When historians trace the moment the Islanders were resurrected, June 26, 2009, will stand as the watershed moment. It was on that night, in the city of Montreal and the Town Of Hempstead, that the organization drafted its 21st-century version of Mike Bossy in the person of John Tavares.

One player, no matter how great a junior player he was — and Tavares leaves the Ontario Hockey League as its all-time goal scorer with 215 in four seasons — can single-handedly lift a NHL team from the outhouse to the penthouse. The Islanders had the worst record in the league last season (26-47-9, 61 points). It followed that the Islanders were dead last in attendance (an average of 13,773 per game). The Islanders won’t be the worst team in the league in 2009-10, but don’t expect to see a playoff game at the Nassau Coliseum.

Goaltender: General Manager Garth Snow has, almost to a fault, long advocated building from within instead of spending wildly. For the most part, he has not strayed from that philosophy. During this past off-season, Snow spent smartly on free agent goaltenders Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. The ex-Oiler Roloson inked a two year, $2.5 million deal. Biron, who had plied his trade with division rival Philadelphia, signed a one year, $1.4 million contract. Both No. 1s, were brought in because of lingering questions about Rick DiPietro’s health. DiPietro, who is signed until 2021, missed all but five games last season. Should he not be ready to play the season opener against the Pens at the Coliseum on October 3, Scott Gordon has two legitimate NHL goaltenders that can. If DiPietro is healthy, he will have to opportunity to prove that he gives the Islanders the best chance to win night in and night out.

Defensemen: The Islanders didn’t do much right last year. The one thing they did right was sign Mark Streit to a five-year deal. In his first year in Uniondale, all Streit did was score 16 goals and 56 points (which led the team), finish plus-6 and represent the team at the All-Star Game. Streit averaged 25:13 of ice time (5:09 on the power play and 2:30 on the penalty kill) in 2008-09. It’s safe to assume that he will see the same minutes this season. After that, it’s a hodgepodge of middling veterans (Radek Martinek, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer); a physical veteran that is not a good fit for Gordon’s system in Brendan Witt; and youngsters in the forms of Bruno Gervais and Jack Hillen.

Forwards: Tavares will get the lion’s share of the fan, media and opponent attention. That’s what happens when you have soft hands and the ability to stickhandle in phone booth. However, the Isles should see increased scoring from Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey (possible linemates for Tavares) and power wing Trent Hunter. Doug Weight’s role will be to mentor Tavares and to play on the power play. As Tavares’ bodyguard, enforcer Tim Jackman will rumble with anyone who tries to take liberties with the franchise centerpiece. Jackman recorded 155 penalty minutes last year.

Prediction: For the first time in years, there is hope in Nassau County. The selection of Tavares gives hope to a fan base that had grown weary of watching a substandard product. Away from the rink, Town Of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Islanders owner Charles Wang seem like they are reaching common ground with the proposed Lighthouse Project, which includes updating the Coliseum and creating businesses in the surrounding parking lot. As we said earlier, the Islanders won’t be a playoff team, but they’ll be much improved. Expect them to finish 12th in the East.

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