Yet Another Departure... This Time From the Press Box

After four seasons of color announcing for the Islanders broadcast, Billy Jaffe has been shown the door by the organization. (Source: Islanders Point Blank) Exactly why, no one can tell for sure.

This is a bit of a surprise, and more than a little saddening, seeing as for four out of my five years watching Islanders hockey, I've learned more from Billy than from anyone else. His broadcasts with Howie Rose were often my favorite part of the game, and made it a great experience no matter what the score was. No matter how badly we lost, he always remained positive and gave us something to end the night with, and him not being next to Howie at the start of next season is extremely disheartening, especially since I (being a bit biased) and many other fans could call this duo the best broadcasting pair in the Metro area. Not only that, but Billy made himself available for plenty of events including draft parties, and seemed like a classy, all-around good guy.

No word yet on who's coming to replace him, but I do know this: Billy, you will definitely be missed. Best of luck in your future endeavors.