Islanders general manager Garth Snow gave a rare interview on SiriusXM Friday morning. He all but closed the door on the team re-signing unrestricted free agent Kyle Okposo.
"Well, Kyle was selected in 2006. First round draft pick. He was developed here. He came through our system. He’s been a terrific player for us; not only on the ice, but off the ice a quality person. We’re just in a situation with the salary cap that you really have to analyze where you are today and where you’re going to be in five years from now. So there’s always tough decisions. We’re not the only team that has tough decisions to make, and we’re not the only team that potentially could lose free agents on July 1. Like I said, Kyle’s a great person. He’s been a terrific player for this organization. Wish him nothing but the best.…
Snow mentioned the salary cap. TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie reported that the NHLPA will use their escalator clause to increase the cap. The highest possible salary cap would be $73.49 million.
NHLPA will agree to exercise the escalator clause (5%) but wants to make sure everybody's on board before making it official.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 17, 2016
Do the Islanders trade Okposo's rights? We now know what the going rate is. The Coyotes acquired the negotiating rights to defenseman Alex Goligoski from the Stars for a fifth-round pick. Goligoski is arguably the best defense on the free agent market. Since the Isles do not have a second and third round pick they may be inclined to add a late-round pick for Okposo.
John Tavares is very close with Okposo. The Islanders can not replace Okposo with a $1-year/1 million dollar veteran again. They need to give Tavares someone close to his caliber. You to give him a reason to re-sign here. The Islanders can start negotiating with their captain on July 1, 2017.
Snow was asked if there was a chance the team would trade up in the first round.
"I don’t think we’ll try to move up. It’s tough. We don’t have a second round pick. We used that in a trade to get Johnny Boychuk. We traded our third round pick to get Shane Prince at the deadline this year. In order to maneuver up in the draft, you usually need more draft picks. We’re happy with the prospects we have, so I don’t envision us trading one of them, or anyone from our current lineup to move up. We know we’ll get a good player. He’ll be a few years away from our club, but the draft has always been the day that we really try to build the foundation for the future. Like I said, we’ll get a good player. We’ll see how it all shakes out, 1 through 18, and we’ll be ready for our pick at 19.…
I have no problem with Snow electing not to move up in the draft. I will have a problem if Snow does not leave Buffalo with a top-line forward this weekend. The general manager has deepened the prospect pool over the last few seasons. Not even one of their prospects will make it. Snow has to take a chance on improving this team by trading one or two of them. The Isles can afford to trade this first-round pick if it brings back a winger.