Garth Snow & Ted Nolan vs prospect development

New York Islander Fan Central | 4/18/2008 03:41:00 PM | | |
It's fair to write general mangers & coaches are not paid to develop prospects and perhaps take growing pains, they are paid to win hockey games which means some tough choices have to be made where veterans are used first and foremost.

After a while if your not winning with these players, that general manager or coach is going to find himself out of a job. Doug McLean found that out in Columbus and Alan Cohen in Florida is not shy about making changes either as his youth movement has not seen a playoff game in close to a decade.

Prospect movements fail too.

Very sobering thoughts for a franchise that has not won a playoff series since 1993.

Mike Milbury had a choice to make, he decided he was not going to be around to see his prospects unless he started winning so he cashed them in which saved his job and got the fans coming out to the games. He made the same choice when the Milstein ownership bought the club immediately trading for Trevor Linden as he did for Michael Peca.

Sooner or later Garth Snow and Ted Nolan have the same choice, we have already seen Garth Snow make a choice with Ryan Smyth along those lines.

There is no set formula for guaranteed success. One look at Florida and Colmubus should tell Islander fans that Blake Comeau, Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim, Kyle Okposo or whoever else from the draft picks could still be waiting to participate in a playoff game six years.

The Islanders are doing a lot of talking about the plan on paper and the prospects, one the general manager did not follow when he took a good gamble on the Ryan Smyth trade but seems to be willing to go all the way with it now. How much pressure will be on him to improve if his club does not win next season and the fans do not support a prospect movement?

Ted Nolan is a man without a contract beyond next season and no one is sure of Garth Snow's tenure beyond next season. Do they want to put their future job status in the hands of prospects, which the coach did not seem willing to do this season?

It's going to be very interesting when push comes to shove what philosophy will win out here and how it will effect how the general manager and coach make their decisions with limited tenure.