dont get me wrong, the seat should be getting warm for garth...i think this vanek trade will be very telling in what the return is...i have to believe cappy will be gone.
- LetsGoIsles

what were our weaknesses last season? Defense and goaltending. Who did we sign or trade for in the offseason to address these weaknesses? No one. Who did we trade for to address these weaknesses so far this season? No one. When the team went into a nose dive in november/december, what did we do to shake them out of it? Nothing.

This is a failure of management to address these situations in any way. There has been absolutely zero done in over a year to make any changes to shore up these areas.

For that reason, Snow has miserably failed this franchise and should be let go.

You cannot make a move like the Vanek trade and tell the world the rebuild is over when such glaring weaknesses to the line up exist and are not addressed. You cannot give away assets like we have to add a player like Vanek without a contract in place for the long term, while still ignoring the areas that needed to be strengthened.

While our head coach is a laughingstock to those who follow the team, our GM has been the one to truly fail this organization because absolutely nothing was done to push this team forward - instead we regressed and no actions were taken to help the team move forward.

This long standing pattern of doing nothing and hoping to get more out of reclaimation projects or rushing prospects is not building an organization, that's penny pinching and hoping for miracles.

This team was well out of the playoff picture by the end of november.

While I would hate to see someone of milbury's hastiness again, we need someone that actually is capable of making a move to strengthen our weaknesses and give this team a legitimate chance of becoming a winner.

what were our weaknesses last season? Defense and goaltending. Who did we sign or trade for in the offseason to address these weaknesses? No one. Who did we trade for to address these weaknesses so far this season? No one. When the team went into a nose dive in november/december, what did we do to shake them out of it? Nothing.

This is a failure of management to address these situations in any way. There has been absolutely zero done in over a year to make any changes to shore up these areas.

For that reason, Snow has miserably failed this franchise and should be let go.

You cannot make a move like the Vanek trade and tell the world the rebuild is over when such glaring weaknesses to the line up exist and are not addressed. You cannot give away assets like we have to add a player like Vanek without a contract in place for the long term, while still ignoring the areas that needed to be strengthened.

While our head coach is a laughingstock to those who follow the team, our GM has been the one to truly fail this organization because absolutely nothing was done to push this team forward - instead we regressed and no actions were taken to help the team move forward.

This long standing pattern of doing nothing and hoping to get more out of reclaimation projects or rushing prospects is not building an organization, that's penny pinching and hoping for miracles.

This team was well out of the playoff picture by the end of november.

While I would hate to see someone of milbury's hastiness again, we need someone that actually is capable of making a move to strengthen our weaknesses and give this team a legitimate chance of becoming a winner.
- Isles_since_6

Well said. Although we don't need another milbury. He sucked this franchise dry.

If you cannot attract the top FA's, you try to improve via trade and smart solid FA signings not Regin and PMB and put your money towards hiring the best coaching staff possible. Charles and Garth do this and there will be very little complaints.
- ses111

huh???

what were our weaknesses last season? Defense and goaltending. Who did we sign or trade for in the offseason to address these weaknesses? No one. Who did we trade for to address these weaknesses so far this season? No one. When the team went into a nose dive in november/december, what did we do to shake them out of it? Nothing.

This is a failure of management to address these situations in any way. There has been absolutely zero done in over a year to make any changes to shore up these areas.

For that reason, Snow has miserably failed this franchise and should be let go.

You cannot make a move like the Vanek trade and tell the world the rebuild is over when such glaring weaknesses to the line up exist and are not addressed. You cannot give away assets like we have to add a player like Vanek without a contract in place for the long term, while still ignoring the areas that needed to be strengthened.

While our head coach is a laughingstock to those who follow the team, our GM has been the one to truly fail this organization because absolutely nothing was done to push this team forward - instead we regressed and no actions were taken to help the team move forward.

This long standing pattern of doing nothing and hoping to get more out of reclaimation projects or rushing prospects is not building an organization, that's penny pinching and hoping for miracles.

This team was well out of the playoff picture by the end of november.

While I would hate to see someone of milbury's hastiness again, we need someone that actually is capable of making a move to strengthen our weaknesses and give this team a legitimate chance of becoming a winner.
- Isles_since_6

lubo, strait hamonic all injured...

they had donovan/dehaan waiting in case of emergency...would it have made them a top 10 defense? no-- middle of the pack? yes i believe so...they got crushed with injuries.

as for goalies, most people were ok with poulin/nabby, again, top 10? no. middle of the pack? yes.

as for trading this season, why not wait till this MAJOR chip is traded before closing the book on "who have we traded this season" (not to mention amac, who if anything is given back is a major upgrade)

what assets did garth give up?? moulson?! a 1st in the worst draft class in recent memory? a 2nd??? give it a rest!! the guy took a chance, he cant force vanek to resign. he'll now trade him and they can recoup the "losses"


for all the haters, can we at least wait till vanek/amac are traded and see what is gotten in return????

Well said. Although we don't need another milbury. He sucked this franchise dry.
- Isles316

I agree, Milbury was a disaster. That said, Snow has let this team lose all season without making a change to help avoid another (ANOTHER) november/december losing skid that cost us the playoffs yet again.

The lack of action shows the players and the fans that if the team falters, they have no hope of outside help being brought in to stabilize the situation.

Just one passable defenseman would have meant carkner/martinek/ness would not have been needed to be dressed. Just one, might have meant less minutes for the turnover machine amac.

One capable backup goaltender might have meant Nabby wouldn't have been overplayed and Poulin wouldn't have been thrown in for multiple games in a row behind a defense that has been ridiculously bad.

There have been goaltenders traded this season, there have been defensemen traded this season. We did nothing to address those areas which have been costing us games all season.

There is a finite amount of patience fans of this team have, last season bought them a bit more time, that time was exhausted by november. There need to be changes made so this organization can move forward.

Floundering year after year without any substantial changes is repeating the same thing and hoping for a different result, it's not a recipe for success. Until changes are made this team is going to remain in this cycle.

This is why I'm hoping Brooklyn will be able to put pressure on Wang - if they're paying him guaranteed money to have the team play there and it doesn't draw well due to poor product, I'm hoping the extra pressure will result in some meaningful changes. Dare to dream.

I agree, Milbury was a disaster. That said, Snow has let this team lose all season without making a change to help avoid another (ANOTHER) november/december losing skid that cost us the playoffs yet again.

The lack of action shows the players and the fans that if the team falters, they have no hope of outside help being brought in to stabilize the situation.

Just one passable defenseman would have meant carkner/martinek/ness would not have been needed to be dressed. Just one, might have meant less minutes for the turnover machine amac.

One capable backup goaltender might have meant Nabby wouldn't have been overplayed and Poulin wouldn't have been thrown in for multiple games in a row behind a defense that has been ridiculously bad.

There have been goaltenders traded this season, there have been defensemen traded this season. We did nothing to address those areas which have been costing us games all season.

There is a finite amount of patience fans of this team have, last season bought them a bit more time, that time was exhausted by november. There need to be changes made so this organization can move forward.

Floundering year after year without any substantial changes is repeating the same thing and hoping for a different result, it's not a recipe for success. Until changes are made this team is going to remain in this cycle.

This is why I'm hoping Brooklyn will be able to put pressure on Wang - if they're paying him guaranteed money to have the team play there and it doesn't draw well due to poor product, I'm hoping the extra pressure will result in some meaningful changes. Dare to dream.
- Isles_since_6

goalies have been traded.
dmen have been traded.

who says garth didnt try getting in on those deals? can anyone tell me for certain what the other team GMs were looking for when the isles reached out to them?

lubo, strait hamonic all injured...

they had donovan/dehaan waiting in case of emergency...would it have made them a top 10 defense? no-- middle of the pack? yes i believe so...they got crushed with injuries.

as for goalies, most people were ok with poulin/nabby, again, top 10? no. middle of the pack? yes.as for trading this season, why not wait till this MAJOR chip is traded before closing the book on "who have we traded this season" (not to mention amac, who if anything is given back is a major upgrade)

what assets did garth give up?? moulson?! a 1st in the worst draft class in recent memory? a 2nd??? give it a rest!! the guy took a chance, he cant force vanek to resign. he'll now trade him and they can recoup the "losses"


for all the haters, can we at least wait till vanek/amac are traded and see what is gotten in return????
- LetsGoIsles

disagree with the bolded sections and I'll tell you why:

Donovan was expected to play a regular shift and get PP minutes and Dehaan was not even thought of as an NHL ready prospect due to the shoulder injuries and lack of AHL playing time while he was hurt. Almost everyone I remember posting on these boards was asking for another defenseman for depth and to keep Carkner from ever seeing the ice. When we had injuries hit, rather than make a move to get a legit NHL defenseman to solidify the back end, we reached out to a player who was retired and signed Martinek. Talk about desperation. Here's a guy who didn't play his last year because of injuries and wasn't expected to play again, and we signed him to help with the loss of Visnovsky?

Second point - no one wanted Nabby back after last year. His implosion in the playoffs was a key reason we lost that playoff series. He was horrible, showed he had nothing left in the tank and that was after a shortened season.

A year older, a full season and we signed him while other goaltenders were available to sign or trade for. He's not capable of playing long stretches of games anymore and his two injuries this season prove it.

Frankly, it doesn't matter what the return for Vanek is. It won't be a top goaltender or top four defenseman.

Snow should thank his lucky stars Dehaan has shown he's capable of playing in the NHL this year, can you imagine where we would be if Ness had taken those minutes if Dehaan wasn't playing in the NHL?

disagree with the bolded sections and I'll tell you why:

Donovan was expected to play a regular shift and get PP minutes and Dehaan was not even thought of as an NHL ready prospect due to the shoulder injuries and lack of AHL playing time while he was hurt. Almost everyone I remember posting on these boards was asking for another defenseman for depth and to keep Carkner from ever seeing the ice. When we had injuries hit, rather than make a move to get a legit NHL defenseman to solidify the back end, we reached out to a player who was retired and signed Martinek. Talk about desperation. Here's a guy who didn't play his last year because of injuries and wasn't expected to play again, and we signed him to help with the loss of Visnovsky?

Second point - no one wanted Nabby back after last year. His implosion in the playoffs was a key reason we lost that playoff series. He was horrible, showed he had nothing left in the tank and that was after a shortened season.

A year older, a full season and we signed him while other goaltenders were available to sign or trade for. He's not capable of playing long stretches of games anymore and his two injuries this season prove it.

Frankly, it doesn't matter what the return for Vanek is. It won't be a top goaltender or top four defenseman.

Snow should thank his lucky stars Dehaan has shown he's capable of playing in the NHL this year, can you imagine where we would be if Ness had taken those minutes if Dehaan wasn't playing in the NHL?
- Isles_since_6

http://www.cbssports.com/...NHL/T-SVPCT/regularseason

This tells the tale of this season

goalies have been traded.
dmen have been traded.

who says garth didnt try getting in on those deals? can anyone tell me for certain what the other team GMs were looking for when the isles reached out to them?
- LetsGoIsles

i think GMs in the league were probably interested in the following assets at the beginning of the year:
2014 1st
2015 1st
2014 2nd
2015 2nd
moulson as a rental
KO
reinhart
pulock
strome
nelson

of those assets, you have lost one 1st and one 2nd as well as moulson and replaced those 3 assets with just vanek. KO is now untouchable.

i'm not sure you guys would've wanted to part wih any of those prospects and your other picks for anything less than a true top-pairing shutdown defender, but those are rarely, if ever, on the market.

i think GMs in the league were probably interested in the following assets at the beginning of the year:
2014 1st
2015 1st
2014 2nd
2015 2nd
moulson as a rental
KO
reinhart
pulock
strome
nelson

of those assets, you have lost one 1st and one 2nd as well as moulson and replaced those 3 assets with just vanek. KO is now untouchable.

i'm not sure you guys would've wanted to part wih any of those prospects and your other picks for anything less than a true top-pairing shutdown defender, but those are rarely, if ever, on the market.
- rangerdanger94

even Liles and Gleason are far better than Carkner or Martinek. Those last two cost us multiple times this season and contributed almost nothing of value.

even Liles and Gleason are far better than Carkner or Martinek. Those last two cost us multiple times this season and contributed almost nothing of value.
- Isles_since_6

Liles and Gleason are horrendous too

even Liles and Gleason are far better than Carkner or Martinek. Those last two cost us multiple times this season and contributed almost nothing of value.
- Isles_since_6

gleason would have been a great pickup, which leads me to believe that money is still tight for the islanders. that, and the fact that cappy hasn't been fired yet...which i think is mainly due to his contract and still needing to be paid after he is let go...are signs that wang still doesn't have the money to truly commit all-in with this organization.

And, a couple of serviceable NHL defensemen. They need those, because along with the things you mentioned, that is holding them back right now.
- Pete V

I assume a decent GM could accomplish that with all the cap space this team has.

gleason would have been a great pickup, which leads me to believe that money is still tight for the islanders. that, and the fact that cappy hasn't been fired yet...which i think is mainly due to his contract and still needing to be paid after he is let go...are signs that wang still doesn't have the money to truly commit all-in with this organization.
- rangerdanger94

The Marriott foreclosing should be all the signs we need that he has no money

Liles and Gleason are horrendous too
- Isles316

compared to carkner and martinek those two are substantial improvements.

its a pattern?!?!?!

smyth happened in 2007-- thats 7 years ago!!!!

that is a very slow pattern that you see developing.
- LetsGoIsles

The point being tho, the best 2 non drafted players this team has seen in 7 years want nothing to do with the organization. They were both TRADED TO the Isles and both will leave for less money. That is inexcusable. That falls solely on the Owner & GM and the reputation of the organization.

I assume a decent GM could accomplish that with all the cap space this team has.
- jmo16

you are not a cap team. you are a budget team, and it seems like a very low one.

i remember reading a report saying that you guys weren't firing cappy to hire lavvy just because wang couldn't afford to keep paying cappy while picking up lavvy's $2M per year contract from the flyers.

compared to carkner and martinek those two are substantial improvements.
- Isles_since_6

and they also almost make $6 million more combined.

you missed the point.

he has a specific place in mind; it has nothing to do with the islanders...or the sabres for that matter.
- LetsGoIsles

you know this for sure? E5?

you missed the point.

he has a specific place in mind; it has nothing to do with the islanders...or the sabres for that matter.
- LetsGoIsles

you know this for sure? E5?

and they also almost make $6 million more combined.
- rangerdanger94

you quoted my post, yet I had made absolutely no comments directed toward salary. Go back and read my last three posts, your comment here has nothing to do with what I was talking about.

you are not a cap team. you are a budget team, and it seems like a very low one.

i remember reading a report saying that you guys weren't firing cappy to hire lavvy just because wang couldn't afford to keep paying cappy while picking up lavvy's $2M per year contract from the flyers.
- rangerdanger94

I can't believe that sort of stuff. It's nonsense. The team is not THAT hurting, financially.
We are just hurting MENTALLY in the managerial department.

you quoted my post, yet I had made absolutely no comments directed toward salary. Go back and read my last three posts, your comment here has nothing to do with what I was talking about.
- Isles_since_6

i was simply giving a probable reason why you guys didn't trade for them.

I can't believe that sort of stuff. It's nonsense. The team is not THAT hurting, financially.
We are just hurting MENTALLY in the managerial department.
- jmo16

eh it's tough to say. you have to think that the islanders aren't making any money...wang is actually losing money each fiscal year. that means that every extra 500k you pay for a player's league minimum salary is another 500k he's losing out of pocket. that's a lot of money...and that's the lowest of the low in terms of nhl contracts. can he really afford to pay cappy whatever he makes PLUS $2 million for lavvy? because signing lavvy literally makes his net profit $2 million lower out of his pocket.

I can't believe that sort of stuff. It's nonsense. The team is not THAT hurting, financially.
We are just hurting MENTALLY in the managerial department.
- jmo16

Yes they are. Wang has been settling suits from the CA case. He can't make payments on the hotel next store. He's in trouble financially