New York Islanders West Coast Edition (Winners & Losers)

Loser: The Islanders Salary Cap

Think of this. The Islanders are a cap team. With just over a million in cap space to play with the Islanders are up tight against the NHL salary cap for the first time since…well since the came existed I’m pretty sure.

Generally the rule of thumb is spending is winning. Spend to the limit and chances are that the team should end up near the top of the league. But of course, chances are that the money being spent just isn’t worth it.

Like the isles right at the moment. Now think of where that salary cap money is being allocated. Find any inefficiencies?

Can I interest you in 25% of the Islanders cap being invested in Andrew Ladd, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, and Anders Lee?

That’s a $18.437 million cap hit on four players. Four players that combined have  accumulated a total of 11 points this season. Less than Brock Nelson’s 12 points and his $2.5 million cap hit. How do you feel about Brock Nelson being the diamond in the rough for this team?

To be fair, Grabovski’s been out injured the entire season. And maybe if he was healthy things may be a bit different. Maybe he puts in an average four points like the other player son this list. But he isn’t healthy, which is something that the Isles took a chance on when they signed him as a free agent.

But so far the return on the Islanders investment of nearly $20 million isn’t looking very good. Maybe Garth Snow is only effective when dealing with a tight budget. Open the purse strings and he looses all cognitive function, just throwing money around like a crazed millionaire.