KANATA, Ont. – At the crossroads the Islanders stand, already halfway through their season and still with no clue if they are a good team or a ghastly one.

They have played more than half their schedule, and for a third straight season they’ve shown some good, some bad and a little too much ugly to be considered a lock for the playoffs.

In short, they have shown little development over that time, they have failed miserably at playing hard, consistent hockey and they are totally lacking in the chemistry, brotherhood and passion departments. They continue to be a divided group on the ice and in the locker room, and the spike between them has never been more evident.

Or perhaps the spike between captain Michael Peca and his teammates never has been easier to see than during the course of the first half. As recently as Tuesday’s loss at the Rangers, Peca was being cursed at by the opposition, mocked at the benches by Matt Barnaby, and once again, none of the Islanders stood up for their captain.

This has been a trend. In a loss at Columbus in late November, Peca was cross-checked to the ice by Blue Jackets enforcer Jody Shelley. Less than three feet away when Shelley was whistled for the penalty, Isles enforcer Eric Cairns stood by and did nothing in response. What’s up with that?

But don’t ask them about it, because you’ll get the same rehearsed and totally hollow remarks of how this is “the closest team” many of them have ever been on. If that were really the case, the Islanders could be a force.

However, going into last night’s game here against the Senators, the Isles were sitting ninth in the conference and were simply quaking in their skates at the thought that the No. 8 Rangers may just figure things out and dominate down the stretch.

Isles GM Mike Milbury, who conducted mid-season meetings with each of his players this week, continues to challenge their mettle and the Islanders’ idea of what a team really is, but the message may be falling on deaf ears.

As a result, the only real solution may be to trade Peca, the Isles’ second-highest paid player at $4.25 million this year. But with Alexei Yashin and Mark Parrish out with injuries until March, what would the Islanders be left with then?