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Islanders Reviewing GM Garth Snow

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After missing the playoffs this season by just a point, albeit in a year when they expected to be contenders, the Islanders have begun their off-season evaluations and must ask the tough questions if they want to improve in 2017-18. One of those questions is about the fate of GM Garth Snow. Snow, who has been on the job for over a decade now, made many moves this season that deserve some scrutiny. The firing of head coach Jack Capuano and promotion of Doug Weight seemed to work out; letting Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen (116 points combined in 2015-16) walk in free agency and replacing them with Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera (64 points in 2016-17) not so much. Snow’s job is safe for now, but the Islanders are doing their due diligence in reviewing the GM’s recent moves and plans for the future.

However, they are going about it in a strange way. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Islanders have been polling league executives to see how they think Snow has been doing. In theory, this is an interesting plan: hire and outside firm to get the opinions of peers across the league and avoid bias from within the organization. The execution is lacking, though. So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, despite some highly questionable moves. The reasoning behind this is relatively simple: What incentive does any rival executive have to be critical of Snow? If they think Snow is doing poorly, they can only benefit from the Islanders’ continued struggles while he is in charge and may even want to keep him in control of player operations in hopes of swindling him in a trade down the road.

This is clearly a flawed system and hopefully the Islanders are only taking this feedback with a grain of salt in evaluating Snow’s future. It would be a shame for Snow to lose (or keep) his job after all this time based on the faulty polling of competitors.

Eastern Notes: Yzerman, Tavares, Hellberg

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The Tampa Bay Lightning might be currently watching the playoffs rather than playing in them, but Steve Yzerman is already working on his offseason plans. The GM has said his top priority this season is to lock up three core restricted free agents in Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin, which is expected to be quite a challenge, considering how up against the salary cap the Lightning are this offseason.

Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith suggests Yzerman might have trouble signing all three of them and acquire a top-four defenseman they desperately need and acquire a goaltender they need at the same time. That doesn’t include Victor Hedman’s $7.875MM extension that kicks in (and almost doubles) next year and the future contract they will have to negotiate with Nikita Kucherov in two years, which is likely to be huge.

Yzerman successfully helped Tampa Bay’s cap situation at the trade deadline when he moved the contracts of Ben Bishop ($4.76MM), Brian Boyle ($2MM) and Valtteri Filppula ($5MM). While all three were important to the Lightning, getting their cap numbers off their books only increased their chances of resigning the trio of young stars.

The scribe writes the Lightning should focus their efforts on resigning both Palat and Johnson who are integral to the team’s success and even went on to suggest that the team should consider trading the 22-year old Drouin, who enjoyed a breakout campaign this year. The thought being that Drouin may have the most trade value of the three and might net them a nice haul right before the 2017 NHL draft.

Smith also suggested other possibilities including looking to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, which has heavily scouted Tampa Bay in the last couple of months, as an option to move a player like Johnson as there is a potential replacement for him in rookie Brayden Point.

All said and done, Yzerman has his work cut out for him this offseason.

Other notes:

  • The New York Islanders, also sitting home during the playoffs, need to focus their attention on re-signing star player John Tavares. The belief is that the Islanders naming Doug Weight the permanent coach was critical to get the 26-year old star to return. Weight, who served as interim coach since January, produced a successful second half for the Islanders as he posted the second-best NHL record during that time. Unfortunately, they fell short of reaching the playoffs, but it is believed that Weight’s return will only help in Tavares opting to return. Tavares, who led the team with 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, is in line for a potential 8-year, $100MM extension this summer. A free agent defection would be crippling to the Islanders’ franchise.
  • The New York Rangers have recalled goaltender Magnus Hellberg for Game 3 of their playoff game with the Canadiens today. He will serve only as an emergency backup as the Hartford Wolf Pack just finished their regular season.

 

New York Islanders Remove Interim Status From Doug Weight

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The New York Islanders have decided the strong finish to the season is enough to keep Doug Weight around for the immediate future, removing the interim status and announcing him as the full-time head coach going forward. When Weight took over from Jack Capuano midway through the season, the Islanders were just 17-17-8, a far cry from their 100 point season of the year prior. With Weight at the helm, they finished 41-29-12 and missed the playoffs by just a single point even with a John Tavares injury in the final week. Doug Weight

Weight, a long-time NHLer who finished his career with the Islanders, had 1033 career points in 1238 games and was a playmaking machine, once recording 79 assists in a season. His leadership will be welcomed for a team that has a superstar in his prime that is just a year away from free agency.

For Tavares, providing stability behind the bench and a home for the team are likely important factors in assessing his future with the club. Bob McKenzie of TSN thinks that the team is getting closer to a deal with the Belmont Park arena plans that were put in place months ago. Building a brand new arena for the Islanders would look attractive to any free agent, including one that would be heralded as the savior of a franchise should he stick around for the majority of his career. With an extension allowed to be announced no earlier than July 1st of this year, getting Weight locked in and a new building on the books would be a nice position of strength for New York.

Weight will look to drag the Islanders back to the postseason in 2017-18, after encouraging performances from their young core. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson all put up career-highs in points this season and will look to continue that success next year. Andrew Ladd, the big free agent signing of the offseason, started horribly but turned around his year with 15 of his 23 goals during Weight’s tenure.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Metropolitan Notes: Weight, Murray, Werenski, Sprong, Manning

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The Islanders will have several decisions to make at the end of the season, one that will likely see them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14.  One of those will be the future of interim head coach Doug Weight, who admitted to Newsday’s Neil Best that he hasn’t given much thought yet as to whether or not he even wants to return behind the bench next season.

New York has a 20-12-4 record with Weight behind the bench after he replaced Jack Capuano back on January 17th and the team has played their way back into the playoff discussion, even if they have just a slim chance at making it now.  However, the 46 year old is also their assistant GM and may prefer to go back to working full-time on the management side of the game.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray may not be ready to return to the lineup by the time the playoffs start, GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. Murray has been out since March 12th with a broken hand and the team was hopeful he’d be able to return with a month.  Columbus will also be without rookie blueliner Zach Werenski who is listed as day-to-day with a shoulder issue although the team doesn’t know at this point if he will be cleared to return by next week.
  • Despite a prolific regular season where he averaged better than a goal per game at the junior level, the Penguins do not plan to add prospect winger Daniel Sprong to their roster once his CHL postseason ends, reports Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Instead, the team plans to assign him to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once Charlottetown (QMJHL) is eliminated from the playoffs.  In the first round sweep, Sprong led the way with eight points.
  • After returning to the lineup a couple of weeks ago from an upper body injury, Flyers blueliner Brandon Manning is once again out with an upper body issue, notes CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall. He’s listed as day-to-day and joins Radko Gudas (upper body) on the sidelines.  His departure paves the way for Samuel Morin, who was recalled earlier today, to make his NHL debut.

Ryan Strome Out Indefinitely With Broken Wrist

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According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, the Islanders have received some bad news after their game last night. Ryan Strome has suffered a broken wrist and will be out for the rest of the season, if not the whole playoffs. Head coach Doug Weight had said last night that he would be out “this weekend and probably longer.” "<strong

Strome injured the wrist on a hit from Brady Skjei in the second period, on a play that didn’t look all that dangerous. The much maligned forward had been playing better of late, though was still in the midst of another disappointing season. His 13 goals and 30 points will be the season totals, still not realizing the full potential he showed in his sophomore season. That year, he had 50 points while playing as one of the Islanders’ best defensive forwards but has taken a step back in his development.

The Islanders would have to go on quite a deep playoff run to see him back in uniform this year, which seems like a long-shot given their current situation. Sitting two points back of the Boston Bruins for the final spot, the second wildcard team will have to go through whoever comes out on top of the Metropolitan Division in the first round before playing the winner of the other two. It’s a tough route for any team, let alone one losing a young forward like Strome.

In his place, Staple assumes that Shane Prince or Alan Quine will be inserted. While both are established enough to not miss a beat, it would be interesting to see the Islanders reach down to the minors and recall Michael Dal Colle from Bridgeport at some point. The former fifth-overall pick has yet to make his NHL debut, but has had a successful (if unspectacular) rookie season in professional hockey with 35 points in 63 games. He would definitely give the lineup another shot of youth alongside Josh Ho-Sang and Anthony Beauvillier, something they might thrive off of this late in the year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Islanders May Be Buyers At Deadline

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If Garth Snow had told the New York Islanders fans a couple of months ago that they might be buyers at the deadline, he’d likely be laughed out of the building. The early season struggles of the Islanders had people talking about their decisions to let Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo walk in the offseason, only to give a huge contract to Andrew Ladd. Through December 18th, the $38.5MM man had just seven points and looked like one of the biggest busts of the 2016 free agent class. The team was floundering near the bottom of the conference, and it looked like a lost season for the Islanders. Garth Snow

In the 20 games since, Ladd has 10 goals and 13 points, looking more like the consistent goal-scoring threat he has been throughout his career. The team has turned it around as well, and climbed right back into the East playoff race. At 62 points they’ve hopped over the Philadelphia Flyers and are just one behind the Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot.

That’s what has new head coach Doug Weight and Snow looking at possibly adding at the deadline instead of selling, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Weight—who is still an assistant GM after moving from the front office to the bench when the Isles fired Jack Capuano—especially seems to think they can do something, telling Staple “we’re in a position where we can really do something.”

Staple lists Patrick Sharp, Radim Vrbata and Martin Hanzal as rentals that could help the Islanders over the last third of the season and all three would be solid additions. Lacking secondary scoring after John Tavares and whoever he ends up playing with on a nightly basis, Sharp and Vrbata would add some ability on the wings. Hanzal, a much discussed target heading into the deadline, would solidify the center ice position and allow Casey Cizikas to move back down into a more familiar role.

Whether the Islanders decide to buy will likely depend on the next five games (one of which they’re losing 2-0 at the time of this writing) and where they sit when they shut down between February 26-March 1. If they can keep pace with the rest of the conference, they will likely decide that the window is now with Tavares and end up adding for the short or mid term. It seems unlikely that they would get into the Matt Duchene sweepstakes, but it is definitely a possibility. They do have a solid group of young defenders, the thing the Avalanche seem to covet most.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Candidates: Dennis Seidenberg

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

The Islanders may be 8-3-2 since they replaced head coach Jack Capuano with Doug Weight, but their early season struggles still have them in a hole in the pursuit of a playoff spot. The Islanders trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, still sit a point back of the Philadelphia Flyers as well and must make the most of their games in hand to catch the Boston Bruins. Their 7-1 loss to the Leafs last night doesn’t help the cause. The Islanders will surely take the rest of the month to decide if they are sellers, but if they do, Dennis Seidenberg is clearly a prime target. Seidenberg signed late in the off-season, September 28th to be exact, to an affordable, one-year deal and has provided the Islanders with more value than anyone could’ve anticipated. Should they swap him for a pick or prospect at the deadline, it would only make the deal that much better.

Contract

Seidenberg is on a one-year, $1MM deal and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. His cap hit will have been accumulated to around only $250K by the March 1st Trade Deadline.

2016-17

Though a fan favorite with the Boston Bruins, Seidenberg struggled in his final three seasons with the team. Between battling injuries and struggling to put up points, it seemed as though Seidenberg had hit a wall in his early 30s. When the Bruins decided to re-sign John-Michael Liles and not bring back Seidenberg, many felt it would be the end of his career. However after an impressive performance at the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe, the New York Islanders decided to give the veteran blue liner a shot. Their decision has paid off; Seidenberg is in the middle of his best season since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign and has been a key component in the Isles’ turnaround. At 34 years old, the German defender is on pace for what could be his best offensive year since the 2010-11 Cup-winning season in Boston. He also leads the Islanders with a whopping +18 rating, twice what the next man up, Casey Cizikas, has on the year. Seidenberg appears to be back to his old self, and his old self was one of the premiere shutdown defensemen in the NHL over the last decade.

Season Stats

48 GP: 4 goals, 13 assists, 17 points, +18 rating, 87 hits, 100 blocks, 19:34 ATOI

Suitors

If the Islanders choose to trade Seidenberg, that likely means that either they are struggling or the Boston Bruins are continuing their strong play under new head coach Bruce Cassidy. What better story for Seidenberg than a return to Boston for yet another playoff run. Many said this summer that Seidenberg felt he would either play for the Bruins or retire, as he wanted to remain in the city of Boston. While the Bruins have Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug on the left side, as well as the veteran Liles, they have been using right-shot defenseman Kevan Miller as the pair-mate of young Colin Miller, also a right-handed shot, and could stand to upgrade that slot. The Bruins have made it known that they are looking for another left-handed defenseman, and while their search may be more for a long-term replacement for Chara, they likely would not turn their back on a deal to bring back one of the most successful players in recent memory of Bruins hockey. That is, if it’s at the right price. With Liles likely a goner after this season, the Bruins may be more willing to acquire Seidenberg if they plan to give him another year as a veteran safety net on a defense that could lose a contributor in the Expansion Draft.

There certainly are teams with a greater need on defense though, and willing to pay higher prices as well. Atlantic contenders like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers are all in need of defensive depth. However there’s always the possibility that the Islanders refrain from trading Seidenberg within the division on the off chance that they keep pace in the postseason race following March 1st. The last thing that GM Garth Snow wants is for his diamond in the rough off-season addition to be a cause of the Islanders playoff elimination.

Out west, one team in desperate need of a veteran top six defenseman is the Los Angeles Kings. While the Kings would likely rather add a right-shot defenseman, those can be hard to find and Seidenberg presents a great option for the team regardless. Seidenberg has a history of playing on the right side, and would be a significant upgrade to Kevin Gravel on the bottom pair. Also, don’t be surprised if the Nashville Predators start sniffing around for a stay at home defensive defenseman like Seidenberg prior to the trade deadline. Although they have tremendous blue line depth, the Predators could use a player with Seidenberg’s two-way tendencies and defensive instincts. Seidenberg would fill out what would likely be the best six-man blue line group in hockey.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Seidenberg’s trade fate is obviously tied to the success of the Islanders. New York is battling just for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and assuming they have that space locked up on March 1st, even if they are currently in position then, is a precarious situation. If the Islanders want to hedge their bet on a postseason run, they may choose to trade Seidenberg, who could potentially earn them a good return. Meanwhile, Seidenberg is an  ideal trade candidate for a contenders due to his extensive postseason experience and performance history, his checking ability and strong two-way game, and of course a cap hit that will hardly make a dent. For all those reasons though, the Islanders could also choose to simply retain the big veteran. They don’t have a readily available option to step in as a replacement and they too face a very strong chance of losing a defenseman in the Expansion Draft and could seek to extend Seidenberg. For those reasons the probability of this deal will remain uncertain unless the next couple of weeks really paint a clear picture of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

5 Key Stories: 1/16/2017 – 1/22/2017

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As millions of American anxiously await to find out who will represent their respective conferences in Super Bowl LI, don’t forget to check in on all of the recent news and rumors involving the NFL on our sister site, Pro Football Rumors.

The action is starting to pick up in the NHL, though it’s still relatively quiet compared to what we expect next month. Here is a roundup of the five key stories from the week ending on 1/22/2017.

Islanders Dismiss Capuano – Sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the New York Islanders relieved head coach Jack Capuano of his duties this week and inserted AGM Doug Weight into the position on an interim basis. Capuano spent parts of seven campaigns behind the Islanders bench and guided the club to the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades just last season.

Claude Julien’s Job in Jeopardy? – With rumors circulating as to the job security of longtime bench boss Claude Julien, the Boston Bruins called a press conference to address the situation. While nothing definitive came out of it, the belief is that Julien will maintain his position at least through the season, barring a major late-season collapse.

Clarke MacArthur Will Not Play This Season – Veteran winger Clarke MacArthur, who has yet to appear in a game this season after suffering a concussion during training camp, has not progressed enough in his recovery and a return has been ruled out by Ottawa team doctors. This will represent what is essentially a second consecutive lost season for MacArthur, who only suited up for four contests a year ago due to yet another concussion. It’s also quite possible this is the end of the line for the 10-year veteran.

Hawks Interested In Tatar, Nyquist – In search of a top-six winger to slot next to Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly expressed interest in Detroit forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. The report contradicts the notion that the club would restrict its pursuit to rentals or players on ELC’s. The Hawks have a number of rather large commitments already on their books for 2017-18 but apparently they would still be willing to take on a player with control beyond the current campaign. Nyquist has two seasons left on his deal with an AAV of $4.75MM while Tatar will be a RFA this summer and likely in position for a raise on his $2.75MM cap charge.

Winnipeg Recalls Ondrej Pavelec – Desperate for consistently competent play between the pipes, the Winnipeg Jets recalled deposed started Ondrej Pavelec from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Jets decided had waived the veteran net minder just prior to the beginning of the campaign and assigned him to the minors when he went unclaimed. Now the team is hopeful he can provide the Jets with quality play and bolster their pursuit of a playoff berth.

What’s Next For The Islanders?

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In the midst of a disappointing 2016-17 campaign, the New York Islanders made a change behind the bench yesterday, relieving Jack Capuano of his duties and turning the team over to AGM Doug Weight on an interim basis. The team has also received permission from the Florida Panthers to speak with their former head coach, Gerard Gallant, about taking the reins with the Isles on a full time basis. While the coaching change was surely made with the idea of sparking a second half playoff charge, it’s also quite possible this is just the first of several moves intended to get the Islanders back on the right track.

First and foremost, the goal for the Islanders will be to show superstar center John Tavares that the organization is fully committed to icing a competitive team around him. Tavares is eligible to become a free agent following the 2017-18 season and despite repeatedly stating his desire to remain with the organization that drafted him first overall in 2009, many in the industry feel that unless he views the Islanders as a legitimate contender, he’ll consider other options in free agency. That may pressure the front office into action, both at this year’s trade deadline and during the upcoming summer.

Assuming the new voice – whether Weight remains in charge for the duration of the campaign or the team hires another head coach such as Gallant – is unable to alter the team’s course ahead of the deadline, it’s conceivable the team will look to cash in veteran assets for controllable young talent and/or draft choices. Unfortunately the Islanders don’t possess much in the way of pending free agents that would appeal to other teams. Only Dennis Seidenberg, Stephen Gionta and Thomas Greiss are scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the season and none represent the type of asset that would command a significant return in trade.

The team could look to this summer’s free agent class in an effort to improve the roster but with more than $61MM already committed to 19 players in 2017-18, there won’t be much room to do so. It’s also possible the Islanders will look to move a big salary to create needed roster flexibility but other teams simply won’t have much interest in taking on the contract of someone like Andrew Ladd, who has six years and $33MM left on his deal and has struggled with just eight goals and 12 points in 41 contests this season. Mikhail Grabovski, who has been out all season with post-concussion syndrome, and Nikolai Kulemin are also unlikely to generate much interest on the trade market. Dealing any other roster player would only serve to create another hole the Islanders would have to fill.

It’s also fair to wonder whether GM Garth Snow will be the team’s leading decision-maker for much longer. After all, his offseason moves this past summer have not worked out particularly well and new ownership may not be as committed to the longtime Islanders executive as was Charles Wang. Remember, it was Wang who abruptly fired Neil Smith just six weeks into his tenure as GM and hired Snow, then the team’s backup goaltender, back in 2009. It has been reported that the organization’s new leaders, Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, have already been on the hunt for a “big name” executive to lead the team’s hockey operations department. The Islanders on-ice struggles could prompt ownership to transition away from Snow and bring in new leadership.

Clearly the Islanders organization has their work cut out for them and big decisions yet to make. The key question will be whether those decisions are enough to convince Tavares to sign on beyond the expiration of his current contract.

 

Islanders Fire Head Coach Jack Capuano

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The New York Islanders have relieved head coach Jack Capuano of his coaching duties, effective immediately, the team announced.  Assistant coach Doug Weight will take over on an interim basis.

The Isles have struggled considerably this season, sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 17-17-8 record but are just eight points out of a playoff position.  Their struggles are a vast departure from last season where they qualified for the playoffs and made it to the second round.

Nov 7, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano coaches against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

There was quite a bit of roster turnover during the offseason as the team let long-term mainstays Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Matt Martin go.  Their replacements, Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera, have not yet panned out.

GM Garth Snow released the following statement:

“The New York Islanders would like to thank Jack for his tireless work throughout his seven seasons with the organization as Head Coach. His leadership guided the team to the playoffs in three of the past four years, which included two straight 100-point seasons. He is a great coach and an even better person. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”  

Capuano was the fourth longest-tenured coach in the NHL before his departure as he was behind the bench for 482 games, taking over in November of 2010.  He had been with the organization in other coaching capacities since 2005.  He sits second in franchise history in games coached as well as wins with 227, only behind Hall Of Fame coach Al Arbour.

As part of the press release, Capuano had the following statement regarding his ouster:

“It’s an honor to have served this historic franchise and its passionate fans. I’d like to thank Garth and our ownership group for the opportunity to be the Head Coach of the Islanders. I’d also like to recognize our coaching staff, training staff and players for all of their hard work.”

As for Weight, this will be his first NHL head coaching opportunity.  He has been an assistant with the team since his retirement in May of 2011.  The team will not be bringing in anyone from outside the organization to join the staff, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports (Twitter link).

In a conference call with reporters, Snow noted that the team had decided they wouldn’t be brining Capuano back so they decided to make the move now.  He added that they will begin their search for a new full-time head coach immediately and wouldn’t rule out naming that replacement before the end of the season, via NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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