What Happened To The Islanders?
- Updated: October 11, 2016
This is a first for Islander’s GM Jonny. Since he first took over the Islanders, back in Season 14, the Islanders made the playoffs every season, finished first in the East, and just last season made it to the DHL Cup Finals, only to lose to John and his Blues in four games. This is the first time as a GM in this league that GM Jonny has been the owner of a losing record this far into the season. Currently sitting 12th in the East, only ahead of the Jets and Sabres, and currently the 5th worst team in the league, the Islanders cup run from just last spring seems like a now distant memory.
Ryan Getzlaf, a late addition to the Islanders last year, brought in for his experience and leadership, says that the difference in the locker room is, “very noticeable.” “We have guys who have been here since GM Jonny took over, guys who have become crowd favourites here, who are now worried they might be next on the trade block. You try to not let it distract you, but it does have an impact on your game.” Getzlaf’s line mate Corey Perry was one of the most recent guys that GM Jonny traded, in a deal that saw Perry, Fleury, and just recently acquired Islander, Zach Parise, move to the Penguins for some rental players, Varlarmov, and the Islander’s own first back.
When asked why he believes this season is so much different than last season, GM Jonny had this to say, “we thought we made the right moves in the offseason. We brought in Brent Burns, one of the best defencemen in the league, and we brought in Trocheck to play with Getzlaf and Perry. We felt as though early on, something wasn’t clicking. We made a bold move, moving Burns for Parise, thinking that some added scoring up front could help our season, and when that didn’t help, we added Roman Polak, thinking maybe some solid D and some grit would help. As you can see, neither one has helped.” We asked GM Jonny if he thought that it was a mistake on his part moving Burns so early in the season, given his value to the team. “People are going to say that it was a mistake, and that we should have given him more time. My response to that is, we were a team who made a cup run on depth and scoring. Adding Parise meant we could put another solid scorer (Trocheck) on the 2nd, and drop a nice depth player (Pouliot) to our 3rd, in hopes of trying to balance the team out. It didn’t work, maybe we jumped the gun, moving Burns too soon, but as a GM I did what I felt what was right for the team.”
The Islanders currently hold the 5th worst spot, making their pick a lotto pick, and GM Jonny says he plans on trying to add a few more 1sts.
The Islanders have never been afraid to spend to get a deal done in the past, but GM Jonny said they are now taking a different approach. “When you have these guys putting up big numbers, and they have a few years left on deals, it was never a problem for us to give up a 1st to get a deal done, but now that we’re on the outside looking in, the Islanders are going to have to try something new. We’re not just going to make a deal for the sake of moving a guy, we’re going to make sure we get the best value we can, and try to rebuild our franchise to where we were last season.”
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