DiPietro Speaks: In 140 or Less

They say timing is everything, but I am curious as to this one. The Islanders are hosting a Twitter Question & Answer period tomorrow with Rick DiPietro. They are asking fans to log on and offer up questions for Rick that he will answer, in 140 characters or less. You have to be a member of Twitter in order to submit the question, but you will be able to read the answers once they are posted. Questions are being taken up until Noon on Thursday.The web address is http://twitter.com/NYISLANDERS.

Considering that last night the rumor mill was running rampant with "Niemi to the Isles" speculation, I just found this interesting. I did get into a few conversations with fans about Rick DiPietro's ability to play this season. While I can understand that his ability is a question mark, I still believe he should be given the chance to at least attempt to get back to the form he was.

That being said, should Garth Snow surprise me once again and grab Stanley Cup winning goalie Niemi for a good price, I will just sit on the sidelines and shake my head. I want you to know that I DID try to find out if there was any shred of truth to the rumor, but was stonewalled at every turn. Usually I will get at least a snicker for my questions, but this time I received no response. Now, could that mean something? I don't know. Let's just say it wasn't a flat out "What? Are you serious?"

Also, it is nice to hear that new Islander James Wisniewski is happy to be joining the Islanders even though he was surprised about the move. Here is an article from the main site. I'm just happy that it wasn't the same cry-fest there was when Garth Snow pulled the same move with Ryan Smyth. You remember that 11th hour deal with the Oilers that shocked the hockey world as well as the Smyth family. So, no tearful airport press conference for Wiz. Good move. I like him already.