The Eklund Batphone sits in the corner of my office space. It is layered in dust, detritus, and a fair amount of food crumbs.
I have been writing hockey for 11 years now for outlets like Hockeybuzz, Huffington Post, CBS New York, The Fourth Period, The Faster Times, Isles Independent, Hockey Independent, and more. I've learned quite a bit over the years, some the hard way, and with some success with coming back and getting NHL credentialed soon after with my HockeyIndependent site. Then again gaining accolades for the HOCK.ly digital magazine project, in which the great Bob McKenzie said:
“As the former Editor-in-Chief of The Hockey News in the 1980s and 1990s, I’m constantly amazed at the technology available today in publishing and HOCK.ly's Draft issue is a tremendous example of a clean-looking, well-designed digital publication that’s easy to read and navigate. Looks great.”
- Bob McKenzie, TSN
Bob was very kind. And I will look to get his take on items for HB fans along with many others in the business this summer. With so much going on in Isles Country, and because I'm pretty tired of running solo, Eklund and I are joining forces this summer. We shall see how it goes.
So let's get to it...
The years have flashed by with such items of the Lighthouse Project, The Referendum, drafting John Tavares, heading to Brooklyn, getting out of Brooklyn, using spare cap space to land Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk, firing the imploding Scott Gordon, beating Florida/Jagr/Luongo with Thomas Greiss and John Tavares, firing Jack Capuano at least a month (if not years, for fans) too late, Doug Weight takes over, more team struggles, some billboards…
…and the fan final straw of this past season with a “bass-ackwards” press conference with a confused and uncomfortable Jon Ledecky and an obtuse Garth Snow who looked like he needed spare change, a clue, and a gift subscription to The Dollar Shave Club.
Last season was a particularly bad scene. I observed the key issue early on when they were winning, but didn’t quite expect it to persist… or cause the massive pile-up on Atlantic Avenue.
((hold on… the music is like a funeral dirge. Let's change it up...))
Ask yourself, will Garth Snow finally pay the price for a multitude of issues that persist organization-wide from the Charles Wang DIY organization system?
He might, rabbit. He just might.
Lou Lamoriello’s hiring broad-sided the NY Islanders hockey operations, who were left out of the loop by owner Scott Malkin’s power move.
Hearing that belief is Snow HAD no clue this was coming with Lou coming in up top. I think #isles currently in limbo right now from Malkin's power move. NHL Combine is May 27th. I'd look for that to be an indication of IF status quo or quick changes afoot
One has to wonder if it also put Jon Ledecky out of that loop, as well, since he hasn't been mentioned or seen for over a month now. Rumblings are that he might have been. We will see.
BUT... YES... you are right. Lou talking to the Isles leaked everywhere. As it often does when situations get involved with the leaky NHL via permissions and the office connections of Toronto and New York.
YET, Isles staff only dug in their heels, as Garth Snow was doing business-as-usual signing players and internal staff.
Despite the rumor eruption that seemed to have every Isles fan and their grandmother savvy, others were doubting the extent of Lou rumors and still felt that though they could see him being added to the organization to handle key needs and advisory. According to them... Lou surely wouldn’t be in charge. So I repeated that statement, buying-in.
Yeah, well. Silly me.
Lou is here.
In-charge. The big kahuna. The big cheese. Numero Uno.
What is next??? Does the tree fall in the woods? Does anyone hear it???
No so fast. Lou has already made clear he will begin with “evaluation”. In Lou’s world, that means watching the Isles gear up for the Combine and Draft with a judging eye and a poker face.
Lou has been GM for a long time. He was a miracle worker for the original NJ Devils run. But post-lockout NJ Devils was a mixed-bag, to say the least. And though many equate Lou to Toronto’s rise, their key core was already there before he came along.
So, there is a fair amount of hype and hope all tumbled all together, besides the biggest item of all from most fans standpoint…
Anyone BUT Garth is better for the NY Islanders this point forward.
Which belies a simple truth…
MORE PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR THAT GARTH SNOW WAS FIRED over that LOU LAMORIELLO IS NOW IN-CHARGE OF THE NY ISLANDERS
Doesn’t matter if he is fired or not. Fans will attribute anything and everything positive to the bringing in of Lou Lamoriello.
They will attribute everything negative to Garth Snow (and anyone else connected to him) continued presence in the organization as long as he remains in a role that keeps him in public eye.
Snow will never win.
He will always be connected to “the blame”, never the accolades this point forward. Lou Lamoriello will only be connected to the accolades, and never the blame.
This is despite Lou’s very mixed results post-lockout. It doesn’t matter to fans. They needed a change.
There are many reasons that fans ultimate desired change will be delayed … or remain in flux for the time being.
To describe this, we need understand the three distinct layers to Scott Malkin’s decision to bring in Lou Lamoriello and place him at the top.
LAYER 1:How to get John Tavares to stay
Not many teams who clean house have a very good shot to retain their main franchise player. John Tavares has always had a very good relationship with Garth Snow. The owners know stability is the best route to keep him. By hiring Lou and placing him in-charge, Malkin has NOW added value while keeping provides stability. Lou adds an NHL and league acumen to an organization struggling to reach their potential.
LAYER 2:How to make fans happy (aka: buy tickets)
Already from the announcement, this has been a success. Most fans, even though wishing Garth gone, are already in a better frame of mind about the future with this move. No reason to explain this further. Just look at the Isles chatter on twitter, boards, Facebook, etc. The sun has risen again.
LAYER 3: Ensure that the team is on a CLEAR competitive upward trend by the time of Belmont
Whether staying or going, or whatever you feel on the current GM… there is no doubt that Scott Malkin felt that Garth Snow needed help. Or, perhaps will need to have organization role changed for him down the line.
This move is based on Malkin’s belief that bringing in Lou ASSURES that his presence and efforts will create a clear upward trend right on queue.
… and this might be the biggest question mark, really. This is a 76-year-old guy far removed from the halcyon days of yore in a role that is COMPLETELY different as Team President. So, an old dog being asked to do some new tricks.
But, still, a brilliant hockey mind and experience that the organization desperately needs.
No matter what happens with hockey operations, Malkin has added a key voice in the room, and it certainly raises the high likelihood of the NY Islanders making a major trade this summer (which was pretty likely with two draft picks so early in round 1 even before Lou came along).
If anything, Lou is a risk-taker, that might push Garth Snow’s highly conservative style right out of its box. This organization will be forced to grow-up under Lou Lamoriello, and woe to anyone standing in his way.
At the NHL Combine, Garth Snow and his staff (draft staff, Eric Cairns, etc) are on location doing their work under Lou's watchful eye, as he is there too. We will see this again upcoming at the NHL draft as Garth and company put that forward again under Lou's scrutiny and assessment.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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