A Fragile Organization

It is common sense to believe that, in order for an organization that has been struggling over the better half of a decade, to rebuild, they need one two premier assets that are tradeable, in order to acquire top-flight prospects or picks.

Unfortunately for the New York Islanders, said players simply do not exist.

The Isles have been getting by with a semi-competitive roster that managed to compete for the lower spots in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and now find themselves at a crossroads.

Consider this:
Their captain, the talented, but oh-so-enigmatic Alexei Yashin, leads the team with 47 points; this is the third-lowest amongst team-points leaders in the league. Yashin's leadership is also questionable at best, and it is fair to assume that you will not often find him confronting fellow Islanders on weak play or a lack of hustle.

Their impact players (or so we are led to believe by looking at salaries), are supposedly Miro Satan, Mike York, and Jason Blake.

Satan, who was expected by pundits within the organization, to offset Yashin, and provide a one-two scoring punch that would revive a stagnant club, has proven to be one of the major Free Agent busts of the offseason. Now, 24 goals and 20 assists are respectable numbers...but not for a 3.2 million-a-year, "gamebreaking" player. Mike York, always that energetic, feisty kind of forward that every team coveted while playing for the Oilers, has become a shell of that player; his goal scoring ability has evaporated, and he just doesn't seem to have that same drive to the puck. Blake is a solid role-player, and contributes enough to the club to warrant a cheap salary and 2nd-line minutes...but, unfortunately for the Isles, that's all he'll ever be; a 2nd liner

The back-end leaves something to be desired as well. Canuck import Brent Sopel, know in his Vancouver days for his hair, as well as his Power-Play prowess, seems lost in an Islanders jersey, with only 1 goal to his name this season. Brad Lukowich and Radek Martinek are admirable fill-ins, but both play the same, stock game of checking and throwing around size...and really, a team only needs one of those. In fact, the only Islanders defensemen who appears respectable this year are Alexei Zhitnik, who for so long had appeared to be washed up, and the outstanding Chris Campoli, who is an offensive defenseman in the mold of an Ed Jovanovski or Bryan McCabe

So what of the future? Well, New York has one sure-fire kid in the Erie Otters Ryan O'Marra, who is onie of the best leaders in the OHL this season, and plays the tight-checking, gritty kind of game that ex-captain Mike Peca played in his stint on Long Island.

But beyond that? Sketchy, at best. Forwards Sean Bergenheim, Petteri Nokelainen, and Robert Nilsson are not projected to be anything more than gritty, checking-line forwards, barring a sudden surge in offensive potential, and a weak defensive core behind Campoli and oft-injured AHL'er Bruno Gervais, leaves more than enough to be desired.

So, when it comes down to it, who is to blame? Well, sure, you can lay the blame on Mike Milbury, for orchestrating such beauties as Bertuzzi and McCabe for Linden, or Chara and Spezza for Yashin. You can lay the potential blame on a shallow scouting staff, or inconsistent coaching. But when it comes down to it, one has to look to the top, and Islanders owner Charles Wang. Only this season has he actually come to the forefront, and addressed the issues most prevalent to his hockey club; leadership, scoring, and a weak pool of prospects

Really, though. Those problems are only minor...Right?

The Opinion Blog of Danny