New York Islanders Garth Snow Ruining Chances of a Win Now Team

The New York Islanders have been a team of the future for far too long. With an offensive-minded roster succeeding in the early months of the 2017-2018 season, it seemed they might finally be a team of the present. However, general manager Garth Snow’s lack of movement has cost them this chance.

Fans of the New York Islanders had high hopes for their team this fall and rightfully so. With players like Josh Bailey performing like they never have and rookies like Mat Barzal bursting onto the scene, fans had reason to believe the team’s promised future was finally here.

Of course, no team is perfect. The Islanders’ defensive problems were woefully obvious and while the first two lines provided a powerful offense, the bottom six were dangerously barren. Being one of the most scored on teams in the NHL, it was obvious that changes needed to be made to solidify the Islanders’ success.

While the team began to cripple under the weight of these flaws, which were exaggerated by key injuries, the Islanders front office seemed to sit on their hands. With the means to help the team in a time of crisis, Garth Snow remained dormant.

How To Fix The Problems

While it takes two general managers to make a deal, Snow’s abstinence becomes more frustrating when looking at the circumstances surrounding the organization.

2017-2018 will be the last year that stars John Tavares, Mat Barzal, Josh Bailey and a host of other offensive producers will have such an ideal contract situation. With the draft picks received in the Travis Hamonic trade and prospects galore, it seems like there should be nothing holding the Islanders back from trying to fix the holes in their system.

Although there is little way to tell if the Hamonic trade was a successful one until the picks received are used via trade or in the draft itself, it already seems like a wasted opportunity should the team wait any longer.

While the argument could be made that the upcoming draft is ripe with talent that could certainly benefit the Islanders, waiting to add more rookies to the system for future use is putting off the team’s potential success for yet another year. The only way for the trade to be truly worth it is if one or both of the picks are used in a trade that benefits the team of today.

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By giving away a current asset for future potential yet again, Snow is damning the New York Islanders to their forever rebuild. Using injuries as a crutch for the team’s lack of success this year, we could easily fall back into the process of hoarding draft picks and never breaking out of the status of “bubble team”.