New York Islanders Roundtable: It’s Time for the Difficult Talk

Michel Anderson

I promise John Tavares isn’t going anywhere. But I want a rebuild. Now that doesn’t have to mean rebuild what’s on the ice only. The rebuild can start in management.

Do we want a rebuild? Do we want to admit the last ten years of Garth Snow was a failure? Do we want to go back to those dark gloomy days? Nope. Nope. And, nope.

You don’t always get what you want. Sometimes, just sometimes you get what you need. And what this team needs is an overhaul from the management down.

Garth Snow, and his staff, gone. Jack Capuano and his staff, gone. Maybe the scouting staff can make a case for staying onboard with recent picks like Sorokin, Ho-Sang and Dal Colle. But they also drafted the likes of Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, and Griffin Reinhart. So, their argument better be on point.

This needs to be one before the Vegas expansion draft. This new management core has to sort itself out so they don’t get fleeced come June. Once the draft is done,

Which gets me to the playing staff. The Islanders have an overload of second to third line players. Gone are the likes of Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, and Ryan Strome. Love Cal Clutterbuck, but if he’s got worth, let him go.

Get rid of them for $.10 on the dollar, early second rounds, anywhere in the second round really. Doesn’t matter the youth that can move up and take their place is more promising. How does a second line with Dal Colle-Barzal-Ho-Sang over Bailey-Strome-Lee sound?

Next: Winners and Losers - West Coast Edition

This might not sound like a classic rebuild. Mainly because it doesn’t need to be. The rebuild is in the way this franchise thinks, operates, and approaches winning hockey games. They might have the same name as they did ten years ago, but they aren’t the same team. The goals have changed, expectations need to be met.