I am starting to see the usual snippets creep into some articles that the Islanders are well below the cap floor with plenty of room to add a big name free agent and that they may have problems signing players for the usual reasons.
Of course most of these articles do not list the correct reason and that's there are almost no available roster spots.
Teams with a lot of prospects/young players are going to have lower payrolls and operate near the floor. Sure we can talk about Vasicek's second line spot being open, we can talk about signing a first line center for big money and moving Comrie down to a second line spot but if you do this what about Walter, Nielsen, Colliton?
To sign a veteran (even a franchise player for eight million) means this team will have to dump another player/prospect to create a spot because the depth chart up front is packed even without Satan, Vasieck and Fedotenko.
You want a first line prime left wing (insert name) pick a left wing to go between Sim, Bergenheim, Tambellini and Comeau because there is simply no room.
You pick a Tambellini to go then our gm is doing exactly what folks used to hate Mike Milbury for.
Not sticking to a plan.
Even on the backline with Campoli-Gervais, Sutton-Witt, Meyer-Martinek and Jack Hillen/Dustin Kohn who do you want to kick off that group to sign a Wade Redden?
Trust me folks, if the fifth and sixth defenders were Drew Fata and Jamie Fraser there would be no question the move would be spend big money and go after a Wade Redden.
If it were a choice between Bates and Hilbert vs a top free agent that again would be different.
It is a numbers game but not the one many think.