Monthly Archives: June 2011
(Editor’s Note: A few minutes before the following story was published, Katie Strang of Newsday posted a more thorough piece with quotes from Garth Snow. The timing was purely coincidental, even if it is draft time. You’ll want to check out Katie’s story for on-the-record information).
4:30 pm: For the first time since the Collapse-and-Rebuild began in 2008, the Islanders are dangling their first round draft pick as trade bait. NHL sources have told Point Blank that general manager Garth Snow will listen to offers for the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft.
The team is determined to upgrade the current roster in order to make next year’s playoffs. Snow, chief deputy Doug Weight and owner Charles Wang have prioritized adding at least one productive and experienced forward capable of shifting the slow and steady rebuild into overdrive. If the right player is made available, the Islanders will not hesitate to relinquish their rights to draft a talented 18-year-old prospect on the draft floor in Minnesota on Friday night, June 24.
Flyers center/right wing Jeff Carter fits the profile in terms of age (26) and ability (he has averaged 38 goals over the last 3 seasons). However, his salary ($5.2 million cap hit), DiPietrovian term (he is signed for the next 11 years) and temperament (sometimes pouty) should rule him out. Carter does not seem like a player willing to be part of a struggling franchise’s solution.
There will, however, be other players available. The Islanders have said it’s a challenge getting Grade A unrestricted free agents to take their money. Therefore, trading for an established and accomplished player makes a lot of sense.
The Islanders are unwilling to trade any of their top prospects. Their young players failing to play well consistently currently have little trade value. The fifth overall pick, in a draft with a strong top ten featuring a balance of gifted forwards and defensemen, has immense value.
Cap-strapped NHL teams will be able to make their best offer, as long as their GMs do not demand the Islanders give up a No. 5 pick strictly for salary cap relief or overpaid players past their prime. If any teams are willing to offer equal value, the Islanders are listening.
Point Blank Take: Despite the Islanders’ best intentions to move up the pace of the rebuild (and spend more money) this summer, it will be a challenge for Snow to find a dance partner willing to pay a fair price for the fifth overall pick. There’s always the chance of Snow moving down in the first round for a lower pick and a key veteran. But in the most likely scenario, the Islanders will step up to the podium after the New Jersey Devils make their selection at 4 and take the player highest on their board.
As we wrote on June 5:
The NHL scouting combine over, look for the Islanders to have meetings between now and the draft with the following top-10 draft prospects, among others: Jonathan Huberdeau (gone before 5), Gabriel Landeskog (same), Adam Larsson (maybe not), Ryan Strome, Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Murphy, Sean Couturier, Sven Bartschi and – per the AP – Mika Zibanejad.
For the Islanders to forfeit their chance to take one player from this impressive group, the trade acquisition had better be something special. Snow is smart to dangle the pick, but it’s a long shot that he’ll find what he’s looking for prior to the first round of the draft. He’ll probably have to reel in the big fish another day.
Comments.
This is the first of four short segments that will be posted this week. Brian Compton, the SNY crew and I hope you enjoy. Comments on the subjects discussed are welcomed.
Before boarding a plane to visit the Islanders, the super-skilled Niagara IceDogs center spoke to Point Blank about the scouting combine, working out with John Tavares, his plan to add strength, his upcoming meeting and more.
11:30 am: Here’s the latest on the Islanders’ close-knit family of fighters.
“Brother” Trevor Gillies will be back in the Islanders organization for the 2011-12 season. You do not have to be connected like Bob McKenzie to know Gillies’ signing is inevitable. Trevor will be at the Islanders’ NHL Draft Party and the club will have a “Gillies ‘Stache Station.” Of course, a team does not do something like this and then tell a player before July 1 that they’re not interested in bringing him back.
Gillies is loved by management. He will likely receive another two-way contract (like last spring). Since he could pass through waivers easily and be sent to Bridgeport, the enforcer gives Garth Snow excellent roster flexibility. He is respected by his teammates and he wins the majority of his fights at the NHL and AHL levels. In the eyes of Snow, Trevor Gillies is a keeper.
“Cousin” Micheal Haley is also scheduled to attend the club’s Draft Party. He could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and it’s hard to believe the Islanders would give the fourth-liner a one-way contract after playing just 29 NHL games.
In the most likely scenario, he will receive a bump from the $50,000 he made last year playing in the AHL on his next two-way contract. The Islanders like Haley and the feeling is mutual. He may not want to consider taking his chances by shopping his services on July 1, when he would certainly receive offers, but all of the two-way variety. Looks like Haley is staying. You could see announcements on Gillies and Haley in the next two or three weeks.
As Point Blank has written since the excitement of Ferocious Friday, barring a change of heart from management, it doesn’t appear Zenon Konopka will be back for a second season with the Islanders. If the club would have received offers better than fourth round picks at this year’s trade deadline, Konopka would have been gone sooner. As of this morning, there still had yet to be any negotiations for a new contract.
If Konopka wants to make really big bucks, he could sign with a team in the KHL as soon as he is officially free on July 1. But his preference is to play in the NHL. His prowess at the faceoff dot – Jack Capuano even had him take offensive draws in key situations last season – leadership, willingness to play hurt and desire to stand up for teammates will net him NHL offers on July 1 if the Islanders do not have a last-second change of mind. Konopka, the prodigal son, wants to stay.
Brian Compton and I are taping segments later at SNY. Please include name and hometown. Ask one question about the Islanders in 100 words or less. Make sure your Q hasn’t already been asked in the thread. That’s all. Thanks!
Does he expect Niederreiter back with the Winterhawks? Could Bartschi be compatible with Nino on a line with the Swiss Olympic team and, oh maybe, the Islanders? This and more with the GM and head coach of Portland. Comments on these topics only are invited.
(Editor’s Note: Point Blank was CCed on this letter from reader Joe Mazzotta on behalf of his family to the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. NIFA, which must approve all expenditures by Nassau County over $50,000, will have a lot to say (positively or negatively) about the Aug. 1 public referendum and Charles Wang’s deal with Nassau for a new Coliseum and surrounding property. With Joe’s permission, I’m sharing his letter. Point Blank welcomes all viewpoints on this issue. If you would like yours to be considered for posting, please email it to cb@islanderspointblank.com. Thank you…CB)
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Dear NIFA,
I am writing on behalf of many friends and family members who are fully behind the development plans recently proposed for the Coliseum site. We feel the referendum should proceed on August 1st as planned and that all that is possible to fast-track development should be accomplished.
The lack of development on this site is a failure of our political process for 50 years to the detriment of all Nassau residents. We have missed opportunities to create a vibrant Hub that we can all be proud of and that would dramatically improve our quality of life. At this juncture we feel that all must be done to work out a private-public partnership for development of this site. The site would become a magnet for further economic development and will help to restore Nassau County’s financial health and civic pride.
Kate Murray’s failure and blocking of a fully private investment in site development should not allow the current plans to be delayed or halted. If they are, we believe it will have devastating long-term effects on Nassau County as a region, diminish our stature and render the entire area as one in decay.
The potential loss of the New York Islanders would be a devastating blow to Nassau County’s stature. The notoriety that a professional sports franchise brings to a region opens doors to investment opportunities that would be non-existent otherwise. It goes way beyond the cash exchanged in the arena and local hotels and restaurants. The New York Islanders in their heyday gave Long Island its identity locally, nationally and internationally. Charles Wang has the organization on that path again.
We cannot allow the Hub to remain the void it has been. Political failure after failure have been common in the Hub including the placement of an incinerator in the heart of the county. Even more outrageous is the preservation of countless acres of potentially tax-generating real estate that was designated as “prairie land preservation.” We can no longer allow this entire area in the Nassau Hub to be a wasteland.
We implore you to do all in your power to move Nassau County forward and approve the plans for the Coliseum site in an expeditious manner. We cannot allow Kate Murray’s failure to become Nassau County’s failure for generations to come. We are fully behind County Executive Mangano and Charles Wang. Again, we ask for your expeditious approval of the Coliseum site plans.
Thank you for taking the time to understand.
On behalf of Nassau Friends and Family*,
(*most of us have been Nassau Residents for over 50 years)
Joe & Jeannie Mazzotta
Farmingdale, Town of Oyster Bay
Nassau County, Long Island, NY
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Comments on this letter and the Coliseum debate are welcomed.
