Hartley once coached Snow at Cornwall in the AHL, and the two have maintained a good friendship ever since to the point of exchanging fairly regular e-mail messages. There’s little doubt Hartley meets Snow’s criteria for a coach in terms of discipline and providing structure and technical expertise. But the major question for Hartley is whether he has the patience for a long-term development project and the willingness to rely on young players in major roles.

After a 0-6 start with Atlanta last season, Hartley quickly was replaced behind the bench by Thrashers GM Don Waddell. That seemed like a short leash for a coach who led the Thrashers to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history the previous season, but it was clear Hartley had little support from the players in the locker room. He was thought to be a candidate for the Ottawa job recently, but there was speculation that Senators star Dany Heatley, who once played for Hartley, was against it.

Still, Hartley’s resume includes one thing that can’t be ignored – the 2001 Stanley Cup championship he won with Colorado during a highly successful five-year run. Hartley’s interview follows that of former Toronto coach Paul Maurice on Monday. Former Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella and former Lightning assistant Mike Sullivan also have received permission to interview with the Islanders, and Snow’s list also includes former Colorado coach Joel Quenneville, AHL Providence head coach Scott Gordon and Islanders assistant Gerard Gallant.

ISLES FILES: If anyone is so devoted to the Islanders that they have a team-related tattoo, Newsday would like to know about it. Reporters long have been known as “ink-stained wretches,” but staff writer Barbara Barker is working on a fun story about fans who could say the same about themselves. If you have an Islanders tattoo and would like to be part of Barbara’s story, please e-mail her at barbara.barker@newsday.com. Thanks.

The $525,000 average salary might turn out to be quite a bargain for a 24-year-old player for whom the Islanders have high hopes. In 16 games with the Islanders last season, Nielsen had only two goals and one assist, but he received fourth-line time, averaging 8:42 per game.

Nielsen is considered a very smart player, and he developed real chemistry at the AHL level with left wing Jeff Tambellini, who recently signed a two-year deal with the Isles that also is a one-way contract. In 102 AHL games, Nielsen totaled 30 goals and 52 assists for 82 points.

General manager Garth Snow was especially impressed with Nielsen’s play last season, when he centered the so-called “Kid Line” between Tambellini and Blake Comeau. That group had a stretch of about seven games, where Snow felt they were the Islanders’ best, most energetic line. He believes Nielsen’s role could be expanded to include penalty-kill and possibly some power-play time.

Nielsen’s signing leaves defenseman Bruno Gervais as the only unsigned restricted free agent who received a qualifying offer. However, Gervais attended the Islanders’ rookie minicamp Friday morning as a spectator and said he is in top condition and has recovered from the injuries that cut his season short after 60 games. Negotiations are progressing amicably.

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The reduction from eight to six games per season against division rivals was made to ensure teams would meet every team in the opposite conference at least once per season, and they will play three teams from the opposite conference twice to fill out the 82-game schedule.

The Islanders open the season Oct. 10 at New Jersey and meet St. Louis the following night in the home opener. Details of the home schedule that will most interest Islanders fans include 15 games on Saturday and nine matinees, five of which are on holiday dates plus two Sunday afternoon games. Normal starting time for night home games is 7 p.m.

Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh, featuring former Islanders Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedetenko teaming with stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, makes its first Coliseum visit on Nov. 8. Seven of the Isles’ first 11 games are at home, but December will be a rough month as they play nine of 14 on the road. The toughest stretch is in March, when the play six straight on the road (broken into two trips) to begin a span in which they play 10 of 14 on the road before wrapping up the season with home games against Philadelphia and Boston on April 11-12.

Here’s the full schedule (All times Eastern):

Oct. 10 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 Buffalo, 2 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Florida, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 Dallas, 7 p.m.
Oct. 25 Carolina, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Oct. 30 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 Montreal, 7 p.m.
Nov. 3 Columbus, 7 p.m.
Nov. 4 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Nov. 6 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Nov. 11 Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
Nov. 13 at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Nov. 21 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Nov. 24 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Boston, 12 p.m.
Nov. 29 Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Dec. 4 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Dec. 8 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dec. 11 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Dec. 16 Washington, 7 p.m.
Dec. 19 at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Dec. 23 Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Dec. 26 Toronto, 7 p.m.
Dec. 27 at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Dec. 31 Florida, 2 p.m.
Jan. 2 at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Jan. 3 at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Jan. 5 at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Jan. 8 at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Jan. 13 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 Boston, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Jan. 19 Washington, 2 p.m.
Jan. 21 Anaheim, 7 p.m.
Jan. 29 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 Florida, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Feb. 5 at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Feb. 16 Pittsburgh, 2 p.m.
Feb. 18 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Feb. 19 Carolina, 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Feb. 25 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 26 Toronto, 7 p.m.
Feb. 28 Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Mar. 2 Colorado, 7 p.m.
Mar. 5 N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Mar. 7 New Jersey, 2 p.m.
Mar. 8 Phoenix, 3 p.m.
Mar. 10 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 12 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 14 at Boston, 1 p.m.
Mar. 15 at Chicago, 3 p.m.
Mar. 20 at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Mar. 21 at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Mar. 25 Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Mar. 27 at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Mar. 28 Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Apr. 1 at Washington, 7 p.m.
Apr. 2 Montreal, 7 p.m.
Apr. 4 Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Apr. 7 at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Apr. 9 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 11 Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
Apr. 12 Boston, 5 p.m.

Trottier is a stand-up guy, and he certainly wasn’t going to take a slap at a friend on his way out the door. That reaction not only is understandable, but it’s admirable. But when he read his comments in Newsday, Trottier realized it might appear as though he was at odds with general manager Garth Snow and the organization.

That’s not the case. As director of player development, Trottier is intimately involved in working with the very prospects that Snow is attempting to introduce to the Islanders’ lineup. In our conversation, Trottier emphasized how happy he is in that role, how excited he is to work with the kids and the fact that he is very much in agreement with the direction set by Snow.

Relating a talk he had last season with center Frans Nielsen, Trots said that the modest Nielsen perceived himself as a candidate for the third or fourth lines. Trottier said: “I told him, ‘Frans, you have skills. You can be a second-line center. Can you be first-line? You have to work very hard, but anything is possible.’”

Trottier went on to explain how he feels it’s important to give positive encouragement to the prospects, especially now that they can see a future in the Islanders’ organization, not only this season, but in the ones ahead. If you look at the roster, several veterans are in the final year of their contracts, and there should be many openings in the future. Trottier expects to be a part of the development process in the hope of doing his part to revive a franchise he once led to prominence.

ISLES FILES: The NHL just made the formal announcement that the next Winter Classic will match Detroit and Chicago on Jan. 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field. As part of the release, NHL commissioner Gary Bettmann thanked the Yankees and New York City for their interest and promised to hold future discussions to hold the Winter Classic at the new Yankee Stadium. There was no mention of either the Islanders or the Rangers or, for that matter, the Boston Bruins. Hopefully, that means the Isles, who originated the idea of closing Yankee Stadium with a game between themselves and the Rangers, still are under consideration for a future Winter Classic that would showcase one of the NHL’s most bitter rivalries.

In case you missed it on the Live Chat earlier this morning, I mentioned that the 2008-09 schedule coming out on Thursday has the Islanders opening on the road at New Jersey and then playing their home opener the following night against St. Louis. The schedule begins a week later this season on October 9. The Isles’ home schedule also includes quite a number of Saturday night games and several matinee games, including a number of holiday dates.

Bergenheim switched to Allan Walsh. His previous agents, Mark Gandler and Todd Diamond, have clashed with Islanders management several times in the past. Once he made the change, negotiations began in earnest. Bergenheim, who will have one more season as a restricted free agent when the contract ends, will make $800,000 this season and $925,000 the following season.

“We’ve always had a high regard for Sean,” general manager Garth Snow said. “The events that transpired a week ago allowed us to get this done.”

Following a trend started a year ago by captain Bill Guerin, Bergenehim plans to donate a significant amount of money to the Islanders Children’s Fund.

Tambellini, who made an NHL salary of $882,000 last season, including bonus money, actually took less than his qualifying offer of $660,000 for the chance to prove he belongs in the NHL fulltime. In exchange for accepting a lower salary, Tambellini gets a one-way contract that virtually assures a full shot to play a role as a top-six forward. The deal calls for him to make $550,000 next season and $625,000 in the second year.

Centers Ben Walter and Jeremy Colliton both accepted the two-way qualifying offers they received before the 5 p.m. deadline for restricted free agents to make a decision to take their qualifying offers or not. Forward Frans Nielsen and defenseman Bruno Gervais declined their qualifying offers but are continuing negotiations with general manager Garth Snow. At this point, Snow has all the leverage because he can lower his offer to the take-it-or-leave-it stage, but so far, negotiations are moving forward amicably.

Forward Sean Bergenheim still is headed for arbitration, but Snow said he’s “making progress” in talks with agent Allan Walsh, which means there’s still a chance to reach agreement and avoid a hearing.

While most expressed some degree of surprise, captain Bill Guerin didn’t pretend that the obvious rift between the GM and coach didn’t affect the team. “It’s not a real shock to me,” Guerin said. “There was no secret the two sides just weren’t seeing eye-to-eye during the year and over the summer.

“I definitely think it became a distraction. Guys read papers; guys hear what’s going on. We just kind of wondered what was going on and if it was going to resolve itself. So, it has, and you move on.”

From a practical standpoint, Guerin said a coaching change and Snow’s emphasis on giving more ice time to young players shouldn’t have a major impact on the Islanders. “We’ve all been in many different types of situations before, including coaching changes and prospects coming in,” Guerin said. “It’s nothing anybody on our team hasn’t seen before.”

Mike Sillinger had a more sympathetic reaction than Guerin, who only spent one difficult season under Nolan. When the Islanders defied low expectations during Nolan’s first season and made the playoffs, Sillinger was one of the veterans who enjoyed career seasons and reveled in the trust the coach placed in them.

“Snowy called me and told me what happened,” Sillinger said. “Quite frankly, I don’t know that there was any kind of tug-of-war. I didn’t spend the last half of the season with the guys because of my [hip] injury. The year before, we made the playoffs, and Ted did a great job. Obviously, this year we had a bunch of injuries.

“Garth told me they had philosophical differences. So be it. That’s his decision. It’s really unfortunate. Ted and I had a great relationship. I enjoyed playing for him. I guess you move on.”

Sillinger’s final game last season came on Jan. 24 in Boston, where the Islanders lost just before the All-Star break to fall from seventh to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. As it turned out, that was the beginning of their slide out of playoff position.

“Players play, coaches coach and managers manage,” Sillinger said. “That’s their decision, and it’s really unfortunate. I’m not going to say a bad thing about anybody or the situation. My relationship with Ted was a good one. We had kind of a special year the first year together, and this last year was a terrible year. It’ always the coach’s fault, right? Someone always gets blamed.”

Although the 37-year-old center might see his role diminish somewhat as he fights to come back from hip surgery, Sillinger said the Islanders can use an injection of youth. “I still think we have the foundation of our team, we have good core guys,” Sillinger said of the veteran leaders. “Now what you need is the young guys to step up and play big roles, play on the power play, play in important situations, play on the top lines. I think we have some young guys that are capable of doing that.”

Goaltender Rick DiPietro emphasized that same theme, saying, “You need to develop your talent in-house and have good drafts, and you need young players to step up and play big roles on your team. You see teams that have been successful, and they have a great young nucleus and some veteran guys around to lead. We’re making good steps to get to that point. We have some exciting guys coming up with Kyle [Okposo] and Blake Comeau, and Jeff Tambellini will get a chance to step in and play a big role on this team.”

DiPietro was among the players who had an edgy relationship with Nolan, who benched the goaltender for a key Rangers game in early March and sometimes indicated a lack of faith in the franchise player. At the same time, DiPietro often expressed a desire for the Isles to play a tighter, more basic defense than the system Nolan used.

“I’m sure anyone will agree that, when we were successful, we played smart, defensive hockey,” DiPietro said. “When we play against New Jersey, we’re world-beaters. We get away from that, and things didn’t go well. The less we went in the penalty box, the better we played defensively, and the more simple we played, the better the result was.”

That was part of the reason Snow wanted Nolan out. The Isles were one of the few teams in the league playing a 1-3-1 system, if not the only one. In that setup, one defenseman mirrors the opposing center in the Isles’ zone, placing more responsibility on the wingers to stay on their man coming back.

“For it to work, everyone had to be on the same page,” defenseman Brendan Witt said. “I don’t think it was a hard system to pick up on. As a winger, you had to be very responsible, more than in any other system definitely.”

In Snow’s view, that style of defense is more suited to a team like Stanley Cup champion Detroit, which has an explosive offense and the ability to play a more wide-open game. But the Isles were more effective when they played similar to the Devils’ conservative style.

Still, Witt acknowledged the Islanders were successful playing the same 1-3-1 system in Nolan’s first season. Despite the apparent strains between the coach and general manager, Witt expected to see Nolan behind the bench at least at the beginning of the coming season.

“I was shocked,” Witt said of the coach’s departure. “I didn’t even know there were bad feelings still. That is part of the business, but I would have thought he’d be coaching us this year. If we started bad or struggled, then, management would have decided to do what most managements do when you’re struggling early in the year.”

But Snow decided to act before the Islanders reached that point. And so, they move on.

Nolan quickly gained popularity with Islanders fans in his first season when his motivational touch and hard-working style of play produced an eighth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth by a team most experts picked to finish near the bottom of the NHL. But last season’s playoff hopes faded because of injuries and a series of distracting internal disputes between Nolan and Snow, and several key players apparently lost faith in the coach’s methods.

The rift between Nolan and the organization became apparent last spring after his request for a contract extension before the final year of his three-year contract was denied by owner Charles Wang. When Snow became convinced that Nolan did not share his belief in rebuilding by emphasizing the development of the organization’s young prospects, he made the decision to end the power struggle and seek a partnership with a coach of his own choosing.

Describing the reasons for making a coaching change, Snow said, “There were philosophical differences between Ted and myself. Since last season and continuing into the summer, I have realized we don’t share the same philosophies. I’d like to thank Ted for his two years with the team and wish him the best.”

Asked why it took three months since the end of the season reach this conclusion, Snow said, “That’s a fair question. This has been a difficult decision for both Ted and myself, especially for me because of Charles Wang’s desire to give Ted the opportunity to coach in the NHL and because of his loyalty to those he hires.

“I understand there could be some criticism, and if there is, it can fall on me. What I can tell you is there was a process. I spoke with Ted regularly following the season and when the draft and free agency ended. Our strong belief about our philosophical differences led me to believe, and Ted as well, that we needed to part ways. I know this decision will be best for not only the team and our fans, but for Ted as well.”

No successor is in place, but Snow said he plans to begin a search for a replacement “as soon as possible.” Three logical candidates who figure to be on the list include Paul Maurice, John Tortorella and Bob Hartley. Those three were fired last season by Toronto, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, respectively. There is a strong connection between Snow and Hartley, who once coached the Isles’ GM.

Former Islanders stars Bryan Trottier, who is now executive director of player development, and Butch Goring, who is a part-time television commentator, are not expected to join the list of candidates, and neither is Jack Capuano, who coaches the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.

Nolan, who compiled a two-season record of 75-68-21, must be paid for the final year of his contract, which is believed to be in the vicinity of $600,000 per year. In a statement released by the Islanders, Nolan said: “While I am disappointed I will not be coaching the Islanders next season, there have been philosophical differences and we’ve agreed it’s a good time for me to move on. I want to thank the Islanders organization for giving me a chance to coach in the NHL again.”

It was Wang who hired Nolan two years ago in an earlier shakeup that saw former general manager Mike Milbury moved out of hockey operations to become vice-president of marketing. Nolan had been out of the NHL for nine seasons after a two-year coaching stint in Buffalo ended in a controversy that also cost Sabres GM John Muckler his job. Nolan, who is a member of Canada’s First Nation, expressed the belief that racial bias was partly to blame for his long absence from the league.

After hiring Nolan, Wang named former Rangers president Neil Smith as the Islanders’ GM. But after only 40 days on the job, Smith was fired because he resisted the management-by-committee approach favored by Wang, who replaced him with Snow, who was the Isles’ backup goaltender at the time.

In their first season working together, things seemed to go smoothly for Snow and Nolan. No one was more excited than Nolan when Snow pulled off the trade for Edmonton forward Ryan Smyth to help with the playoff drive, and no one was more disappointed than the coach when they lost Smyth and several other free agents last summer. But Nolan was heavily involved in all the personnel decisions when Snow signed free agents Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedetenko, Jonathan Sim and Andy Sutton a year ago.

As the season progressed, differences between Snow and Nolan became apparent. Nolan preferred to rely on tested veterans, while Snow privately urged him to give more playing time to such young players as Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Frans Nielsen. Snow also was concerned about the Isles’ 29th-ranked power play and Nolan’s refusal to give young players an opportunity and his insistence on playing forward Miroslav Satan at the point, where he committed several turnovers.

Nolan’s 1-3-1 defensive system in which one defenseman was designated to mirror the opposing center as he entered the Isles’ zone was another bone of contention. When Nolan finally changed the defensive system, and the injury-weakened Islanders shut down high-powered Pittsburgh in a 4-1 home win in late March, Snow took it as a sign that the Islanders should have been playing that way all along.

As the season deteriorated, the flare-ups between Snow and Nolan became more public. Snow second-guessed the coach’s decision to play backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz ahead of a healthy Rick DiPietro during a radio interview before a home game against the Rangers in early March. The coach carped about not being invited to the “Core of Four” dinner celebrating the Islanders’ Stanley Cup teams from 1980-83, which later was disputed by a team source.

The rift grew when Nolan raised the contract extension issue and then complained publicly about Snow’s characterization of his role in the decision to part with Dubielewicz in free agency. When it came time for the draft and free-agent signings this summer, Nolan was completely out of the decision-making loop.

The break was irretrievable, so, the divorce became final today.

Bergenheim is one of six restricted free agents on the Islanders’ roster. Forwards Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Jeremy Colliton and Ben Walter and defenseman Bruno Gervais also received qualifying offers. Those five have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to accept their offers or negotiate a deal before the offers come off the table.

Snow said on Friday he has deals beyond the qualifying offer on the table for Tambellini and Gervais and expected to hold talks with Nielsen’s agent. It’s anticipated that Colliton and Walter, both of whom spent the majority of last season with AHL Bridgeport, will accept their qualifying offers.

If an RFA is unsuccessful negotiating a contract and doesn’t accept his qualifying offer by the July 15 deadline, his only recourse is a holdout. Bergenheim used that tactic two years ago, and when he didn’t show up for the first day of training camp, the Islanders stuck to policy set by owner Charles Wang and refused to sign him the rest of the season. Bergenheim wound up playing in Russia and Sweden in 2006-07.

Bergenheim’s decision to exercise his one-time right to file for arbitration this summer, when he is coming off a modest year of 10 goals and 22 total points, caught some by surprise. He could have accepted the Islanders’ offer this year and waited until next summer to file for arbitration after having a chance to build on his statistics in the 2008-09 season.

Who knows? Maybe Bergenheim took a page from Alex Rodriguez’s playbook, albeit on a much smaller scale. As soon as Rodriguez fired agent Scott Boras, he was able to reach a deal with the Yankees last winter. That pattern might well repeat itself for Bergenheim and the Isles.

ISLES FILES: Elsewhere on the negotiation front, Nashville forward Alexander Radulov, who has one year remaining as an RFA, reportedly agreed to return to Russia to play with Ufa in the new Russian Continental League (KHL). The agreement came two days after the announcement of an agreement between the NHL, KHL and other European leagues to respect each other’s contracts. The Islanders will be watching close to see what kind of precedent might be set because it could affect their dealings with Russian forward Kirill Petrov, one of their third-round picks in the recent draft…Asked if he has any interest in forward Ladislav Nagy or any other unrestricted free agents left on the market, Snow said he’s not inclined to sign anyone else at this time, but he did not rule it out as an option.

Petrov’s absence is more of a timing issue than anything. The lengthy process to obtain a U.S. visa and the fact that his club team, Ak Bars Kazan, opens training camp on Saturday prevented Petrov’s attendance this year. Denver University forward Rhett Rakhshani, University of Minnesota defenseman Aaron Ness and Swedish goaltender Stefan Ridderwall also will miss the camp.

Prior to the recent NHL draft, Petrov was the second-ranked European skater behind countryman Nikita Filatov, but the big winger lasted to the third round because of concerns over his contract status and the lack of a transfer agreement with the new Russian Continental League (known as the KHL in Russia). Negotiations between the NHL, KHL and several European leagues yesterday did not produce a transfer agreement, but each league agreed to respect the contracts currently in force.

The Islanders have been told by Petrov’s Ottawa-based agent that he has two years remaining on his deal, but in recent published comments and in conversations with the Islanders at the NHL scouting combine, Petrov indicated his desire to one day play in the NHL. “He told us in the interview that he wants to be an NHL player when we met him at the combine,” Islanders assistant general manager Ryan Jankowski said today. “We put a lot of stock into that, and it’s reassurance for us that, at some point, we’ll be able to get him over here to be an Islander.”

At this point, Petrov doesn’t speak a word of English, so, the Islanders are working strictly through his agent. They plan to monitor his play with AK Kazan throughout the season and expect to see him on the Russian team at the world junior championships in Ottawa. “That gives him some North American exposure there, and it gives us a chance to see him and meet with him at some point,” Jankowski said. “We’re not rushing into anything. We know it’s going to be a long process.

“The NHL and the Russian Federation have agreed to respect each other’s contracts. It’s no transfer agreement by any means, but at least there’s an agreement in place that we’re respecting each other’s contracts. It’s going to be more of a marathon than a sprint to get him over here, but what we do want to do is let him know how excited we are that he’s an Islander. Hopefully, now we can start the process to get him at least here for minicamp next summer.”

Ridderwall also had a scheduling conflict with the beginning of training camp for Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League. He’s expected to compete for the starting job. Jankowski said the absence of a transfer agreement means the Islanders have an extra year until next June 1 to sign Ridderwall or lose their rights to him. Rakhshani will be absent because of obligations to the University of Denver, and Ness, who was the Isles’ first pick in the second round in June, is completing his high school studies so he can attend the University of Minnesota in the fall. He began last school year as a junior but was asked by Gophers coach Don Lucia to accelerate his graduation to reach college a year early.

Watch this space for more information on rookie camp over the weekend.

Witt wondered, too, which is why the decision by general manager Garth Snow and owner Charles Wang to give him a two-year extension worth $6 million that will keep him on Long Island through the 2010-11 season is so meaningful. “I was surprised when they told me,” Witt said last night from his summer home in Florida. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ Most teams, the way they operate is they don’t make that decision until Christmas when they realize which direction the team is going, and they ask what you can get for them.

“Snowy has always complimented me on the way I play, the ‘warrior-type mentality.’ I appreciate that, and I appreciate Charles agreeing to do it, too. That shows a lot of loyalty, which you do not find in major league sports too often. It’s really nice. I’m honored. They didn’t have to do anything at all, but they chose to and that shows a lot of commitment to me.”

If nothing else, it shows that Islanders management has identified at least one strong leader in the locker room, and they understood the value of locking Witt up. Because he’s a defensive defenseman, Witt tends to fly a bit under the radar. With the exception of certain nights when he made life absolutely miserable for Rangers forward Jaromir Jagr, Witt generally lets the goal scorers and goaltender Rick DiPietro take the bows after wins.

But after the worst losses, alternate captain Witt often is the one who speaks for the team and puts the blame where it belongs. Behind closed doors, Witt is a powerful force, and over the past two seasons, Snow and Wang have come to understand his passion for winning and his commitment to the team very well indeed.

Thanks to a third-degree sprain of his right knee, Witt was forced to miss the final 11 games of the season and played only 59 total. But he has been working out since May, and he’s running again. “It’s good, it’s strong, back to normal,” Witt said.

Lately, he’s been following Snow’s offseason moves, and he’s pleased with the signing of offensive defenseman Mark Streit and veteran center Doug Weight. “We needed a power-play-type defenseman,” Witt said. “By getting Streit, who had a great year last year with Montreal, we’ll add that. To have him for five years shows the team’s commitment to getting a solid defenseman. Doug Weight adds another veteran to us, and he will be helping the younger kids develop.”

Asked where he thinks the Isles’ scoring will come from now that Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedetenko and Josef Vasicek have moved on as free agents, Witt said, “It’s going to be interesting to see young guys step into their roles and take advantage of situations. I think Kyle [Okposo] showed how well he could step in. Even though he was only with us for a month, he stepped in and made an impact. It’s interesting. Who knows? They may still be trying to add a couple pieces here or there. You never know what can happen from now to training camp.”

No, but you do know there will be plenty of rough spots, especially for such a young team. It’s good to know the Islanders have a leader in place who will set the example for toughness.

Witt already was under contract for next season at a salary of $3 million in the final season of a three-year deal worth $7.5 million. The new deal runs through the 2010-11 season. Injuries limited Witt to 59 games last season, and he missed the last 11 with a strained medial collateral ligament. When healthy, Witt might have been the Islanders’ most valuable player last season in his role defending against the top line of each opponent.

The bump in pay puts Witt on a par with Andy Sutton as the second-highest-paid defenseman on the team behind free-agent acquisition Mark Streit, who will receive $4.1 million per season to quarterback the power play.