The only thing truly worth noting from last season: It was so bad that Islanders GM Mike Milbury made dramatic moves the last two months to try and stem the losing tide that has left the team out of the postseason since 1994. Turmoil marked last season almost from the start -- which was 0-3-1 -- and the Isles eventually fired Butch Goring in March after a spiritless 6-0 loss to Tampa Bay. Overall, the Isles had the second-worst offense in the NHL and were 12-27-1-1 at home. Mariusz Czerkawski was a bright spot with 30 goals, and despite a minus-20, defenseman Roman Hamrlik remained an elite puckhandling defenseman, especially on the power play. After that, positives -- like wins -- were spotty at best.

	2000-01 by the numbers
	Record: 21-51-7-3, 52 points (30th overall, 15th East, 5th Atlantic) Man-games lost to injury: 362 (4th) Goals for: 185/2.26 (29th) Goals against: 268/3.27 (27th) Differential: -83 (30th overall) 20-goal scorers: Mariusz Czerkawski (30), Dave Scatchard (21) 50-point scorers: Czerkawski (62)

Looking at next season
It's a whole new environment on Long Island, with the sole exception being the continued need for a new arena. Milbury solidified his reputation as a management swashbuckler, first by hiring first-time NHL coach Peter Laviolette and then by acquiring centers Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca over the draft weekend. The Isles abandoned their youth movement with the trades, but the addition of a premier scoring center (Yashin) and an award-winning defensive forward (Peca) immediately changes the team's offensive makeup and its locker-room chemistry.

Of course, Peca and Yashin haven't signed contracts yet; however, Milbury has been adamant about wanting the entire team in training camp. To back up that claim, Milbury gave Czerkawski 7.8 million reasons to reconsider his trade demand, signing him to a three-year contract. One day later, Milbury signed Brad Isbister to a two-year deal. Czerkawski is an All-Star right wing with 65 goals the last two seasons, and Isbister is a big (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) and talented (40 goals in 115 games the last two seasons) left wing. Those signings ensure that Yashin and Peca won't have to win games entirely on their own. To further that notion, players like Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish need to elevate their production in order to balance the team's offense and keep opponents from keying on Yashin too much.

On defense, the Zdeno Chara era might be over, but there's some blue-line talent -- at least in the top four. The Isles picked up Adrian Aucoin from Tampa Bay, and his 367 games of NHL experience will help. Also, with his 15 power-play assists, Aucoin can ease Hamrlik's power-play burden. (In a wild anomaly, Aucoin scored 18 power-play goals in 1998-99 and he's never scored more than four in any other season before or since.) The problem on defense could be depth. Kenny Jonsson must rebound from a career-worst minus-22, and Eric Cairns needs to add more than a pure physical and pugilistic presence. The Isles would be thrilled if Ray Giroux -- returning from a year in Europe -- as well as Branislav Mezei or Evgeny Korolev become everyday players.

There is no doubt the 2001-02 Islanders will be more exciting and competitive. Having said that, no amount of change matters if the goalie doesn't stop the puck. Soft goals ruin momentum, as well as the confidence of a fragile team. The signing of journeyman Garth Snow likely signifies the Isles will begin the season with Rick DiPietro competing with Snow for the No. 1 goaltending job. The Isles would prefer DiPietro to grab the top spot, but Snow is there both as an insurance policy and as motivation for the 20-year-old netminder, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2000. In 19 starts last season, DiPietro won only three games, but the Islanders say his confidence remains high, especially after his experience at the World Championships.

In the end, the Islanders made headlines this offseason for bold and positive personnel moves, yet DiPietro's 3.78 GAA and .878 save percentage have to be markedly better if the Isles expect to be playing meaningful games next March. Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com and can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.