I would like to present the following disclaimer before continuing with this article. The following rant is strictly speculative and 100 percent my opinion. The Blue Jackets acquired Scott Hartnell today from the Flyers for R.J. Umberger and a fourth round pick. This deal gets the Flyers out of a bad contract sooner as Umberger has three years left on his deal, while Hartnell still has five years left on his. In my opinion, this is the type of deal Garth Snow needs to make.
I am fully aware that Hartnell is a flawed player. He takes bad penalties, can play undisciplined, is a streaky scorer and is coming off a 52 point season and I am clearly aware that he is overpaid. However for the price that the Jackets had to give up, it was well worth the risk. Columbus is a better team today as a result of this deal. However, I feel that Hartnell would have looked good playing in the Islanders top two lines.
Once again, this is just my opinion here, I know Hartnell has a no trade clause and perhaps he wouldn’t be interested in playing in Long Island. With that being said, this is the type of deal the Islanders are in a position to make. They can take on a skilled player who makes too much money and can absorb a bad cap hit.
This week will be an important one for the Islanders. Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow talks a big game. He talks about bringing in players via trade, that owner Charles Wang has given him a “blank checkbook.… Well it is time to walk the walk. This team has to improve this offseason. If we are sitting here on July 4th and all the Islanders have is a fresh 18 year old first round pick, the fanbase will lose its mind and honestly, it should.
It is simply time to be aggressive. If there isn’t a good deal to improve your team by trading draft picks, then reach out to a cap stricken team and work out a deal like the Blue Jackets did today. I’m tired of hearing we are close, I’m tired of hearing to stay the course. In the words of Redman, “It’s time for some action.… It is time for Garth Snow to make this team a contender next season. This is the last year in Nassau and these fans deserve to see a team that can fight for a playoff spot.
I know this is just one deal and I hope to see some movement this week at the draft. I just see other teams willing to do what it takes to improve their teams. The Islanders have good assets and can improve their present roster by moving a few. It is up to Garth to properly identify who is part of the future and who can be used to improve the team for this upcoming season.
I honestly hope I am writing something this weekend about a defenseman or forward that we acquired with a draft day trade. But honestly, I’m more than skeptical. Staying the course is simply not going to cut it anymore. This team has to move forward. I just hope that this weekend can be the start of an offseason that can at least give this loyal fanbase some hope. For more on all things hockey, please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.