SOURCE: GABORIK DEAL A LONGSHOT
Many reasons why Gabby-to-NYI doesn’t make sense
8:45 pm - When the NHL General Managers Meetings begin in Chicago on Thursday, expect Garth Snow to inquire about the availability of Minnesota all-star sniper Marian Gaborik. But according to one NHL source, the likelihood of a Gabby-to-the-Islanders deal is “about 1 in 100.” Consider:
Any trade for Gaborik would have to include a stipulation that the wing must agree to a contract extension with the Islanders. As a result, the Islanders would be in the awkward position of having key players in limbo while Gaborik holds all the cards in a contract negotiation expected to end in the $7-8 million per season range.
For the Wild, trade talks begin with U. of Minnesota product Kyle Okposo and the Islanders’ 2009 first round draft pick, unprotected. The last thing the Islanders need is the stress of thinking with every loss this season that they may have dealt away a top-10, maybe top-5 pick when they’re rebuilding. Actually, the last thing the Islanders need is to lose that selection.
Of course the Wild, still trying to contend, will not only want futures but an additional piece or two to help them this season. Someone like Trent Hunter, who at $2 mill a year would be a cost-effective power forward for Minnesota.
(Gaborik would be in the driver's seat - not on, uh, the throne - in any contract negotiation)
Then there’s the question of whether the great Gaborik is a no-question franchise stud who’ll only get better freed from the shackles of Jacques Lemaire’s system. Is the 26-year old Gaborik good enough to blow up a rebuilding plan? Off his zero goals in 6 games in a playoff opening round loss in April, can the Slovakian be declared a superstar without reservations?
Even with our view of Okposo as a B+, not A level prospect – a top-6 forward on a champion, no doubt, but not a perennial all-star – we do not make this deal. And if our source is as impeccable as he’s always been (yes, it’s a he), there isn’t a fit.
Legitimate trade discussions between the Islanders and Wild about Gaborik are not expected to have a long tail.
Do you trade a 2009 first-rounder, Okposo, plus, PLUS for Marian Gaborik? Do you view Gaborik as a franchise player the Islanders must go after? Comments!
57 Responses to SOURCE: GABORIK DEAL A LONGSHOT
Many reasons why Gabby-to-NYI doesn’t make sense
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DubieDubieDoo says:
Hell No!!!
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Mike from Queens says:
I seem to remember the last time we tried to pick up a huge talent but had no other legit talent to surround him with, it didn’t work out. During this time we fired our coach, who won a Cup a few years later, and have struggled to be less than mediocre ever since.
Forgive me. I’ll pass.
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BD says:
One player, despite great talent, will not suddenly make this team a playoff team (hello 2007-2008 Tampa). You can not do a deal of that proportion without having a playoff contender in place. Even Minaya of the Mets had to start with minor moves, and with all that hoopla with Beltran, it took homegrown talent with Wright and Reyes to make a real difference and be even in the mix. Same is true for the Isles. To make a deal, you need to have those pieces already in place to bloom…not simply deal those pieces for one player.
The math will simply not work.
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Chris TMC says:
Mike, I could SEE the chinstrap as I read your response. No thanks on this one… been there, tried that.
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Ryan says:
Four things I see untouchable in this organization right now: Okposo, Comeau, Baily and the First round pick, other then that everything is fair game. If they could somehow work out a deal not including the aforementioned pieces, then I would take Gaborik.
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325CPA says:
No way, Not another Smyth trade. The team needs quality depth and not 70 mil players.
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Strummer's Army says:
No way! Untouchables on this team are DiPietro, Okposo, Bailey, Comeu, Bergenheim, Josenu, Petrov.
I am not sold on Gaborik anyway.
The kind of guys we need are Milan Lucic from Boston.
Kevin Bieksa and Kesler from Van.
Boogard from Minn.
Shea Weber from Nash.
Big, tough, mean, very talented, hard hitting, fighting players.
THis team is too soft. I think there is talent enough on the team now except at center and on defense. There is no one to make any of the players safe. Look Buf kicked the crap out of the Islanders. I am not even sure the Isles saw it coming but the games with Buf is always nasty. SNow’s idiot plan was to call up toughness as needed but you never know when it is needed outside of the obvious.
Our guys got beat up. On the next face-off after the fights Peters punched our captain Bill Guerin in the back of the head and no one had the guts to do a damn thing about it.
Players need to feel safe and no Islander fan wants to watch their team get beat up.
Guys who need to be traded before the year is out are: Martinek, Geravis & Campolli (before they get hurt again) Meyer, Sillinger, Comrie, Hilbert etc.
Come on Snow for guys like Kesler, Bieksa, Weber, and Lucic and this is a much different and better team.
Signing Mark Parrish (I am sure a friend of Snow’s) is not exciting at all. It actually makes me question how committed ya’ll are to the youth movement.
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rb says:
Correct me if I’m wrong but if we hadn’t had Moron Milbury as GM couldn’t we have just PICKED Gaborik in the draft whil;e keeping Luongo? Boy, the mistakes just live on with Hempstead’s Village Idiot.
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"The Dissillusioned Brian" in VA says:
I can’t wait until we blow up the rebuilde by trading KO for Gaborik and then Gabs springs for Colorado. Snow says “We think we have a legit shot at the Cup in 2008-9. Especially, with a healthy DP. We are just 8 pts. out of 8th with 20 games left. We can rebuild next year.” July 1 2009… Gaborik signs with Colorado despite turning down a 10 yr 100 million contract; Snow says “It was the Coliseums fault.”
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ron says:
let’s just focus on the FA market next summer. as much as i would love to have gabby come to the island, i’d rather pass to get a few good talents signed.
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Jax says:
Giving up the potential #1 pick along wiht KO and more would for a injury prone player would be the worst thing this team could do. Which tells me this will get done. Can someone tell Snow the meetings in Hawaii and not Chicago…. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even want the GM at the winter meetings. How sad is that?
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HilbertSnipe says:
Strummer: you made me think about Petrov and I wanted to check how he was doing this season. He unfortunately has an injury and will be out two to three months and not playing with Akbar and quite possibly won’t be ready for the WJC… not sure if anyone knew about that. I know this is off topic… but anyways Say NO to Gaborik.
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ISLESFAN999 says:
Absolutley not, we do not need him… We need Tavares,,, wE ALSO NEED A FIGHTER id bring up fritz and play him every game. Also lets play the kids more and trade comrie and sign parrish>> TRADE PARRISH FOR A PICK OR A PROSPECT
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tifoso says:
Gaborik and/or Hossa would be a fit on this team next season or the season after depending on how this season and the re-build goes. Let’s save our picks, prospects and cap space until next summer and then throw it after the free agents (such as aforementioned Gab/Hossa). Who knows? If Okposo, Comeau, Bergenheim and Tambellini together can combine for the effort shown by Toews and Kane in Chicago last year, maybe Long Island could be the next exciting spot for free agents?
Anyway, don’t be so hard on Snow just for checking out all the avenues. It’s what a GM should do. Despite the Smyth trade (which I favored at that time) he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mad Mike.
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guerin13 says:
since okposo would have to be part of this deal, it’s not worth it. better to just hold on to what we have now and keep building up our prospect base. have you heard any trades that might happen chris?
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Way to scoope Logan and Botta on the Petrov injury HilbertSnipe. I had no idea.
Does anyone else think Petrov might be in America next season since Russia has pretty much blown up all internaional agreements?
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Walygz says:
No way do I do this deal. Period. And we can’t trade Parrish as he’s still a free agent available to any team in the league (signed a minor league deal).
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i meant trade comrie for a pick or prospect lol.. keep parrish and sign him and trade comrie to make room 4 him on the team!
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Adam M. says:
I have to wake up for an 8am class tomorrow, but ill get back to you all on this one…
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DanNOLA says:
For the love of God NO.
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James says:
Isles haven’t had a true star since Palffy. I think most fans have forgotten what it’s like to have a true gamebreaker. True, most of us identify better with the Claude LaPointes/Jason Blakes/Richard Parks of the NHL world, but I think this team needs an elite go-to guy.
Is Gaborik the answer? I think, no. He draws better comparisons to Yashin than he does to say, Turgeon. A bit of a contractual malcontent, and lets not forget his inability to stay healthy.
Neither was Smyth. He had a lot of heart, but he wasn’t THAT GUY who was going to net you 100 points.
This team needs that. THAT GUY, that franchise player this team has failed to draft (or hold onto–Lunogo, cough) since they drafted LaFontaine.
It’s why I suppose it shouldn’t be said but I’d be happy to have to choose between Hedman and Tavares come June….
Sigh.
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kevin says:
untouchables for us: next year1st and okposo. bergie and comeu are touchable but are fan favorites. just try and sign him in hthe off season
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isles72 says:
no denying gabby’s talent but that nagging groin problem and moody personality turn me off
if we’re blowing our load on a marquee player I’d prefer it to be a stud center or d-man
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ny711ot says:
there should be no untouchables. that being said that asking price is way too high. frankly i would be willing to bet that when he goes he goes for either a 2nd rounder from a bottom half team or a first rounder from a top tier team.
and would i deal our 2nd and an impact player….? I think you would have to consider it. -
how about comrie, all the seconds for gabby. comrie can play wing so it fits. and maybe ben walter for a sweetener. then we get gabby and a 5th
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Dadi says:
I would like to see Okposo, Bailey, Figren, Petrov, Comeau & Joensuu in Isles’ uniform in 2-3 years time. We have Ricky,add this year #1 ( it will be 1-5 pick ),sign some UFA stud defenceman and that’s it…So please,please Garth, be patient…
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Doug F. says:
If you’re going to go after someone I would talk to Montreal about Higgins.
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dmarie says:
All these trade talks make me a nervous wreck!
As for Mark Parrish? always liked him, and if he wants to play hockey for the love of playing? good for him! glad to see him back, who knows? maybe doors will open for him. -
admin says:
If Snow gets Gaborik for a couple of second round picks and one player off his current roster, SI names him GM of the Year again. And Doug Risebrough loses his job…CB
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Darren says:
No.. stick to the plan!
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bCarey says:
They should’ve drafted Gaborik when they had the chance. Or Heatley. Which leads to the inevitable question, where would this team be with Dany Heatley/Marian Gaborik, Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo?
I like DP. He’s a fine goaltender. But to this point he isn’t a perennial Vezina contender.
And to this point the ramifications of that trade have made it impossible for him to live up to. Without that trade, do we trade for Yashin? Yashin = Chara and Spezza. Do we trade for Peca? Peca = Connolly and Pyatt.
Can anyone imagine a team with Luongo, Jokinen, Heatley (or Gaborik), Chara, Spezza, Connolly, and Pyatt?
I hope Snow drafts well the next few years.
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Hotstick says:
I love all of these brilliant G.M. wanna bees !!The way all of these Isles fans bash every G.m we ever had or have.If anyone person can tell if a player drafted is gonna be a great/good or terrible player in the NHL after the draft for sure,they would be a genius!Its always easier to judge someones moves years after they are made.All the Islander fans think they are so much smarter than our management people who have played,coached or scouted in the NHL as profesionals in the league !!Most people couldnt even tell u who Marion Gaborik was even after the draftyears ago but they will bash now that he is a very good player !!
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Alex O says:
Heck no we already tried that with Cashin and Pecca…..
Stop with the quick fixes, no great tems were ever bought they were grown (see old Isles, old Oilers, current Wings and current Penguins.)
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TuxTax says:
Alex O…Please reference the 94 Rangers
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randy boyd says:
His talent is unquestioned,and generally I would always rather trade for a proven NHL scorer than hope to pick one in a draft. The wild card here is his durability. I’m not certain that he has ever played an entire season, and his time off seems to be growing each year. We seem to have enough long term money tied up in glass slippers (sorry, DP, we love you but you worry all of us). Considering that variable, I think Okposo and the 1st is just too much of a gamble.
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Doug says:
Without a doubt you do not trade for Gab. I have suffered long enough floating with thisd team and im prepared to suffer in return for some prosperity down the road. To trade the players this organization hasd been boasting about would be a slap in the face to some of us suffering fans.
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Swan says:
Definitely make the trade, if Okposo and a 1st round pick are off the table and Marion is willing to sign an extension right away (obviously Min will have to be willing to give him at a discount). Everyone else on the Isles are available, DP and Bailey included. In fact, it may be a great way to get the DP contract to go away.
No team wins with out at least one stud who will get 35-40+ goals. Gabby is capable of that and no one on the current Isles team or in the system look capable of doing the same.
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mclovin21 says:
they always do the opposite of what i think they should do. so we’ll probably be seeing gaborik in an isles uniform soon after they trade okposo, bailey and the first rounder for him.
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UIF says:
Swan – Maybe you can talk them into taking either Okposo or the first rounder off the table on a really good day, but probably not both. No one else on the Islanders is even in the same ballpark as far as trade value.
There will be other superstars available via trade or free agency…they’d be smart to sit this one out until they have more trade chips and maybe a better idea of what this team’s supposed to be about.
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The 94 Rangers also went on to not be the contenders they though of themselves as after that. In order to maintain long term success as a contender (like the Current Wings) you need to build from the draft and add free agents as you need them. also if you draft and develop players you can use your surplus to trade for pieces to the puzzle. As much as we hate the Rag$ they did have Leetch and Richter who were home grown and did trade Amonte for pieces to their cup winning team.
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Chris,
maybe i’m way off base here, but are you trying to talk wang/snow out of making this trade? i just found it interesting to see you making the case for not adding gaborik. -
Mclovin: That’s not my job, and I doubt Garth would start listening to me now anyway. I reported a solid source saying it was a longshot. I also gave my opinion that it’s not a deal I’d do. If I don’t write stuff like this, what is it you expect from this blog? CB
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Jislander7 says:
Why would you trade for him? Just try and sign him in the off season. I say go after to of the three big name guys Gaborik/Hossa/Havlat and offer them the moon 7 years 56 mil each. Not that much for Havlat but I’d do that for Gaborik and Hossa
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CB: if Logan has seen the new helmet, why can’t PB do some recon and get some photos up?
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nautika says:
First, Gaborik is as healthy as martinek when it comes to injuries (negative)
He is holding out in Minny so KO, a first and something else is already way to much.
Whoever trades for Gaborak understands this. His trade value has dropped alot by those two factors.
Gaborak will hurt this franchise.Think of it as Yashin 2.0
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some fans need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid.
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To me, the only untouchables on this team are Okposo, Bergenheim, and maybe Hunter. I would even be willing to part with this year’s soon-to-be top 5 draft pick to get Gaborik if he comes here and SIGNS A CONTRACT EXTENSION FIRST. The fact of the matter is that there is less risk in taking a proven 40-goal player than taking a chance on a draft pick that won’t play for 2 more years. I know, I know, Rome wasn’t built in a day – Plus, we don’t have the playmaking center to maximize what we could potentially get out of Gabs. BUT…it would put a young & talented GOAL SCORER into our line-up for years to come, and that playmaking center could be picked up in FA in the offseason. We could even toss Sutton into the package (although I’m a fan of his play) and I would be able to live with it.
NOW — after saying all that, I probably wouldn’t do the trade if it involved more than one first rounder. I know you can’t get something for nothing, but we have to hedge our bets around here with the way things have been going.
When it comes to trade it’s always going to be risk vs. reward…I liked the Smyth trade when it happened but hindsight is always 20/20…If he stayed here, He would be Captain, we would probably still have gotten Guerin and Comrie in the Offseason and our team would be more competative. Alas, we are now in a rebuild and Garth is going to really have a chance to prove he is savvy.
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Rich says:
Guys UFA’s with any choice DO NOT sign here. Kyle O untouchable? Are you kidding me? We have no untouchables besides DP. And if we could get a quality goaltender he would be removed from that list. The WILD would be misguided to make the trade for our 1st rounder and Kyle. Our drafts have been amazingly suspect and if we could lock up Gabs let’s do it. Essentially I agree with CB that Kyle is a B+ talent and GABS is proven. There is no way Isles have enough I don’t see Wild making the trade.
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Adam, .
Check out his injuries and tell me what you think. He was injured already this year.
Now is not the time to do this trade.
We still need to stock our system. and if signs an extension for 8 years we are screwed.
Some people are in dying need of us having a star player. Understandable but he is not it.
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Buhwheat says:
Nice to see Walter has replaced Colliton as “the sweetener” in Islander fans’ ridiculously lopsided trades, LOL! Get real with some of these proposals, guys.
I don’t want Gaborik regardless of his talent since that talent is of little value when he spends half of each season on IR. He’s like a richer man’s Martin Havlat.
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Jethro09 says:
I would never trade Okposo AND an UNPROTECTED 2009 first rounder for Gaborik. Not that Gaborik’s not worth it to the right team, its just too much for this team to give up right now. Just think, if Milbury didn’t trade Luongo AND Jokinen for Parrish and Kvasha, he could have drafted Gaborik and added him to Luongo and Jokinen. It would have been nice…
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Nautika,
I am aware of his injury history, but that’s exactly the type of thing that might lower the hefty sum it would cost to pluck him from Minn. Like many thing’s in life, and especially sports, it’s a gamble. Am I willing to take that gamble? My honest answer is maybe – I remain on the fence, I’d have to see how many chips are on the table first. But again, I’m not a GM, all of this talk is speculatory anyway. -
Jethro, see my post from earlier (#32). I couldn’t agree more. Personally, I would’ve preferred to have kept Luongo and drafted Heatley.
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To bCarey: The pain that comes with the memories of the 2000 draft. Trading away two all-stars for two guys that are not even in the NHL anymore is disgusting. Imagine having Luongo, Jokinen and Heatley instead of DP and … well, there’s no one else left from that trade (unless you count Tambellini, the only guy left in the organization after the Parrish trade). Its sickening. But I can’t see trading Okposo and an unprotected first rounder in ’09 for Gaborik. Too much to give up for this team, a team right in the middle of a re-build.
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no…the trade makes no sense. but i get real TO’d when i think about the possibilities this team BLEW in the past decade. and what did we get out of all the deals? 22 playoff games (6-16), six coaches, and a farm system that ranks in the bottom third of the league. YIKES.
not all is lost, though. i actually believe in garth snow.
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JH says:
Marion Gaborik is soon to be traded and I think there is a list of possible teams. Rangers, Hawks, Canadiens, and also Atlanta and Carolina. Many possibilities but Flyers is where I think he will be heading. My thoughts http://jib-sports-culture.blogspot.com/2008/11/marion-gaborik-on-move.html
Simple Answer…NO!