Season Preview: NY Islanders
Major Additions: Josef Vasicek, Andy Sutton, Joey MacDonald, Mike Comrie, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jonathan Sim
Major Subtractions: Aaron Asham, Sean Hill, Ryan Smyth, Richard Zednik, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov, Jason Blake, Alexei Yashin
Analysis
Is it fair to judge a General Manager’s success purely after the final results are in? Garth Snow sure hopes not. Widely praised for prying Ryan Smyth away for a few middling prospects at the trade deadline last year (a move that surely contributed to his team squeaking into the post-season), Snow must now be looked at as the GM who parted ways with prospects to get a team loaded with impending UFA’s a few extra games, then couldn’t keep that core together.
The Islanders lost big in the early days of free agency and could only fine mid-to-low tier replacements. While players like Guerin and Comrie are consistent performers, they’re not consistent first line performers. Nor do they come without question marks - Comrie over his work ethic and Guerin over his age.
The departure of Yashin, while a long-term blessing, will hurt in the short term (and the lengthy cap hit of his buyout will haunt the team for years and years).
The departures of Poti, Zednik and Kozlov are more obviously and inarguably bad news for Islander fans. Not one of those three were adequately replaced, and suitable replacements from within are unlikely to say the least. The acquisition of Marc-Andre Bergeron was a very pleasent surprise that will at least soften the blow, however.
The Islanders will likely miss the playoffs this season. They’ve lost too much ground and the teams around them have improved too much for anyone to bank on otherwise. While Ted Nolan has done an admirable job with the pieces he’s been given, it’s unreasonable to expect him to work miracles - and that’s just what would be needed for this team to make the playoffs.