We all know what happened last night to this team. If I could bench the entire team after this performance I would. In my opinion the Islanders embarrassed their fan base last night falling to the Red Wings by a score of 5-0. They were out hustled, out worked and out classed by a Detroit team that was missing Pavel Datsyuk, Todd Bertuzzi and Danny DeKeyser.
I thought long and hard last night about who is to blame and how we fix this moving forward. If I was in charge of this team this is how I would go about fixing them. Once again this is pure opinion from me based on what I have seen so far this season.
To start, I would fire the entire coaching staff which includes head coach Jack Capuano, and assistants Doug Weight and Brent Thompson. I have the utmost respect for these three individuals but the team has simply stopped listening to them. This week was never more apparent as it simply looks like this team has quit and or tuned out its’ coaches. However if it is just head coach Jack Capuano to fall on the sword and they promote Doug Weight to head coach then it must be on an interim level for the remainder of the season.
I would give Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow this offseason to fix this mess. I truly believe that Snow looked at this past summer’s UFA class and rolled the dice that his defense and goalies were good enough to get to this offseason where the upcoming UFA class is loaded with impact players. This move obviously backfired as the defense is one of the worst I have ever seen.
The reason I am willing to give Snow one more offseason is because he has done a good job loading up on young players and rebuilding a prospect pool that had nothing when he arrived. To be honest if three of these ten defensive prospects reach their potential then they will be building statues to Snow outside the arena. In my opinion where Snow has failed is there is no bridge to these prospects and the place holders that are there are simply not working.
Next let’s take a look at the roster. The Bouchard and Regin signings have not worked. I’m at a point where I’d rather see some kids in Bridgeport play over the pair. Then there is Josh Bailey and Michael Grabner who have been extremely disappointing. If one or both of these players could bring back solid NHL defenseman then I am willing to part with them. I really like Bailey when he is right and he has a ton of talent but I think his biggest problem is between his ears. As for the defensive, Viznovsky and Hamonic are the only two I would consider keeping on this team moving forward.
During the offseason this team needs to add one or two solid NHL defenseman. They also need a top six forward and a starting goalie. The dmen will be the hardest to acquire but there will be plenty of talents available up front and between the pipes on the free agent market come July. They also need to work Strome and Lee into the lineup soon so they can see where their development is.
This team has bottomed out. I’m not saying that any of this will occur but if I was in charge this is how I would try and put the pieces back together. As for the here and now the Islanders will play the Capitals tonight at 7pm. Rookie goalie Anders Nilsson will be making his season debut as well as Calvin deHaan. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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