New York Islanders Hoping Trade Will Turn It Around

New York Islanders GM put his trust in the hands of his coach today. So If Capuano is staying, a trade is the only other option to get this team going I suppose.

New York Islanders GM Garth Snow gave his vote of confidence to his coach Jack Capuano today. Saying to TSN reporter Frank Seravalli: Jack is an excellent coach,” Snow said. “We have good players. I love our coaching staff. In fact, last time I checked, he coached in the World Cup and there were some pretty good coaching staffs.”

Last time I checked the team that Jack Capuano coached at the World Cup of Hockey was humiliated by not winning a single game. So maybe the barometer of “excellence” has to start higher than “World Cup of Hockey coaching experience”.

So Capuano is staying. Now what? How does this team get any better? From where I sit there are two options: (1) do nothing, (2) make a big trade.

The Two Options

Option number one, while not much of an option, is still possible. If Garth has absolute confidence in his players and coaching staff, doing nothing would be the course to take. If he really trusts these guys to get themselves out of this mess he’ll let them do so.

And he just might. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that what he’s saying to the media is but a ploy. A smoke and mirrors diversion if you will. I know, shocker.

The only other option is making a trade. I originally thought he could send some players down to the minors, but only Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Anthony Beauvillier are on two-way deals. Anyone else would have to pass through waivers.

One of those is injured. The other is covering for a number of injured on the blue line. And the third, Beauvillier, is playing so little that I don’t see why another prospect would have any hope of acheiving anything different.

Leaving a trade as the likely scenario.

Who’s Out?

You’d immediately have to assume that one of the kids are gone. Like Arthur Staple tweeted, that means Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, or Josh Ho-Sang,

If any of those are off the block then the return won’t be much. To get value, you have to trade value. Sure, value is in the eye of the beholder (ie: Hall for Larsson).

But at this point, the Isles are already trading from a position of weakness. They’re desperate for anything to kick some life into the team, and the other 29 teams know this. Meaning any negotiation starts with the Isles getting seventy cents on the dollar.

I’m not ready to see the Isles mortgage the future for the present. Especially when the present looks this bad. Are we all so sure that one trade will fix this team?

Say they get that star winger. Hypothetically, Barzal along with Jaroslav Halak to Colorado for Matt Duchene. Does that make everything better?

Tavares sure gets the help he needs and deserves, but how does that help the other four lines on the team? How does that help a struggling Ryan Strome or an Anders Lee that just can’t seem to score?

Next: Capuano Is Here To Stay

I hope they do get someone like Matt Duchene. Maybe not exactly Duchesne, because he’s injured, but someone like him. And they he absolutely turns this team around. But I reserve the right to be incredibly skeptical that such a move would dramatically alter the course this team is currently on.