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UNIONDALE, N.Y. - There is nothing new about the New York Islanders heading into a new season trying to improve on the one before.Yet, this one has a different feel even though last season ended again without a trip to the playoffs.The Islanders are facing major changes, both on and off the ice. The ones away from the rink are already much more dramatic especially because they are about to say goodbye to the only rink the once-proud franchise has ever known.Nassau Coliseum has only one NHL season left in it, and Long Island is about to lose the biggest sports team it has called its own. The Islanders moved into the Coliseum when the team was born in 1972, won four straight Stanley Cup titles as the primary tenant, and then drifted into mediocrity and worse after the dynasty core faded away.But with captain John Tavares back after an Olympic knee injury robbed him of a second half of a season that had showed much promise, a seemingly solid goaltending tandem in place, and more firepower up front, the Islanders might have enough to pump up the old building one more time before the team moves to Brooklyn next season.There are a lot of loyal fans here, and we want to make it special for them, though obviously its not something were going to think about every day, said coach Jack Capuano, who is starting his fifth season behind the Islanders bench.New York has reached the playoffs only once in Capuanos and Tavares tenures, a six-game loss to division rival Pittsburgh in 2013, and just twice overall since 2006 a€” a far cry from five consecutive trips to the finals in the glory days of the early 1980s.The 24-year-old Tavares was near the top of the NHL scoring leaderboard last February when he severely hurt his knee while playing for Canada at the Sochi Olympics and missed the final quarter of the season. He still finished second on the team with 66 points a€” including 24 goals a€” despite playing in only 59 games.Now he feels fully recovered and says had the Islanders qualified for the playoffs, he would have been out there with his teammates.It is great, he said heading into training camp. I had a normal off-season, and the injury has been put behind me for a good three months now.Im really anxious to dive right back into it. The nerves and energy getting ready for the season were there. If I ever lose that feeling, I shouldnt be playing. This is what I love to do. I couldnt be more excited.If he is back to full strength, then perhaps the biggest question mark surrounding the Islanders will be eliminated before the first puck is dropped on opening night at Carolina on Oct. 10.New York finished 34-37-5 last season, which landed the Islanders last in the eight-team Metropolitan Division and 14th in the 16-team Eastern Conference.___Here are other things to watch in the Islanders upcoming season:NABBY NO MORE: After three seasons of Evgeni Nabokov as the No. 1 goalie, the Islanders have moved on to a new duo of Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson. They will have the responsibility of replacing Nabokov, who played at least 40 games in each of his seasons in New York and posted a goals-against average under 3.00 in every campaign. Halak won a total of 29 games last season while splitting time with St. Louis and Washington, and has 144 career wins in eight NHL seasons. Johnson has played in only 37 NHL games, but 27 were last season with Boston when he went 17-4-3 with a 2.10 GAA. He has a career mark of 20-6-6 but has never made a post-season appearance.SECONDARY SCORING: Assuming Tavares is back to full strength and takes his place at the top of the teams scoring list, New Yorks offence will need solid production from the group behind the captain.Kyle Okposo picked up the slack last season and finished with career bests of 27 goals and 42 assists for a club-leading 69 points. Frans Nielsen was second with 25 goals and third with 58 points.There was then a steep drop-off as Josh Bailey was fourth in scoring with 38 points, but only eight goals. Michael Grabner slipped to only 12 goals in 64 games after posting 20, 16 and 12 goals in the previous three seasons.LEAF COLLECTION: Islanders general manager Garth Snow made big investments in free-agent forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, reuniting the former Toronto Maple Leafs teammates with four-year deals.Grabovskis contract is worth $20 million, while Kulemin will make $16.75 million.The 30-year-old Grabovski, from Belarus, had 13 goals and 22 assists in 58 games last season for Washington. He has 107 goals and 145 assists in eight seasons with Montreal, Toronto and Washington.The 27-year-old Kulemin, from Russia, had nine goals and 11 assists in 70 games last season for Toronto. He has 84 goals and 111 assists in 421 games in six seasons, all with the Maple Leafs.Grabovski and Kulemin were Toronto teammates from 2008-13 and spent time as linemates, too. Grabovski gives the Islanders depth at centre behind Tavares, and would seem to be a good fit on a line with left winger Kulemin.New York will also have returning centres Frans Nielsen, Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome providing strength up the middle.OWNING UP: Not only will the Islanders be changing locations in the near future, the people calling the shots will be undergoing a makeover, too.In August, the club announced that owner Charles Wang sold a minority stake of the team to a former Washington Capitals co-owner and a London-based investor who will become full owners in two years. Jon Ledecky and investor Scott Malkin agreed to buy a substantial minority interest and will take over full ownership from Wang.On Tuesday, the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the minority stake purchase. The overall purchase remains subject to completion of documentation and further league review before the transaction is closed. Marco Reus Jersey . The Brad Jacobs team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., advanced to Fridays championship game with a 10-6 win over Chinas Rui Liu in the semifinal. Cheap Dortmund Jersey . Geovany Soto had an RBI for the Cubs. Carlos Silva gave up one run on three hits over six innings to pick up the win. Josh Willingham drove in the lone run for the Nationals, who had just four hits. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Mario-Gotze-Jersey/ . A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. Marwin Hitz Jersey . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. Jacob Bruun Larsen Jersey . The Stampeders announced the move on Wednesday. Bell spent his first two CFL seasons with the B.The subject of the NHLs participation in future Olympic Games came up at a join media conference Tuesday in Sochi featuring NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL Players Association executive director Donald Fehr and IIHF president Rene Fasel. The NHL has not committed to sending players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman continued to throw his support behind the NHLs participation in the Olympics when asked about it in a press conference last week. But, as expected, Bettman said this will be something addressed down the road. "The primary building blocks are logistics of travel, to and from the Olympics," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said afterwards. "It was a big challenge coming to Sochi and it certainly would be a big challenge if we were to go to South Korea. Player insurance is always a factor with the magnitude and length of player contracts these days, an incredible number of assets at risk. "So those were two of the most fundamental things we talked about." Daly added that the NHLs participation this time was helped by the fact that NHL broadcasters CBC and NBC also were Olympic rights holders. But the rights holders have yet to be determined for 2018. "So we havent really given any serious consideration to South Korea at all," Daly said. The players will have a big say on this issue. Fehr promised a full and thorough investigation as to whether continued Olympic participation is what the playerrs want.dddddddddddd The NHL players volition to compete in the Olympics has been the main driving force behind their participation in the Winter Games. World Cup closer to return Fehr hinted that the two sides are closer to announcing details on a World Cup of Hockey. There hasnt been one played since 2004 and the speculation continues to be the next World Cup could happen as soon as 2016. There was the usual playfulness between Bettman and Fasel. At one point Fasel said there is nothing like seeing the smile of a hockey player when he wins a gold medal. To which Bettman was quick to reply, "Except winning the Stanley Cup." Finally, Daly was asked about expansion. There was a recent newspaper story in Seattle that said the NHL has targeted the city for an expansion team. "I think whenever Im asked that question, I make the same comments," he said. "The Pacific Northwest, we think is a good hockey area. I think the Vancouver Canucks have done extraordinarily well in developing that area as a good hockey market. Doesnt mean were going to expand there, doesnt mean weve made any decisions in that regard. "I said the same thing about Quebec City. I also believe its a very good hockey market with a very strong and passionate fan base. So theres nothing more I can say on expansion than we did [at the NHL Board of Governors meetings] in Pebble Beach, which is at some point in time it might be an appropriate consideration for us to bring to the board. But we havent reached that yet." 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