No Respect

Pat Lafontaine, the one guy who kept the late-80s New York Islanders from becoming the present-day Islanders (i.e. ''a joke'')  any sooner, is now being written out of their 40-year history.

Read the story: it's both sad and frustrating.

The main reason seems to be because he disagreed with team owner Charles Wang over the dismissal of Neil Smith as GM, and the appointment to the position of Garth Snow, who was the team's back-up goalie at the time. But this is going over the line.

I mean, I've seen classless moves by sports organizations (hello Bob Gainey-era Montréal Canadiens), even saw the Habs treat hero Guy Lafleur like a second-class citizen after forcing him to retire only to see him re-emerge with rivals Québec Nordiques. But never did they insult their fans by leaving him out of their history, be it videos of his achievements or on the sacred Wall Of Fame in the locker room.

We're talking Hall OF Famer, still lives in the region and supports kids' organizations and team charity events... and to think he played his junior hockey in the Habs' backyard...