New York Islanders have long-term woes
The New York Islanders have been suffering defeat after defeat this season and it is not likely to end as the National Hockey League slowly moves into December.
The Islanders sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and in last place in the Eastern Conference with only 13 points and 12 losses. The Islanders score an average of 2.1 goals a game, which is good enough for 29th in the League, while allowing
an average of 3.33 goals per game, which is also 29th in the League. The only thing keeping the Islanders afloat is their specials teams. In both power play and penalty kill, New York sits in the middle of the pack. However, five-on-five they are
the worst team in the National Hockey League.
This type of losing usually means a team is headed towards a lottery pick in the entry draft and the fact that the Islanders have managed to lose like this consistently would mean that they have a young team ready for development. While some of that is true,
the fact is that the Islanders still do not have the young talent capable of carrying the club to greatness.
Unlike their brothers, the Edmonton Oilers, in the Western Conference the Islanders do not have a plethora of young talent up front. In fact the cupboard is rather bare at the offensive end. With the exception of John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo,
general manager Garth Snow has simply put together a random group of forwards and seems to be hoping for the best.
Among this group of rag-tag forwards are Blake Comeau, Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey, Trent Hunter and PA Parenteau. Combined, these five players do not have as many points as League leader Steven Stamkos. The Islanders are simply inept on the offensive end.
To make matters worse, of these five players only two are under 24 years old, Grabner and Bailey, who has been sent back down to the American Hockey League.
On the blue line things only get worse for the Islanders. Besides Mark Streit and James Wisniewski, the club does not have a bona-fide top-four NHL defenseman. In addition, they also lack any real young talent at the position. Names such as Mark Eaton, Radek
Martinek and Milan Jurcina make up the League’s worst defence core.
Moreover, the Islanders have major questions in goal where the club currently employs Rick DiPietro and Dwayne Rolson. Drafted first overall and given an inexplicable 15-year deal worth $67.5 million, DiPietro has been a disappointment for the Islanders.
Now in the fifth year of the deal, the 29-year-old has been decidedly underwhelming. When not injured, DiPietro has been an average to below-average net-minder, the 2010-11 season is no exception, as he has posted a 2.79 goals-against-average and a 3.91 save-percentage.
Making matters worse is the fact that Rolson is 41 years old and the Islanders have no contingency plan, as the club does not have a youngster in the minors, who might be able to challenge for the starting job.
Making matters even more difficult for the Islanders is the fact that their budget is limited and they are unable to spend to the League salary cap. In addition, the club has to pay former defenseman Brendan Witt for another two seasons and former forward
Alexei Yashin for another five years.
The Islanders are simply a mess and have been for years, despite the fact that the club has not finished better than 26th for three straight season they have very little to show for it. With so many problems the franchise needs to think about
overhauling its front office.
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