Islanders Still Dream of a Healthy Rick DiPietro

Yesterday’s New York Post had a nice, long profile of New York Islander goalie Rick DiPietro. DiPietro is perhaps best known for signing a 15-year contract in 2006, putting together two very strong seasons, and then spending the next three seasons being perpetually injured. DiPietro is once again trying to get his career on track, to live up to the flashes of goaltending genius he’s shown over the years. DiPietro’s fate has always been intertwined with that of goalie Roberto Luongo, since after drafting DiPietro, the Islanders traded away Luongo. The thing of it is, DiPietro has never really lived up to his potential — at least at the NHL level. But that’s what makes him so attractive to fans. There’s always this idea that DiPietro will get healthy and be the goaltending savior the Islanders intended him to be. Conversely, the shine is decidedly off of Luongo after his brutal performance in the Stanley Cup finals. Canucks fans saw everything ...