Islanders not interested in Niemi

There have been a couple of published reports recently linking Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Antti Niemi to the Islanders, but according to a well-placed source, they are not interested in the Finnish netminder.

Niemi is  an unrestricted free agent after Chicago walked away from his 2.75 arbitration award in early August.

The fact that the Isles are not interested in Niemi should be a sign that they are pleased with the progress of Rick DiPietro, who began skating earlier this month.

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In other Islanders news, the team is  in the process of formally extending invites for training camp in September. Should know if anyone accepts in the days leading up to Sept. 17...

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This doesn't count as Islanders news, but because  it involves Long Island hockey I'll throw it in anyway because it's for a good cause:

The PAL Hockey program is hosting a Walk-A-Thon to benefit the Guide Dog Foundation of Smithtown on Aug. 28 at The Rinx in Hauppauge...for more info go to palicehockey.com