1) Much fanfare was made recently when former NY Islander (Sabre/Ranger) Pat Lafontaine made the announcement that he was heading up a "European group of investors" who are interested in buying the NY Islanders with the intent of keeping them on Long Island. The 47 year old LaFontaine, who was drafted by the club in 1983 is 'intrigued' and may look to put together a bid. The story goes on to say that the Islanders owner Charles Wang, who is seeking a new arena for the franchise and reportedly looking to sell it for the right price, could be asking at a $300 million price tag. Oh and by the way, Forbes magazine valued the Islanders at $149 million last year.
2) OK, lets be real here. No sane person is going to sink 300 million into the NY Islanders right now. The team is hemorrhaging money and there is no deal in sight to get a new arena deal in place for the venerable but decrepit Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. What can Lafontaine accomplish on that front that an experienced business man like Charles Wang couldn't in 12+ years? The county referendum last year certainly showed the lack of interest/desire for the tax payers to pony up the dough needed to get a public financed arena deal set. Wang tried to do it with out much public funds but the town of Hempstead balked at the size/scope of his proposed "HUB" for the unused land near/on the coliseum grounds.
3) Oh, and last BUT not least, there is NO WAY, and I mean no F-ing way that Charles Wang would EVER deal with Pat Lafontaine. Especially in a deal that potentially would make the former Islander/Wang employee look good. When Lafontaine abruptly left the team in 2006 (when Neail Smith was axed after 40 days) Wang was pissed and when you do wrong in Wang's eyes, you are persona non gratis FOREVER! Who could forget a few years ago when LaFontaine was refused credentials. Here's the original story we did back in 2008: http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2008/02/islanders-bush-league.html It rehashes the whole fiasco very well. The bottom line is Wang NEVER Forgives and Forgets, unless the "offender" grovels publicly.
4) So I believe this whole issue is simply a distraction from not only the Isles grave Nassau County situation as well as the current CBA crap. With regard to the former we are on record stating that we have heard from a reliable source that even if there was hockey this year it would e the Isles LAST in Nassau County. That Wang plans to break the remainder of the lease (2 more years after this one) and move to Brooklyn at least temporarily. His feeling is that he cant be hurt any more than he already has by Nassau. To sum up don't get excited Isles fans, This is yet another "false positive" development in what has become a comedy of errors the past 20+ years. No way will anyone pay 300 million and Wang won't sell to a Lafontaine led group. End of story. Lets move on..............
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