An Open Letter to Bryan... (updated @ 9:27 a.m.)

Bryan, I know you were born an Islander fan. I know your dad named you after Bryan Trottier. Now, I offer you this, a chance to hop on the bandwagon. This may be the only chance I get.

Let's look at your team. This is meant with as little offense as possible. I'm just stating facts.

1) Kyle Okposo is the biggest prospect the Islanders have drafted since... Roberto Luongo, Bryan McCabe, Wade Redden, JP Dumont, Cory Stillman, Todd Bertuzzi, and Brett Lindros. Okposo will not be traded. That said, he debuted to 2,500 people on the same night Sean Avery scored two goals against Pittsburgh at the Garden.

2) The best goal of the year was scored by a guy (Rob Davison) who was traded for a 7th round pick. As far as I know, they don't make 8th round picks to trade.

3) Your franchise goalie is injured in his hip for the second straight year. What's going to happen 7, 8, or 9 years from now? Hip injuries take their toll. Ask Jaromir Jagr. He hasn't been the same since injuring his hip in the 2006 Turin Olympics. Henrik won a gold medal that year. He is healthy. He is one of the top 3 goaltenders in the world.

4) The last playoff series won by the Islanders was 1993. Pierre Turgeon was their superstar then. Remember when #77 was relevant? Me neither. Since then, the Broadway Blueshirts have won a Stanley Cup, watched Mark Messier create history, watch Wayne Gretzky score a playoff hat trick, miss 7 years of playoffs, and storm back to bring President's Trophy-winning Buffalo to the brink.

5) The fan favorite on the Islander team is... ? I don't know. The Rangers have Lundqvist and Sean Avery, preceded by Jed Ortmeyer.

And this is the big one...

6) In the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the Islanders went 6th. With the 5th selection, the Penguins took Jaromir Jagr. With the 6th pick, the Islanders took Scott Scissons. Names still available - Derian Hatcher (8th), Keith Tkachuk (19), Martin Brodeur (20), Doug Weight (34), Mikael Renberg (40), Sergei Zubov (85), Robert Lang (133), and Petr Bondra (156).

Scott Scissons played 2 NHL games and never had a point. Not that the Rangers did better that year. Picking at unlucky 13, they took Michigan State's defenseman Michael Stewart, who was one of only 2 first round picks that year to never step onto NHL ice (Edmonton's was the other).

**

I know, I know. 1980. 81. 82. 83. Those were great years. But, I wasn't even born when the Islanders won the last Cup. The one thing the Islanders have over the Rangers is the pretzel twist. That's a good snack. $9 at the Coliseum gets you a nice diet soda and a pretzel twist. You can't beat that with a cotton candy stick.

So, B, what do you say? Hop on, just for the playoffs. Who knows? Maybe you'll see something you like? I'd love to have you on my team. We agree on football and baseball. Why should we fight over hockey?