Snow's Chance To Prove Here He's Not Milbury

New York Islander Fan Central | 4/15/2009 08:55:00 AM | | | |
Seventy Days of Waiting for General Manager Garth Snow to select.

This pick will determine Garth Snow's legacy as New York Islander General Manager.

When it's all over we will get a lot of answers as to whether Charles Wang picked the right general manager, someone who is absolutely interested in building a team through the draft with top level prospects when available.

Sit back, relax and take a nap because about seventy days of twists and turns with a ton of articles how the Islanders may/may not, could/could not, would/would not trade their top overall pick are coming before the Isles staff hits that stage come late June.

Get ready for a lot more articles about the late nineties, a ton of misleading ones and few Steve Simmons shots for a lot of fans who in the end will see this as the crossroads as to whether things have really changed in the front office.

Those fans would be correct in my estimation, this is the crossroads and what Snow will be remembered for.

I understand where Garth Snow is coming from even if I disagree and liked what Tampa did a year ago by outright saying they were drafting Steve Stamkos (and that was done without a gm in place) but what if John Tavares or Victor Hedman did get hurt before the draft or their agents had contract demands so extreme it was meant to drive management to select someone else?

What Tampa did last year was unconventional and given how their ownership/management did not have a gm/coach in place (or present) for the draft that is not a template to follow.

John Tavares and Victor Hedman both have said the right things, Tavares for longer about the Islanders.

I understand there is a rookie cap but after Tavares agent recent comments that was not a good thing for Garth Snow or the Islanders.

Do I see a trade here short of Ovechkin or Crosby that mandates trading this pick?
No.

What soon to be veteran expiring contact (Ilya Kovalchuk) for a franchise pick is worth trading a good six-seven years of a franchise changing prospect on and off the ice?

I would not mind Vincent LeCavalier in an Islander uniform but he's not a bargain contract at eighty plus million for the next decade and he's coming off injuries, if Tampa cannot afford to keep him, I would make a package but that pick cannot be part of it. Maybe a future number one can be for a player like that with even some of the Isles youth but right now I would not trade Okposo or Bailey for Vinnie LeCavalier.

Thanks but no Thanks.

I understand last year Cliff Fletcher got the Isles number five pick and it did not come cheap. What does Brian Burke have anywhere in his system besides Luke Schenn who Garth Snow passed on a year ago that would make it even conceivable to trade this pick to the MapleLeafs for anything in their organization. Not even future number one selections from Toronto would be worth it for a franchise that has that kind of player ready to be selected right now for maybe a future top ten or lower but not likely a number one.

Is Burke's grand plan to sign Matt Gilroy and trade him to the Islanders as part of the package? We'll see if that's the case but you can bet Gilroy and his agent would not like that one bit.

Is Colorado ready to offer back Ryan Smyth with his huge contract (NTC) who is only getting older and somewhat less productive with a third overall pick which is not the right move?

Los Angeles Kings have a lot of good young talent, how long before some/most of them are heading for UFA?

It's time to be conventional, keep the pick and draft Tavares or Hedman and after that you can be as creative as you care to be with the other top picks. Anything short of that this is not the right general manager for this franchise or the right direction.

Seventy days of questions and waiting.

Bill Torrey took the consensus top pick in David Chyzowski a long time ago and was wrong, but it was the conventional strategy at the time and the correct one.

That's what this fan is looking for this general manager to do now, be conventional and play the percentages.

If Garth Snow drafts John Tavares or Victor Hedman and they turn out to be a bust, he still made the right call on draft day.

Just as Bill Torrey did at that time.

Espn: E.J Hradek's last line in this article says it all.



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