It's almost inconceivable to believe that 12 years after Garth Snow took over as general manager in a time of turmoil, the New York Islanders are still in turmoil, having now missed the playoffs the past two seasons while dropping in points over the past four, from 101 to 100 to 94 to 80.
With one playoff series win and six last-place finishes to show for what is seemingly an endless rebuild, New York once again finds itself in familiar territory with a "defining offseason' ahead. This one, however, has a different feel to it, as the added pressure of having to convince your franchise center and captain to sign what promises to be a lucrative, long-term extension is raising the stakes tenfold.
With a free-agent class looking lukewarm, at best, just where do the Islanders turn to fix what ails them? There are holes in all facets of the roster, from the forward group outside of the top two lines, the defense, which was a complete disaster this year, and in the goal crease. Not to mention, questions remain about the management team after a clean-out day news conference that left everyone scratching their heads.
Here are four moves the Islanders must make this offseason:
1. Acquire a third-line center.
Casey Cizikas does an admirable job on the fourth line, and if he can return to good health, he would give New York exactly what it needs -- energy, physical play and a solid defensive presence. It's the third unit that was an issue and will continue to be one unless you are one of the few who see Brock Nelson finally breaking out consistently over the course of an 82-game season. Some interesting unrestricted free-agent names include Tyler Bozak and Valtteri Filppula with a dark horse being 31-year-old Derek Ryan. The key here is to get someone who might breathe some life back into Andrew Ladd and return him to 20- to 25-goal form. If New York ends up losing John Tavares, it becomes even more important to land a bigger fish, like Winnipeg's Paul Stastny or making a call to Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman to see what he wants for Tyler Johnson, whom I envision as being the perfect third-line center for Ladd.
2017-18 SEASON REVIEW: Forwards | Defense | Management
2. Patch up that leaky defense.
Nick Leddy's four years with the Islanders have produced solid offensive totals that include 165 points in 320 games and reliability, as he has missed only eight games in that span. Defensively, however, it's been a downward trend. He was minus-42 this season and had a third straight year of declining 5-vs.-5 possession numbers, bottoming out at 46.9 percent in 2017-18, even though he had 50.4 percent offensive-zone starts. Owed $5.5 million for the next four seasons and only 27 years old, Leddy could be part of a trade package to bring back a defenseman with more defensive-zone responsibility. Maybe you call Winnipeg and ask about Jacob Trouba or go back to old, reliable Peter Chiarelli and try to pry Oscar Klefbom from his grasp. Re-signing Calvin de Haan would seem like a smart move at this point, but there are whispers that ship might have sailed when he was pretty much insulted at arbitration before the 2017-18 season. This is going to prove to be a difficult fix for whoever ends up calling the shots in June, but not as difficult as ...
3. Upgrade the goaltending.
Jaroslav Halak is an unrestricted free agent and was in the middle of the three-headed goalie monstrosity constructed by Snow in the 2016-17 season. His agent, Allen Walsh, was openly critical of the situation at the time, and deservedly so. Thomas Griess had, by far, his worst season as a pro and combined with Halak and Christopher Gibson to allow just short of 300 goals. Sure, the system is largely to blame, but it would be nice to get some big saves and big games out of your leading men between the pipes on occasion. New York didn't get any of that in 2017-18. Greiss is signed for another two years at $3.333 million while nobody in the organization views Gibson as a No. 1. Ilya Sorokin is no closer to coming over, if he ever does, as his KHL deal still has two years to run and he's the highest-paid player on CSKA (Moscow). He would have to buy out his own contract to come here and play on an entry-level agreement, and you don't need to be a financial genius to know that's just not happening. New York's best hope is that Linus Soderstrom shines in training camp and comes out of the gate scorching hot to finally add some stability to a position that you just cannot win without in today's NHL. The alternative is an overpaid and overextended Halak giving up soft goals at bad times for the Islanders for another three years.
4. Officially announce Snow and coach Doug Weight are staying ... or going.
The circus that surrounded locker clean-out day still has not subsided as the supposed "evaluation of all hockey ops" sure is taking a long time with the draft and free agency rapidly approaching. Recently, Lou Lamoriello stepped down as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and rumors, without much substance, started swirling that he might end up with New York, given that his son, Chris, is currently assistant GM under Snow. Reliable sources told WFAN on Wednesday night that the Islanders ownership has not yet even spoken to Lamoriello, and what was made clear is Scott Malkin, and not Jon Ledecky, who has become the lightning rod, is calling all the shots in the front office. If the Islanders' thinking is to bring Lamoriello in to work alongside Snow, who is his good friend, things don't change, do they? It behooves the team to figure out its internal strife, decide on a direction, make it clear and stick to it, wherever that might take it. I'd be hard-pressed to believe the Islanders are a preferred destination for potential free agents. Still. If we are seeing the dysfunction, you think them and their agents don't?
Everything is a day-to-day proposition right now in Islanders country, with things changing on an hourly basis behind the scenes, it seems. The only way they dig themselves out is by results -- results via clear and direct commitment by ownership and results in the standings by the coaching staff and players. Are the holes too big to fill, at least, this season? We shall find out soon enough. With Belmont on the horizon, the time to act is now. Every day the direction of the franchise remains cloudy is another day wasted.
Follow Andy on Twitter at @AndyGraz_WFAN
