The New York Islanders appear to be skating on thin ice.
Barclays Center, the team's home arena, is reportedly ill equipped to make it, at least by the NHL's standards.
1. NHL source: Floor piping system at Barclays Center in Brooklyn does not meet NHL standard requirements for ice-making.
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 22, 2016
2. Barclays has PVC piping. All other NHL rinks have steel pipes. PVC cannot maintain ideal temp of 21 degrees for NHL play.
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 22, 2016
A couple players were critical of ice conditions Friday, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday, with Cal Clutterbuck calling it "unplayable" and Johnny Boychuk describing it as "bouncy."
Switching from plastic pipes to steel would require shutting the arena down for an entire summer, something Staple believes there's almost zero chance of happening.
6. New Islanders owners want to fix the ice problem. Likely another big reason they are looking at other arena deals.
— Chris Botta (@ChrisBottaNHL) October 22, 2016
The Islanders can reportedly opt out of Barclays Center after the 2017-18 season, and the club was also eyeing different spots around New York in which to build a new arena as recently as July.
Here's to a cold winter in Brooklyn, for the Islanders' sake.
