanders are in dire need of the goalie they are missing out on in the Rick DiPietro bust.

With only a few games remaining on the schedule, the New York Islanders will try to finish the season on a high.

New York has lost two straight, falling to the Atlanta Thrashers and Philadelphia Flyers in unimpressive fashion.

This is no longer about Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract.  It's not about his dedication to the organization, which can't be argued. It's not about his constant injury-plagued past three seasons.  

This, in a lot of ways, isn't even about Rick DiPietro.  What it is about, is the Islanders management being honest to the players, the fans and quite frankly, themselves.

If there's anything we've grown accustomed to, it's that there's never a dull moment in Islander Country.

This morning started like any other, right?

We woke up, ate breakfast, sat through traffic jams on all different highways, basically going about our daily business.

Then, suddenly and without warning, it happened. Coffee cups were suspended in mid-air, arms flailing and mouths open wide in disbelief, as we collectively learned that Rick DiPietro was being activated from IR.

On February 9, 2011, Islanders GM Garth Snow made what was considered to be a minor trade, giving the Pheonix Coyotes a sixth round selection and receiving goaltender Al Montoya, a former sixth overall pick and consensus draft bust.

No doubt, this move was made out of sheer desperation. This was Snow's last-ditch attempt at acquiring a capable goaltender with any amount of experience in the NHL.

On Sunday, Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux made headlines by releasing a statement in response to this past Friday's massive brawl-filled game between the Penguins and New York Islanders.

In the statement, Lemieux mentioned unhappiness at how the league handled disciplinary actions for the fight and his displeasure at the state of the league.