The New York Islanders' Problems Don't Start on the Ice

(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Even though the New York Islanders were terrible last year, their problems are not likely to end.

The Islanders were so bad in that they received the first overall pick in the '09 NHL Draft in which they took super phenom forward John Tavares. Tavares, who broke many of Wayne Gretzky's juniors records, signed a three-year deal with New York.

But even that is unlikely to stop the losing at the Coliseum

And that is likely where the problems begin.

Owner Charles Wang, who is going through hard times during the recession, has recently stated that if he could do it again, he would have never bought the Islanders.

And now he is campaigning for a new arena for the Islanders, which even I agree is much needed.

The new arena is part of "The Lighthouse", a project headed by Wang that includes a brand new arena. It would also re-develop the area into a nice commercial plaza with two 30-story buildings and a big park.

However, Wang has faced a lot of opposition from the residents of the town of Hempstead, who don't want all of their tax money to going into this project.

Wang has been getting angry with the opposition. In February, he threatened to move the team if they couldn't get a deal done for a new arena by October of this year.

One of the places being speculated is Kansas City, Missouri, where they built a brand new arena for a future expansion or relocated NHL team.

While adding John Tavares is good, it is unlikely that the Islanders will make any improvements on the ice until their ownership and arena situations are solved.

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