Meet the Islanders new owners. Same as the previous owners that have sunk this once-proud franchise for two decades.
That was the message Islanders owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin sent when they removed the interim title and named Doug Weight the permanent head coach of the Islanders last week. By extension, they indirectly announced Garth Snow is keeping his job as the general manager, even if they did not publicly announce it.
Does Ledecky and Malkin think Islanders fans are dummies? They know Weight was not going to take the job unless he knew Snow would be back. Those two are a package deal. Remember the Islanders coach is part of Snow’s front office staff as the assistant general manager. That should be an indication right there the Islanders general manager is back. So much for change after a nonplayoff season that represented mediocrity, eh.
No one is questioning Weight being the Islanders head coach full time. He earned it by having his team go 24-12-4 under his watch, and his players rallied to win the last five games after Tavares was out for the season with a left hamstring injury. They were one point short of getting the last playoff spot (Maple Leafs finished with 95 points while the Islanders finished with 94 points).
Here’s the problem with him coming back: Ledecky and Malkin never seemed serious about making wholesale changes for this organization, which is what they need. They were hoping the Islanders finish strong, so they can make a case Snow is the right man to lead the team forward. They did not want to go through an extensive process of finding a general manager. They are busy trying to find a new place for the Islanders to play after the Barclays Center want them out of their arena in the 2018-2019 (the feeling is mutual, too), so they don’t need another headache piled on with another headache.
What message does that send to John Tavares? The Islanders superstar has spent his entire eight-year NHL career with the Islanders. He wants to win a championship while he is in his prime. He is 26 years old, and it won’t be long until the clock is ticking for that window of opportunity. He is not going to want to waste his career playing for a mediocre team.
That’s why it made sense to hire a new general manager for two reasons. One, he can provide hope for Tavares that he can build a championship team. Two, if Tavares does not want to sign an extension this offseason, he can start rebuilding from the ground up by using the Islanders center as an asset. It was a win-win situation for the new guy.
There’s no way Snow is trading Tavares. He has to win for him to keep his job after next season, and the Islanders star gives him his best chance. Plus, it would be easy for him to blame the No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft for leaving rather than holding himself accountable for not building around his star player.
Don’t fool yourself thinking the Islanders general manager’s presence will influence Tavares to stay. The 26-year-old will make his decision based on whether or not he can win a Stanley Cup with the Islanders or his hometown Maple Leafs. It will be a decision he and his agent will think thoroughly.
It’s hard to believe Tavares trusts Snow to build a championship around him when he hasn’t seen it yet, so this makes his decision easy for him to leave. Maybe it’s not black and white as we think. There are other factors that will influence his decision such as being comfortable in a work environment and not dealing with the media pressure, so the Islanders have that going for them.
Tavares’ decision should not influence Ledecky and Malkin what to do with Snow. It was the body of work that should have made their decision on the general manager.
Snow’s work has been okay at best, but he hasn’t drafted well outside of Josh Ho-Sang and Anthony Beauvillier, and his young players never developed into stars such as Ryan Strome, Josh Bailey and Scott Mayfield. He can’t build a team defensively. He did not make a move that would put the Islanders in a position to make the playoffs. He never called up Ryan Pulock, who could have been a difference maker on defense. For some reason, he did not bother calling up struggling Islanders backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak from Bridgeport because Christopher Gibson was hurt, even though islanders starting goaltender Thomas Greiss was so overworked to the point he could not finish the rest of the season.
It’s been 11 years, and it’s been forgettable. There comes a time a change has to be made. This was the right timing with the Islanders missing the playoffs. Being in the playoffs and flaming out in the first round does not represent success. It’s about building and sustaining a championship team.
Dean Lombardi would have been the right guy to replace Snow. He was recently fired by the Kings as their general manager. He has built good young teams during his time with the Sharks and Kings. With his resume, that could be a selling point for Tavares to stay. If anything, Lombardi’s presence increases the odds of the Islanders star to stay than Snow.
It’s funny the Kings fired Lombardi and Darryl Sutter, their head coach last week despite winning two Stanley Cups. Two non-playoff seasons in a row had them accountable. Imagine that.
The Islanders fall short of a playoff appearance, and it was good enough for Weight and Snow to stay.
That’s the difference between a franchise with higher aspirations and a franchise that is content with mediocrity.
Ledecky’s and Malkin’s actions show they are no different than John Pickett, John Spano, Howard Milstein and Steve Gluckstern and Charles Wang by keeping the wrong people for the job and expecting different results.
By keeping Snow and Weight, it means it’s business as usual despite new ownership.
