Due to the events that transpired this past weekend through NHL Free Agency, I think it is an appropriate time to review journalist Arthur Staple. Staple, a man now synonymous with New York Islanders hockey coverage, played his own role in the events of the last 48 hours around the National Hockey League.

Who is he?

Arthur Staple spent the last seven seasons as a beat writer for the Islanders at Newsday, where he also covered high school sports and the NFL. Staple joined The Athletic back in February of 2018 to continue his coverage of the team for the fledgling website’s New York branch. The site as a whole, with its hiring of many prominent hockey journalists like Staple, is beginning to gain a reputation for its quality hockey coverage.

His recent work

Taking it back to the weekend, it was clear the No. 1 player on the market heading into free agency in the 2018 off season would be John Tavares. Discussions and rumors involving Tavares circulated for well over a year as talk show hosts and journalists alike began to weigh in with their opinions of where the 27-year-old Isles captain would end up come July 1st. There was much hope from the Long Island faithful that Tavares would resign with the team despite a few less-than-appealing drawbacks involving goaltending and the team’s home arena.


However, as midnight came and went on June 30th and free agency loomed, it was beginning to become more and more likely that Tavares would be on the move. And it took 38 minutes into the opening of free agency at 12pm EST on July 1st for Staple to confirm the news Islanders fans dreaded to hear; John Tavares would no longer be a New York Islander:

Confirmed: the #Isles are out of the running for John Tavares. https://t.co/aoNlMHmixy — Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 1, 2018

Staple, who self-admittedly engages in heated debates with fans on twitter, seemed rather solemn in his own right on Sunday. It was clear the decision was weighing on him as well, even as he maintained his professional composure:


We joke around here a lot, #Isles fans, and I take my shots at many of you in jest. Not today. Go ahead and vent, here or in the comments @TheAthleticNYC. I’m sure it’s hard to feel good about your team when this happens. — Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) July 1, 2018

Standout Attributes

A quality that I enjoy about Staple is that he frequently appears in video clips with various media sources from local television to the NHL Network. Not all beat writers are comfortable getting in front of the camera, but Staple’s ability to interact with fans through different mediums of communication adds a layer of legitimacy to his already well-respected work.

While The Athletic is a new-era platform that requires a subscription to access its material, if you are someone that is interested in broadening your hockey knowledge, content from writers like Staple is worth the price of admission.


Edgy, well-spoken, and great at what he does, Arthur Staple is a beat writer every Islanders fan should have in their daily read. And if you’re not sure if you want to get a subscription to The Athletic, I will say now, as I mentioned above, there is no shortage of hockey content on the site. I plan on reviewing many of Staple’s coworkers in the future, and I have already done a book review on Craig Custance’s Behind the Bench a journalist who writes for The Athletic Detroit. That review can be found here.


While it may be a somber time for the New York Islanders, the team still has a lot to look forward to in the coming years. From the rise of young studs like Calder Trophy-winner Mathew Barzal, to the construction of a brand new arena at Belmont Park, things can only look up from here for an organization that knows what it takes to win in the National Hockey League.

Where to follow him

Arthur Staple can be found on twitter @StapeAthletic