Isles don't expect to dip into free-agent pool
BY GREG LOGAN | greg.logan@newsday.com
7:54 PM EDT, June 28, 2008
If the desire to spend money were all it takes to build a successful team through free agency, Islanders general manager Garth Snow has the resources to do that. But as he learned in the free-agent market last July 1 and again at the Feb. 26 trade deadline, convincing players to come to Long Island is a tough sell even when the money is right.
Snow famously lost free-agent forward Ryan Smyth to Colorado a year ago even though he made the best offer to a player the Isles essentially rented for the final 19 games of the 2006-07 season plus a first-round playoff loss.
Newsday has learned from several sources that Snow tried to trade for Calgary forward Kristian Huselius in February, but the deal fell apart at the deadline when the pending free agent turned down the Islanders' contract offer.
Snow declined comment on the Huselius negotiations, but it's clear his experiences with free agency influenced his decision to stockpile 13 picks in the recent NHL draft to rebuild the Islanders from the ground up. The free-agent market opens Tuesday, but Snow said: "We're not going to be major players on July 1. We're going to kick tires, and we'll try to make our team better if it makes sense in our overall plan ... The emphasis for me is on the plan we've been talking about, which is developing our own players."
Hockey Fights Photos Attempting to avoid a repeat of the Smyth situation, Snow tried to work out a deal with Calgary in February that included a chance to negotiate with Huselius. But Flames GM Dar.ryl Sutter took so long to agree to trade terms that Snow began conversations with the Huselius camp only 30 minutes before the deadline and received permission to make a contract offer with only seven minutes left.
Snow offered approximately what Huselius is expected to fetch Tuesday and was well above what the Flames could afford at the time. A source said Snow did all he could, but the time frame was too short for Huselius and his family to commit to such a career-changing decision.
Pending free agents are better prepared on July 1, but top players still must act quickly when the offers roll in. Many assemble a "wish list" ahead of time.
One agent with a high-end client among a dozen free agents asked his players to submit a list of their top 10 NHL destinations. "Not one of them put down the New York Islanders," the agent said. "Long Island is a great place, but no one likes to play in that arena, and they don't really see the Island and all the nice places to live from the Marriott."
Some have questioned Snow's sales pitch, but an agent who has dealt with him the past two seasons said the GM's vision remains consistent -- revive the Islanders' tradition, rely on goaltender Rick DiPietro, remain competitive while building a core of young players to compete for the Stanley Cup, and hope plans are approved to renovate Nassau Coliseum.
That's a lot of "ifs" for free agents who want to win now.
.. the pain just keeps comming..... never ends :angrier:
| QUOTE |
and we'll try to make our team better if it makes sense in our overall plan ... The emphasis for me is on the plan we've been talking about, which is developing our own players."
|
the plan should be to get everyone on ONE PAGE..AT the same time
starting with the top
and whats this we'll try to make our team better
why not just DO IT
is it that HARD?? must be...:jerkit:
how can you make a team better when you cant keep players or coaches or die hard fans- and since the desire isnt there for THEM TO SPEND the money
safe to say LOTS of season ticket holders feel the same way :yea:
yah i guess the younger players are blinded by the light..and its safe to say-- its easier to develope them rather than make the whole team better??
I'm going to the beach :ego: thank goodness for summer
YEP ITS ALWAYS THE BUILDINGS FAULT
THE AGENTS WILL SAY THAT BECAUSE ITS NICER THAN SAYING
"HELL MY CLIENT WOULD LOVE TO COME TO LONG ISLAND THE MONEY IS SPOT ON
BUT WHY SHOULD HE HAVE TO SHOULDER REBUILDING A CLUB THAT HAS BEEN
EMBARASSING FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS"
THEN YOU GET THE ORGANIZATION
BELIEVING THAT AND TRIES TO SELL IT TO YOU BECAUSE SAYING THE TRUTH
WOULDNT MAKE THEM LOOK TOO SMART
"WELL AFTER WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE LAST 20 YEARS WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY HERE TO HAVE A CHANCE AT MAYBE GETTING TO GAME 7 IN THE FIRST ROUND ONE TIME ??? AND YES INSTEAD OF US TAKING THE BLAME WE'LL BLAME THE BUILDING"
YEP ....IT MUST BE THE BUILDING
ATTENTION EXPERTS
IF YOU WERE SELLING A TEAM TO A FREE AGENT
YOU NEED A POSITIVE TRACK RECORD
YOU NEED TO ALWAYS BE IN IT
NOT LIKE YOU'RE WAITING FOR THE CORONERS VAN TO PICK YOU UP ON MARCH 1ST
MAKE THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE THE NEXT STEP IS ABOUT TO START
NOT HO HUM LETS START OVER AND TRY AGAIN
IF YOU HAVE A TEAM THATS ON THE VERGE
THE MILLIONAIRES WILL PLAY ANYWHERE
ICEWORKS COULD BE CALLED HOME
THE OUTDOOR RINK AT EISENHOWER PARK
WOULD GET THEM HERE
ANY FOOL CAN DISH OUT THE CASH
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BLING
YEAH YEAH YEAH I KNOW
BE PATIENT
WE HAVE A PLAN
:blah: :blah: :blah: :blah:
SEE BLAMING THE BUILDING IS EASIER TO SWALLOW
Calgary is expected to buy Huselius out...any chance we overpay to get him as a FA?
| QUOTE |
While the Islanders might kick the tires on big-name free agents like Marian Hossa don't expect them to add any superstars this summer.
Hopes were high in Islanders country one year ago that forward Ryan Smyth would come around at the last minute, forsake his Western Conference roots and sign a long-term deal to serve as Captain Long Island. When Smyth, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov and defenseman Tom Poti left as free agents July 1, taking the offense with them, it was a dark day for Islanders fans.
Their expectations are much lower for the opening of the 2008 NHL free-agent market at noon today. General manager Garth Snow has committed to a long-term rebuilding program emphasizing the draft and developing from within. So although he might bid on a high-end goal scorer such as Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa, it would be a long shot to land a player of that caliber.
Generally speaking, Snow will attempt to fill out the roster with young players who have a chance to grow with the team he is trying to build. But he also might add an experienced veteran who could mentor young kids who will be playing major roles and take some pressure off them.
Describing the balance he's trying to strike, Snow said: "It's always a Catch-22. We want to be younger; we want to give our young players an opportunity to come into training camp and earn their spot. If some of our young players perform at the level they finished at last season, it won't be an issue. I just don't want to bring in older players that would pretty much put our young players in Bridgeport."
Asked if that means fans should prepare for a long season of losing and learning, Snow said: "I don't buy that. You look around the league and there's a lot of teams with a lot of wins, and they had a good portion of roster made up of young players. Just because you have a young team doesn't mean you can't win."
The Islanders' needs include a power-play quarterback, a center who can play on the top two lines and a winger who can score. In a thin free-agent market, it hurt when Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles re-signed with the Avalanche yesterday. Columbus defenseman Ron Hainsey is only 27 and could be a desirable commodity after big names such as Brian Campbell and Wade Redden are gone.
At forward, Hossa will have his pick of top contenders, and Calgary's Kristian Huselius, who turned down a chance to sign with the Islanders at the trade deadline, is expected to wind up elsewhere. Tampa Bay traded for the rights to Ryan Malone and succeeded in signing him yesterday. A group of young wingers who could attract the Isles' attention includes Phoenix's Radim Vrbata, Montreal's Michael Ryder, Ladislav Nagy of Los Angeles and possibly Niklas Hagman and Anti Miettinen of Dallas.
If the Isles target a veteran, it's more likely to be at center, where they can use an experienced playmaker for young wingers Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau and Jeff Tambellini. Anaheim's Doug Weight, who played with Isles captain Bill Guerin in Edmonton, would make sense, and Vancouver's Brendan Morrison also might fit the bill.
Some Islanders fans might hope Snow goes after a restricted free agent with an offer sheet, but the cost in draft picks would run counter to his building plans.
"That's not something I'm looking at," Snow said, "but never say never."
|
so we did nothing at draft and were not expected to do anything now...
whats the plan again
cuz my head is spinning...
| QUOTE (IslanderQueen @ Jul 1 2008, 02:38 PM) |
Don't expect Islanders to land big fee agent
| QUOTE | While the Islanders might kick the tires on big-name free agents like Marian Hossa don't expect them to add any superstars this summer.
Hopes were high in Islanders country one year ago that forward Ryan Smyth would come around at the last minute, forsake his Western Conference roots and sign a long-term deal to serve as Captain Long Island. When Smyth, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov and defenseman Tom Poti left as free agents July 1, taking the offense with them, it was a dark day for Islanders fans.
Their expectations are much lower for the opening of the 2008 NHL free-agent market at noon today. General manager Garth Snow has committed to a long-term rebuilding program emphasizing the draft and developing from within. So although he might bid on a high-end goal scorer such as Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa, it would be a long shot to land a player of that caliber.
Generally speaking, Snow will attempt to fill out the roster with young players who have a chance to grow with the team he is trying to build. But he also might add an experienced veteran who could mentor young kids who will be playing major roles and take some pressure off them.
Describing the balance he's trying to strike, Snow said: "It's always a Catch-22. We want to be younger; we want to give our young players an opportunity to come into training camp and earn their spot. If some of our young players perform at the level they finished at last season, it won't be an issue. I just don't want to bring in older players that would pretty much put our young players in Bridgeport."
Asked if that means fans should prepare for a long season of losing and learning, Snow said: "I don't buy that. You look around the league and there's a lot of teams with a lot of wins, and they had a good portion of roster made up of young players. Just because you have a young team doesn't mean you can't win."
The Islanders' needs include a power-play quarterback, a center who can play on the top two lines and a winger who can score. In a thin free-agent market, it hurt when Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles re-signed with the Avalanche yesterday. Columbus defenseman Ron Hainsey is only 27 and could be a desirable commodity after big names such as Brian Campbell and Wade Redden are gone.
At forward, Hossa will have his pick of top contenders, and Calgary's Kristian Huselius, who turned down a chance to sign with the Islanders at the trade deadline, is expected to wind up elsewhere. Tampa Bay traded for the rights to Ryan Malone and succeeded in signing him yesterday. A group of young wingers who could attract the Isles' attention includes Phoenix's Radim Vrbata, Montreal's Michael Ryder, Ladislav Nagy of Los Angeles and possibly Niklas Hagman and Anti Miettinen of Dallas.
If the Isles target a veteran, it's more likely to be at center, where they can use an experienced playmaker for young wingers Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau and Jeff Tambellini. Anaheim's Doug Weight, who played with Isles captain Bill Guerin in Edmonton, would make sense, and Vancouver's Brendan Morrison also might fit the bill.
Some Islanders fans might hope Snow goes after a restricted free agent with an offer sheet, but the cost in draft picks would run counter to his building plans.
"That's not something I'm looking at," Snow said, "but never say never."
|
so we did nothing at draft and were not expected to do anything now...
whats the plan again
cuz my head is spinning...
|
that is the plan... queen...... to drive us more crazy and do nothing.... and 4 us to keep spending 3 grand for season tics....... :blink: