Islanders Gamble and Lose with Rick DiPietro

The New York Islanders will have to do without Rick DiPietro for the foreseeable future. And they have no one to blame but themselves.

On March 13th, DiPietro suffered a concussion in a collision with Steve Begin of the Montreal Canadiens. The goaltender missed the Islanders' next two games before returning on March 20th.

Unfortunately, that comeback appears to have been premature: TSN network announced that DiPietro has failed a neurological test and will be out of action until his medical situation improves.

Obviously, the news comes as a blow to the Islanders but the blame here ultimately falls on the organization itself. When the injury occurred, team officials said that they'd wait to hear from their OWN doctors before deciding on a course of treatment. 

I noted at the time that it would be absurd for the Islanders to rush DiPietro's recovery ("Canadiens Refuse to Lose Against New York Islanders in Montreal," Mar. 14th), but I had a feeling they might.

It looks like I was right.

However you dress it up, the decision to play DiPietro wasn't a wise one especially considering that he'd recently signed a 15-year contract. The Islanders chose to gamble with their investment, and now they're paying for it.

How steep the price is remains to be seen.