Now that the players are all taken care of with the $87.5 million signing this week of Alexei Yashin, the Islanders have hired John Wiedeman to handle the club’s radio play-by-play this season.
Islander games will be aired on the mega-watt ESPN Radio (1050 AM) after moving from the weaker Sporting News Radio 620 AM signal which did not reach many fans in the Tri-State Area. ESPN Radio, which began broadcasting in the New York area last week, will challenge WFAN for part of the area’s coveted sports-talk market.
Wiedeman, 44, was the play-by-play man for the Flyers during their run to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals (Philly was swept by the Red Wings in four games). Since then, Wiedeman has spent the last four seasons as the voice of the IHL Cincinnati Cyclones, as well as serving as a backup announcer for both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Wiedeman succeeds Jim Cerny as the radio voice of the Isles.