18 New York Islanders

After a season that degenerated into a miasma of backbiting, finger-pointing and dressing-room lawyering, the Islanders—the NHL version of Murmurer's Row—hope the team that flayed together can play together. In end-of-season self-evaluations, players agreed that their on-ice discipline, conditioning and motivation were average or below last season. In addition, so many of them sandbagged coach Peter Laviolette in exit interviews with G.M. Mike Milbury that Laviolette was fired. The impetuous Milbury then hired Steve Stirling, a 53-year-old longtime college coach with no NHL experience who has a lighter touch than Laviolette. A coaching change, however, will hardly matter unless the Islanders, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, adjust their attitudes—notably toward star center Alexei Yashin.

A 10-year veteran who earns nearly $9 million per season, Yashin often has been an island unto himself. Last season his teammates marooned him. He had but 26 goals and 65 points, career lows for a season in which he played at least 48 games. "Yash was a guy who took a lot of criticism publicly and privately," says captain Michael Peca, who was hampered by a torn knee ligament and did not score a goal in the final 20 regular-season and five playoff games. "We were all guilty of worrying too much about Alex's game and not trying to find ways to help him. Rather than being like talk-show critics and making the situation worse, we should have been better teammates."

New York needs an inspired Yashin and a healthy Peca to go further in the playoffs. A mobile, deep group of defensemen, featuring Roman Hamrlik and Janne Niinimaa, should take some pressure off the odd-couple goalies, the wry Garth Snow and the ebullient Rick DiPietro. The 22-year-old DiPietro is a star-in-waiting, but he must relax and improve technically before he supplants the usually dependable 34-year-old Snow.

So, Islanders, who do you like, DiPietro or Snow? Discuss it among yourselves. Nicely.

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]