We have all talked about the need for the Islanders’ organization to prove to this desperate and passionate fanbase that they were serious about playing playoff hockey consistently. If we look at what transpired on Saturday, added to the productive offseason, I think we all finally got our answer. Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow pushed the team’s chips onto the table this weekend and bluntly said, we are all in.
The Islanders made bold steps in solidifying there thin blueline Saturday by acquiring Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. While these names have been floated out since before the draft, it appears that Garth Snow waited out both the Blackhawks and the Bruins who had to get under the salary cap by tomorrow. The Islanders paid a fair price in the picks to the Bruins and I also think the Blackhawks received a nice young defensive prospect in Ville Pokka. However Garth Snow was able to retain his top flight prospects.
Both Leddy and Boychuk joined the Islanders in practice and were paired together. It will be interesting to see what the defense looks like once everyone is healthy. The Islanders still don’t have a legit top pairing dman but I would say they have two sets of second pairing dman and boy which is a massive upgrade over what they had just a few days ago. When everyone is healthy, I would pair Leddy with Hamonic, de Haan with Boychuk and Visnovsky with Hickey. As I look at this on paper, this is a formidable defense. One thing is for certain, there are no more excuses for this team or this coaching staff, and it is now playoffs or bust.
If we look at the big picture of the Islanders offseason since July 2nd, they added two quality veteran forwards, they addressed the goaltending by bringing in Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson, they have added two top four defensemen, and the team was sold to new owners. I’m almost expecting to wake up and for all of this to be a cruel mean dream. I don’t think you could have asked for anymore as a fan. We have demanded action for so long now and it is refreshing to finally see some tangible actions taking place.
The roster itself will be finalized tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if anything happens between now and then. There are still some tough decisions that will have to be made but we will dive deep into that tomorrow afternoon. I have said for weeks that I wasn’t ready to call this team a playoff team until I saw what the defense looked like, well now, after the moves that happened on Saturday, I fully expect the Isles to be playing hockey in April if this team stays relatively healthy.
There are no more excuses. The failures of Garth Snow last season have been rectified by such an aggressive summer and early fall. Missing the playoffs now is simply not an option. There are no excuses for this coaching staff and there are no excuses for these players. Garth Snow officially ended any thoughts that the “rebuild… is still in effect. It is now time for the Islanders to take the next step and grow as a franchise. They will start this quest on Friday in Carolina against the Hurricanes.
We spent all summer hanging on the word “hope.… We are past hoping now, with the moves made to this blueline, the time is now. It is time to start talking about meaningful hockey games in the spring and not worrying about mock drafts. As always, for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.