WILL THE ISLANDERS MOVE TO KC?

The recent announcement that the New York Islanders will take on the Los Angeles Kings in a preseason game in Kansas City certainly makes it seem like the Islanders are looking for a way out of New York. It's no secret that the team is struggling both on and off the ice, making a deal for the new arena that owner Charles Wang wants all the more unlikely.

Furthering the speculation, of course, is the fact that Kansas City has been looking for an NHL team for some time. The city made a big push for the Pittsburgh Penguins to make the move when the club was struggling to receive funding for a new rink of their own in 2007. KC opened the Sprint Center that same year, a $276 million NHL ready arena in downtown Kansas City. The city previously tried to lure the Nashville Predators out west as well, but the Preds ownership group elected to sign a new lease to remain in the Sommet Center instead.

New Yorkers certainly won't be broken up if the Islanders do pack up and leave town. The Isles rank dead last in attendance per game, drawing an average of 13, 566 a night. Part of the reason for that may be fact that the team is 12-28-4 and are last in the Eastern Conference. It may have something to do with the team's current arena as well. The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum opened in 1972 and has the smallest capacity in the NHL. The deteriorating building is considered obsolete compared to more modern hockey arenas and hasn't held up well throughout the years.

If Wang doesn't get the funding for a new arena, it's looking more and more likely that the team will pack up and leave town. By the time next September rolls around, the Isles preseason game against LA may be the team's first exhibition game in it's new permanent home.