Weight not happy with officiating

Injured captain Doug Weight said his time behind the Islanders' bench at the end of the season was eye-opening, and not just because of the player-coach role reversal.

With a firsthand glimpse of what the coaches deal with on a nightly basis, Weight said he was very upset with the officiating. "We know it's not a crooked league, but the point is there is a bias," said the 40-year-old veteran, who was limited to 18 games this season because of a back injury.

Weight believes the Islanders' relative inexperience and spot in the standings were factors in the unfair treatment. "It was pretty evident that the games in [the officials'] minds weren't important to us," said Weight, who spent four games behind the bench.

Weight thought the Islanders' involvement in February's Friday Night FightFest against the Penguins at Nassau Coliseum two months ago was held against them.

During that 9-3 rout of the Penguins on Feb. 11, the two teams totaled a franchise record-setting 346 penalty minutes, 11 game misconducts and 15 fighting majors. Trevor Gillies and Matt Martin received suspensions and the Islanders were levied a $100,000 fine.

"I just wanted to say that it wasn't warranted," Weight said of the treatment the Islanders received as a result of that game. "We played hard all year, had a couple of physical battles and it got blown out of proportion."

Weight said he will take the next three to five weeks to mull his plans but is still leaning toward retirement.

International Isles

Goaltender Al Montoya will play for Team USA in this month's World Championships in Slovakia. Defenseman Radek Martinek will play for Czech Republic and John Tavares plans to represent Team Canada for the second straight year. Michael Grabner (Austria), Frans Nielsen (Denmark), Jack Hillen (USA) and Kyle Okposo (USA) are forgoing the tournament.