Rick DiPietro was finally healthy, he was activated from injured reserve in August and, six weeks later, Lockout III began.
“It’s hard to even put into words how frustrating it is,” he said.
The oft-injured Islanders goaltender has had that kind of luck the last four years as health issues, from a torn groin to knee problems, a concussion and facial fractures, have ravaged a once-promising career.
He went to Germany during the lockout, playing with SC Riessersee of the German second division to stay in shape. Once the news broke Sunday, DiPietro, who has played in just 47 NHL games over the last four years, was basically banging on the doors of Ice Works, the Islanders’ practice facility.
The 32-year-old netminder, who is expected to split time in net with veteran Evgeni Nabokov, was one of five players in for a skate Monday and has been a fixture there the entire week.
“It’s like Christmas Eve every day,” he said, later adding: “This is as good as I’ve felt.”
Noticeably lighter, DiPietro is out to get back to the level he once was, when he earned the much-mocked, 15-year, $67.5 contract from owner Charles Wang. It’s not a coincidence the last time the Islanders reached the playoffs, in the 2006-07 season, it was also DiPietro’s last full season, in which he compiled a 32-19-9 mark and a .919 save percentage.
“I feel like I owe everyone, I feel like I owe myself,” he said. “There’s a lot of goals I set for myself personally that I’m looking to achieve.
“With all the negative things that have happened, it’s really given me an opportunity to sit back and really see how lucky and fortunate I am,” DiPietro said. “You go through these ups and downs, bumps in the road, they only make you stronger.”
DiPietro said he hopes that translates into on-ice success. He expects to return to form if he can stay healthy, obviously a huge if.
“I made a commitment to Charles and [general manager] Garth [Snow] that I was going to do everything in my power every single day to make sure that we were successful, that this organization was successful, and we would eventually win a Stanley Cup,” he said. “I don’t like to be a man that doesn’t stick to his word.”
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The NHL is days away from an abbreviated training camp beginning, but that doesn’t mean all of its problems are fixed, Islanders winger Kyle Okposo said.
“We’ve done damage to the game we’re not going to get back,” he said.
Okposo was referring to the lockout’s impact on the fans, who were again left without hockey, this time for three months. Okposo, who was involved with the negotiations, wouldn’t call it a victory for either side. He hopes each side finally has realized the error of its ways.
“We need to learn at some point, after three lockouts in the last 20 years, you have to start negotiations before the collective bargaining can expire,” he said.