The Mailbag 7-12-09

I apologize for being away from the site all weekend. It was a very nice weekend here on Long Island, and I made sure to take advantage of it to the fullest. While I was gone, I did receive a decent number of emails asking for some opinions on some things related to the Islanders, so I figured instead of answering each one individually; I would answer them through the blog so that everyone could gauge my opinion and where I stand. Here are four pretty good questions I was asked:

(PS - That is Mike Komisarek taking a beating from Brendan Witt. Kind of a relief he didn't sign here, huh? J/K...maybe)

1. Should the Islanders take a run at Nikolai Zherdev? – Dave Bass

With the signing of Ales Kotalik, the New York Rangers have indicated that they pretty much have little to no interest in bringing back Nikolai Zherdev, regardless of the outcome from the arbitrator. My opinion on this move: very, very poor thinking by Glen Sather. At 30 years old, Kotalik has reached his potential, and to be fair, it is nowhere near the potential that Zherdev has. Granted Zherdev is inconsistent (and yes, this can be confused with lazy), he still produces much more all-around than Kotalik. If you even want to question his defensive game, like they did two and three years ago, please look at his plus/minus from last season. At one point, he was leading the league in plus/minus, and he was finally playing sound defensive hockey.

As for the question, I do not believe it would be an appropriate time to take a run at Zherdev. At 24 years old, and with the speed and skill he has, he would be a great fit for the Islanders. Why then, do I feel that we shouldn’t take a run at him and we will not be taking a run at him? Simple, we do not want to give up anything for him. Remember, Zherdev is a restricted free agent, and therefore, he is New York Rangers’ property. If the Islanders were to sign him to an offer sheet, the Rangers could either match it, or let Zherdev come to the Islanders and receive proportional draft picks based on the salary. When is the last time the Islanders ever wanted to help the Rangers out?

2. You wrote your article about Alex Tanguay on Friday, and he is still available. Any idea why that may be, and if we should still want him? – Joe N.

According to several sources, Garth Snow is still maintaining a line of contact with Tanguay and his agent. Apparently, Tanguay is in no rush to get a contract done, and he is simply waiting to see how it all plays out not only with the Islanders, but with several other teams, as well. As for Snow, I believe that he has set a limit for what he wants to spend and for how long, and Tanguay and his agent are hoping for the Islanders to give him a little more.

As for other suitors, there are several. According to several media outlets and some sources, the Islanders, Coyotes, and Sabres are all still in contact with the Tanguay camp, and they are all hoping to see how it plays out. Should we still want him? Definitely! Just because two extra days have gone by doesn’t mean he has become less of a player. He is just playing the smart game and avoiding the craziness that ensues at noon on July 1^st. I still hold a strong opinion in favor of Tanguay coming to the Islanders. Here is to hoping it works out!

3. Out of the remaining free agents, besides obviously Tanguay, do you think the Islanders should pursue anyone? - Rob M.

Great question. Someone earlier in the week shot me an email asking if I felt the Islanders should bring in Todd Bertuzzi for some toughness and grit up front. My response: no way! He doesn’t make sense. If you can refer back to the Tanguay article, I listed several ideal factors that Garth Snow must take into account when considering signing a free agent player who will be joining a rebuilding team. Those key characteristics are very important, and I will stand by them regardless of the team who is in rebuild mode.

As for players who are left, there are few who could have a positive impact. Hockey-Bums (http://www.hockey-bums.com), another great up and coming hockey website with plenty of inside sources, learned that the Islanders were contacted by the Comrie camp to see if there was any interest. It doesn’t make sense to bring someone back who failed miserably in the system.

I believe that the Islanders should simply stick with pursuing Tanguay at the present moment, as he makes sense on so many levels, and he will not be a liability to the rebuild. As for other players, I can’t say anyone really sticks out in my mind. If you could give me some specific names, I would be more than glad to compare them to the characteristics I believe Snow is looking for in free agents.

4. Do you see any trades on the horizon for the Islanders? –Okposo21

If you are referring to the reports from HockeyBuzz that the Islanders are after Cheechoo, I still have my doubts. Eklund has his sources, but I am unsure about the Cheechoo rumor. Could it happen? Sure, it definitely could. Are the Islanders looking to be merely a place to dump salary? Not at all. In my opinion, the only way it works is if the Islanders are getting back a highly touted prospect with Cheechoo, or if San Jose coughs up some good picks. Are the Islanders simply going to take Cheechoo just for the sake of trying to incorporate him? Doubtful, as he has not been that great over the past few seasons. On the other hand, he could fit the system here, and I am no one to predict the future.

If I were trying to gauge an Islanders trading scenario, I would look for teams who are right at the cap, or above for that matter, and know that next summer is a big summer in terms of re-signing players. If you want a perfect example, look at Chicago. They are very close to the cap, and next year they are looking at re-signing their three best players: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith. To be fair, they will NOT let any of those three go, so they must look to trade in other areas. Perhaps the Islanders could send them Andy Sutton, a strong and big stay-at-home defenseman that Chicago sorely needs, with the Islanders taking back a player like Sharp or Versteeg. Obviously picks and possibly other prospects would need to be included in the deal, but this is the kind of deal we should be looking for, considering it makes long-term sense of the Islanders.

Don’t even get your hopes up about Heatley, either. Not happening, probably never even thought of.

I hope I was able to answer the question in the manner you wanted, if not, feel free to contact me. As always, comments and questions can be left in the comments section below, or emailed to me at IslesNet@Gmail.Com. Be sure to check back soon, as my fellow blogger, Glen, will be posting up some very good articles all week long. I hope you all had a great weekend!