Barclays Center and the Islanders are on thin ice, per report

The split between the New York Islanders and the Barclays Center appears closer than ever, if reports are to be believed.

Bloomberg writer Scott Soshnick reported on Monday that Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center owner Mikhail Prokhorov told potential investors that the facility isn’t counting on the Islanders bringing in any revenue after the 2018-19 season. Soshnick’s sources tell him that’s “a clear signal that the team won’t play there.”

The news isn’t surprising, since the Islanders’ move to Brooklyn hasn’t gone smoothly. They rank third-worst in the NHL in average attendance, and players have complained about the ice for two years.

The Islanders have played at Barclays Center since the 2015-16 season, when they left Nassau Coliseum after 43 years.

Barclays Center pays the Islanders $53.5 million per year to control business operations, but either the team or the arena can terminate the lease at any time. And once that happens, the Islanders can leave the following season. All signs indicate that a split would be neither acrimonious nor too drawn-out.

Bloomberg previously reported that the Islanders were working with the New York Mets to build a new arena next to Citi Field in Queens. As of now, there’s no timetable on when such an arena would either be approved, break ground, or be ready for use.