Islanders Speculation with an NHL Source

While Garth Snow and the New York Islanders have been trying to change the image that the organization puts forth throughout the NHL, it has been quite a slow and elongated process. With the Milbury regime running the Islanders into the ground, and the struggle with the development of the Lighthouse Project, it is understandable to see how the Islanders were able to obtain such an image. On the playing front, we have been able to draft some quality players and bring some players into our system that have great potential, however, we still lack depth at several key positions in order to call ourselves a team with a bright future.

I begin the article this way because I was recently talking with several good NHL voices back and forth through email correspondence about the New York Islanders, and some changes that need to be made to the roster before the rebuild can truly be shown, and a positive image can be seen. This is what the first person I spoke with had to say:

“You know…Okposo, Tavares, Bailey, DiPietro, Streit…they are a good core, but the Islanders are still lacking in so many ways. The best defenseman in the system is Calvin de Haan, who has a lot of potential, but a lot to prove he was worth being number twelve overall. The best goaltender in the system is Koskinen, who is still a wildcard. They lack in wingers, or a true number one defenseman, so its hard to say the future is extremely bright. Plus, who is going to protect JT this year?”

While I always tend to defend Garth Snow and the New York Islanders, I found myself at a loss for words. This email was dead on, and it hurt tremendously to admit it, considering how highly the New York Islanders amp up everything within their control. While I do believe in the selection of Calvin de Haan, I am still quite skeptical as to how the Islanders are going to be filling out the rest of the roster, how they are planning on re-stocking the prospect pool to a point where it is considered better than bottom ten in the league, and how they can say they have a bright future. It was because of this, as always, that we began to discuss possible ways to improve a decent-at-best Islanders team.

I must warn you, the following is nothing more then SPECULATION. These are by no means rumors that I am hearing, or whispers from any sources around the league, and in fact, some have been denied by certain parties. This is, at best, fun hockey talk that I am hoping will only engage the minds of the readers here on New York Islanders Net. With that being said, here is a quick rundown of a few different ways the Islanders can improve drastically before the upcoming season, and for the future. These are not only my ideas, as one of them was brought to my attention by one of my several friends who emailed me. I hope they don’t seem to farfetched, as I do not believe they are. Enjoy!

Here we go:

Step 1: Contact Alex Tanguay. As an experienced and speedy left winger, he will bring a nice veteran presence to the Islanders line-up. Furthermore, he can pass with the best of them, and he is great on the power play. He fits in well with the Islanders plans, considering he is only 29 years of age. Fair contractual value: 4 year contract worth $4 million per year. It will lead him up to when he is 34 years old, and the Islanders will have had him during his prime. At that point, if things are going well, he can choose to resign with the Islanders.

Step 2: Maintain an eye on the Phil Kessel situation. If all continues as is, Garth Snow should try to sign Kessel to an offer sheet on or around September 10^th. This would put a tremendous amount of pressure on Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli to accept his salary and find a way of getting under the cap, or simply giving in and accepting picks from the New York Islanders. Keeping this in mind, we will say the Islanders were successful in landing Kessel for 6 years at approximately $4.5 - $5 million per year. The compensation would be a first, second, and third round pick in a weak 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Plus, the Islanders would still have Kessel as an RFA when he comes out of this contract, and he could be the first-line center that plays with Tavares, or he can move to wing and Tavares can move to center. Lastly, just to clarify, Kessel and Tavares would play wing this season with Doug Weight as the center, and then Weight will retire or be traded at the deadline.

Step 3: The Chicago Blackhawks have recently hired finance extraordinaire and “cap-ologist” Stan Bowman to be the general manager. His main goal: making sure that the Blackhawks are able to resign Toews, Kane, and Keith without encountering any cap issues. What does this mean for the Islanders? They have just what the Blackhawks want: a place to dump salary, a crease clearing defenseman for one year, and some prospects to fill up roster space at a cheap price. How it would work: The Islanders would trade Andy Sutton (1 year, $3 million remaining), Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau, and a late round pick in 2011 to the Blackhawks in exchange for high scoring winger Patrick Sharp and possibly a pick in 2010. This would clear the Islanders of empty space in Tambellini, and they would be bringing back the same amount of salary in Sharp, who is signed for three years at $3.9 million per year. He immediately becomes a top-6 forward that provides depth to our attack.

And lastly…

Step 4: The Islanders last question mark would be who is going to protect the young players, while still fitting in with the system. While we debated back and forth over Laraque or Godard, I felt Godard made more sense overall, considering his speed and ability to play decent minutes without being a liability. The point: the Islanders could trade possibly a 5^th Rd Pick in 2010, and possibly a 2^nd or 3^rd round pick in 2011 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Godard. If they wanted, the Isles could make it a package of Rechlicz and a 4th rounder in 2010, as this would allow the Penguins to have another enforcer in the system (for talking purposes, I will say this is the package). For the Islanders, this would fill a need that was of massive proportions, and that is protection of all the kids.

And yes, I know, these are four pretty big moves, but can you honestly tell me none of them are feasible?

What the Islanders gain: Alex Tanguay, Patrick Sharp, Eric Godard, and Phil Kessel

What the Islanders lose: Andy Sutton, Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau, Joel Rechlicz, 1^st Rd Pick in 2010, 2^nd Rd Pick in 2010, 3^rd Rd Pick in 2010, 4^th Rd Pick in 2010 and possibly another pick or prospect

Just remember, 2010 is said to be the weakest draft in twenty years, plus he following line-up will make you completely forget about who we lost:

New York Islanders 2009-2010 Opening Night Roster:

Kessel – Bailey – Sharp

Tanguay – Nielsen– Okposo

Tavares – Weight – Hunter

Godard – Park – Jackman

Witt – Martinek

Streit – Gervais

Meyer – Hillen

DiPietro

Roloson

That is a playoff caliber roster, if you ask me. Please let me know what you think of these kind of moves in the Comments section, or feel free to send me an email at IslesNet@Gmail.Com

Thanks,

Justin M.