A Clarification on the Tanguay Situation

As you can tell, it has been quite the confusing day or two for Islanders fans in terms of the Alex Tanguay race. As of yesterday morning, there were about ten different opinions floating around the hockey blogosphere as to which teams were still in contact with Tanguay and his agent. I figured it would be an appropriate time to organize the thoughts on Tanguay, and provide a quick clarification as to what is transpiring. Here is a run-down of some of the better known reporters and what they said yesterday and today:

Hockey-Bums: Islanders, Predators, and Sabres

Spector's Hockey: Islanders, Predators, but definitely not the Avalanche, according to Adrian Dater (Remember, Spector does not create the rumors)

B.D. Galloff: Islanders, Sabres, and the Maple Leafs. (Take into account, B.D. has proven his sources to be loyal)

Greg Logan: No mention of other teams, but stated the Islanders aren't in it at all.

Chris Botta: Has not really mentioned much regarding Tanguay, just that he would like to see him sign with the Islanders.

Eklund: Islanders, Sabres, Maple Leafs, Predators, and Panthers (covers a tremendous amount of ground)

While my stature in the hockey blogosphere is nowhere near any of the aforementioned writers, I do feel that at this time it would be appropriate for me to utilize a friend of mine that is inside the Islanders organization. While he has only been there for a brief time, he has some pretty impressive connections already, and he swears by them. While I will not release his name for obvious reasons, I do promise that he has not let me down in the past. Through a text yesterday morning (Monday morning), he told me the following:

"Word is Tanguay could be an Isle, but I'm also hearing the hold up is that extra year and possibly that extra million...it could get ugly, and it would be sad if we lose him."

After checking out all the top Islanders-related articles throughout the day, it seems that the sentiment of the Islanders landing Tanguay has slowly shifted towards a negative perspective. Considering the change, I figured I would shoot my "source" another text and see what his take was today, nearly a day and a half after the last comment about it. His response:

"Not sure who, but from what I was told, another team entered the race with bigger pockets. I think Snow is gonna back down unless Tanguay really wants to be an Islander"

So there you have it. Take it for what it is worth, however, I must say that my friend has been a very reliable source up to this point. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out, however, I know I will be quite disappointed if the Islanders missed out on a quality player such as Tanguay because of another year.

Up Next: I am currently working on a pretty lengthy piece on Phil Kessel and why Garth Snow should keep an eye on the situation in Boston. If work is nice and slow tomorrow, it could be up by as early as noon. Also, be sure to check below for my fellow blogger Glen's take on the situation that occurred in Chicago earlier today.