For many NHL teams, including the Islanders, the most crucial part of the 2007-08 season begins Sunday at noon when the free agent market opens and the process of a roster makeover begins. It should only take a day or two for Ryan Smyth to sift through his offers and decide where to spend the rest of his career.
Losing Smyth obviously would be a major blow to the efforts of general manager Garth Snow and coach Ted Nolan to restore the credibility of the Isles as a franchise that is serious about winning. But even if they convince Smyth to stay, they have a lot of other big holes to fill on a roster that is likely to bear little resemblance to last season’s eighth-place finisher in the Eastern Conference.
Having bought out top center Alexei Yashin and virtually kissed top scorer Jason Blake goodbye, there’s also a strong possibility they will part ways with top-scoring defenseman Tom Poti, resurgent forward Viktor Kozlov and fourth-line enforcer Arron Asham. They previously severed ties with forwards Richard Zednik and Randy Robitaille, defenseman Sean Hill and goaltender Mike Dunham, and they failed to make a qualifying offer to restricted free agent forward Andy Hilbert, although he still might be signed later. Free agent Chris Simon remains unsigned, but he, too, still is in the picture.
For those keeping score at home, that’s 12 of the top 20 regulars from the roster in early March who might not be back. The Isles did make qualifying offers to restricted free agents Trent Hunter and Chris Campoli, and they are expected to return. Hunter’s agent, Brad Devine, said it’s likely they will file for arbitration on Thursday to protect his client’s rights, but even if they go all the way to a hearing to decide Hunter’s salary, that wouldn’t be any reflection of bad feeling between management and Hunter, who is a key part of the team.
“Trent really believes in being an Islander, and he’s comfortable with the GM and the coach,” Devine said recently. “It’s just a matter of finding a number we both can agree on.”
Kozlov’s agent, Paul Theofanus, did not return Newsday’s call, but he previously rejected the Islanders’ one-year contact offer in the vicinity of $1.5 million. Coming off a career season in which he scored 25 goals and 51 points, it’s possible Kozlov will get a multi-year deal from Florida averaging more than $2 million per season. Although Kozlov often has fallen short of his potential throughout his career, his move from left wing to center at the end of last season paid dividends, and retaining him could have provided a measure of insurance at the position where the Islanders need the most help.
But there are questions about how effective Kozlov would be with best friend Yashin gone from a roster that includes no other Russians. It seems Nolan and Snow are trending toward building a roster emphasizing a North American style of play with just a sprinkling of Europeans.
Asham, who could be considered the middleweight champion of the NHL, fits the mold with his toughness, but apparently, he wasn’t consistent enough to merit the raise he is seeking over last season’s $950,000 salary. “The Islanders are aware that, should Arron enter the free-agent market, he will be highly coveted,” said Art Breeze, who represents Asham. “Few players bring his skill with toughness, character, intensity and team play. Arron prefers to remain an Islander. He very much likes his teammates, Long Island, the fans, the coach and the management staff.”
Breeze declined to discuss details of the deal Asham is seeking. It’s possible Asham could return, but it would have to be on closer to the Islanders’ terms, and it might depend to some extent on how many younger players they want to blend into the roster.
I’ll save the list of potential Islanders targets in the free agent market for a story in Sunday’s Newsday. But including only those players under contract plus restricted free agents who have received qualifying offers, here’s how the Isles’ roster looks at the moment:
Left wing – Jeff Tambellini, Sean Bergenheim.
Center – Mike Sillinger, Shawn Bates, Richard Park, Frans Nielsen.
Right wing – Trent Hunter, Miroslav Satan.
Defense – Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Freddy Meyer, Bruno Gervais, Chris Campoli.
Goaltender – Rick DiPietro, Wade Dubielewicz.
Top prospects – (Forwards) Sean Bentivoglio, Blake Comeau, Jeremy Colliton, Petteri Nokelainen; (Defense) Dustin Kohn, Andrew McDonald, Drew Fata.
Snow has his work cut out for him to find additional scoring up front as well as more experience and toughness on defense. If he misses out on some of the big names, maybe Snow can build a balanced roster comparable to last season’s surprisingly successful performance.
Comments (147)
great update greg. i say, let smyth walk if the money is too big. NO WAY can they afford to build a competitive roster for 07-08; thus, think beyond. we need simon back, but, asham is too streaky and plays hard core every other game. more avery types would be a plus...blowing dumb money to save face on a desperate trade is illogical. smyth alone wont bring nyi recruits---only a solid TEAM will.
Hopefully the Isles are wise with their money tomorrow. Should be exciting!
...And that begins with signing Ryan Smyth, Gaza. ;)
Thanks for the update Mr. Logan. :)
-Dom.
We must sign Smyth or Blake and another scorer. It's time for The Isles to step up and make something big happen. I enjoyed 4 cups as a teen, that was a long time ago. JL
Taking a look at that roster of players that are either signed or assumed to be back is pretty frightening.... so that is why for the life of me I cannot understand the Isles fans not interested in bringing their best player (besides dipietro) back - JASON BLAKE - at fair market value for a 40 goal scoring, hustling, heart and soul player. Even over pay a little.
I went to the prospect scrimmage today. Marcou looked real good, so did Nielsen. Best surprise was watching Fata, not so much on-ice (though he spent a lot of the game showcasing his offensive upside) but the way he handled himself with the younger guys.
Best moment was definitely Okposo's penalty shot. I couldn't see what tripped him up, but watching everyone on the ice razz the most exciting prospect in the pipeline made the day.
In sum: no one there that burnt up the ice, but some solid players with potential.
Oh man. No Asham?! I'm really disappointed with that. Guess he is looking for more than the Isles are willing to spend. The roster is in shambles!!! What the hell is it going to look like on opening night?!?! Could Paul Kariya be an Islander? What about Jarome Iginla? This is MADNESS.
Thanks Ryan for some info.... always exciting to hear about prospects.
Doc,
This team went NOWHERE when J. Blake was the offense. He is not the type of player to build around b/c he will never make the players around him better. He was a fantastic surprise for us over the last few seasons, but that does not mean it would be smart to throw him tons of money so he could score 30 goals a year for an 8th place, first round exiting team.
Snow has proven to be a good GM in his first year and I trust the judgment of Ted Nolan. If they are agreeing to let Blake walk, then there's obviously something that all of you pro Blake resigners are missing.
It's not that he didn't play his heart out or that he wasn't productive, b/c he was. But for the $ he is asking for, it's obvious that $ could be spent wiser. Just b/c he has been an Islander for awhile and he had a breakout season does not necessarily mean that he is the best fit for this team.
Listen to Ted man, so long Blake.
May all of your days be filled with sweet sugary gum drops of joy.
Spend the money on Hannan, Preissing and Hamrlik or Schneider.
Kiss Blake and Smyth goodbye.
Sign Zubris or Guerrin.
Promote from within.
Build a TEAM.
If Smyth really has been using us to increase his price tag, then I think the next viable option really needs to be Paul Kariya.
The Isles need a player to build around. The Isles need a player who makes his teammates better. The Isles need a leader with a combination of speed, quickness, passing ability, and scoring. Paul Kariya is this player.
Kariya is one year younger than Blake.... has lost a lot of games due to concussion.... and will cost significantly more than Blake and he is NOT the player he once was.
I can agree with you Candyman when you make your compelling argument about Blake instead of just saying he is a puck hog and selfish.... that is the part that I mostly have a problem with. I do trust Nolan/Snow in their decision making and so be it.
If you look at the roster above that Logan so kindly gave us:
THEN add say a goal scorer and decent defenseman.
You get a 10th place team. Good teams keep what they have and then add to them. Due to poor trades and mgmt., we are just re-filling gaps we made ourselves. We are not getting better! We keep putting gum over a hole that is about to explode, and with no good prospects in the minors, we are TOAST!
In my opinion, we need more then the roster Logan was so kind to give us above, and then say a Kariya and a mid level defenseman.
MGMT: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pull a rabbit out of your a^^ and surprise us. Your fans deserve it!
SIGN ASHAM: IF nothing else we can watch him beat on Avery for a full year with a healthy hand !!!
"Gary" and "Glen" are so clearly the same person posting under the same name it's almost as pathetic as steady meaningless life ...the way they "both" said how so "kindly" gave us ...who says that? Then the scorer and decent D-man ...then in the next post 16 minutes later comes back with Kariya then uses the abbriviation "mgmt" in both posts ...so sad ...
I am confidient Snow and Nolan will build up a better team then last season starting today.
I think Snow needs to get 1-2 veteran top players, and the rest needs to be younger FA's 29 and under. So we can make a major step towards building a team that can be together for more then a season. Im sure that Snow/Nolan know that they need to build a team that will stay together for more then a season if we are ever going to have a chance for a cup run.
Should be exciting the next few days.
if smyth and blake both dont come back, which it looks like they wont,the team will look very thin up front. but i do agree that i have some confidence that garth and ted will bring in some younger productive free agents and fill in with the likes of tambellini, nielsen,bergenheim, and build a team and not just use stopgap players to fill in like said earlier
Steve Webb! Steve Webb! Steve Webb! Steve Webb!
Yo fellas... keep me informed on any developments... the e-net on my phone is slow so I'm just refreshing this page.... thanks
bring back steve, hes currently a ufa from home depot
Tsn.ca reports on their frenzy blog that Smyth has received offers from 9 teams. Time to hold our breath.
AZS:
Please pay your rent!
tsn reports poti signed 4 yr deal with caps, 3.5 mil a season
Poti to the Caps!!
The Icelander Poti era is over!
Zednik to the Panthers!
That era is over too!!
Come home from a bad day of Golf to see the same old....AZS still has man love for me, Henrik worried about our team instead of his own, and Isles bobbleheads doing nothing!
That hurts losing Poti.......Come on Bobbleheads do something!
Then again Henrik, why r u gloating? You said Poti stunk all year! Now that he is gone you think it is a huge loss for us? Not fair! Stay consistent.
The market is already getting crazy.
This is crazy!!
Smyth considering 5-year cotnract offer from isles worth 32 mil.
Poti agreed terms with Caps - 3,5 (wow!! thats way too much!)
Zednik to Panthers, 1,75 per season, 2-year contract...
C'mon! Think quick and think big! Free agents are signing new contracts and the market is getting crazy... what's going on out there?
If those above signings are true.... the Isles are in trouble I hate to admit. This is why you have to make sure that your own UFA's stay put.... ie: Blake/Smyth/Poti. You have to overpay a little because at least one team out there will have better cap room to spend on your UFA's and will see the value of that player better than our own fans do.
Who cares about Zednick... he sucks... always did. If that is what the market is paying for him.... then god bless the panthers if they think he is somehow a difference maker or even a useful piece of the puzzle on a mediocre team.
Blake should have been given a fair offer of about 18-20 mil for 4 years. This would have kept him.
Actually, his name is Zednik. Second, you are MISTAKEN. He DOES NOT suck at all! He is a very useful, reliable forward, and I will be very sad to see him go! BTW his deal was for 3.25 not 1.75.
Oops. My mistake. It was for 1.75.
We need to replace our 2 top offensive players and top Defensive Player (Pts. wise) . Once we do that, we still need to add even more players just to be better then 8th place!
Steady was right. They are "bobbleheads!"
Can you say "youth movement?"
15 games under .500 next year!
Lets Go Jets!
Twenty million dollars for 4 years? $5m a year? If he makes that, even on the open market, it's only because some GM's got a real man-crush for him.
I liked Zednik, he was serviceable and he had a couple of big goals and assists, but his behavior wasn't exactly professional. Family's important, but he really went back just to fight with his ex-wife...
The scrimmage at prospect camp was even better today. James Marcou was all over the place--I'm pulling for the kid to get a contract. Nielsen had a goal from the point that I don't think anyone on the ice saw coming. Okposo had assists on both his team's regulation goals. Fata continued showing his offensive upside, leading the rush at least two or three times.
I was a little surprised at Trevor Smith's invisibility out there. Some guy named Crosty (no idea who he was) was good at setting himself up by the net, but he was slow and seemed to be consistently out of breath. Katic didn't look bad, but he was getting pushed around.
Good play all around.
I agree. I'm not saying it just because he is from Slovakia, but I know Richard and he is very useful player. Last season was the worst one of his career (family problems) and 1.75 might have been a sacrifice from Garth&Ted. He likes Nolan's style and would fit for a long term. Just like Aaron Asham...
Memo to those dreaming about Schneider: Ducks signed him. 2-years, 11.25 per season. What a blue line! Pronger-Niedermayer-Schneider. Well, Scott might not be back, but still... impressive! Compare it to our first three D-men (without Poti who's gone) and you will see the difference between SC winner and Isles... Sad, sad, sad...
Looks like we are very passive this offseason, but I still believe in Garth&Ted.
Ryan:
Get use to seeing that "prospect camp." That is your 07~08, 25 games under .500 NYI. lol lol lol
Uh-oh...Schneider signing with Anaheim gives Detroit room to sign Smyth. I've read that they are front-runners for his services.
For Christ's sake, give them a chance and watch the hockey. So what if they lose the big names and don't make a big, early free agent splash? See how the season turns out before judging them dead in the water. The constant negativity is sickening.
Mikko: You are right, but I think they will focus on Hasek and Bertuzzi first. And on the other hand, Ryan said he would like to play either for a canadian team or for a team who can win the Cup. And although Isles are far away from it at the moment, Red Wings are not one of the top favourites neither. However, they have a better shot to sign him.
Anyway, with the departure of Zednik and Poti, we have 4 mil. to spend...
I believe in Nolan. Snow is a good guy, but what has he done?
I am picturing a war room right now of a bunch of bobbleheads panicking, and Wang asking what a Power Play is!?! SCARY !!!!!
As long as Wang sticks his head in that board room, we are screwed!
If Smyth walks we just sent our team back 3 more years minimum. No blake, No Smyth, No Poti.....Why would any 30 something star want to play here?
smyth rumored to be going to colorado
Steady, you got a point. We have to resign Smyth. I believe he will attract other top players...
Btw., I just started reading latest signings saying "Edmonton Oilers have signed...." ... start breathing again, they signed Tarnstron and Grebeshkov. No word on Smyth yet ...
Ryan
Leave Christ out of it, he is a Red Wings fan.
The reason your fans are miserable is b/c of constant poor decisions by the upper brass. You cannot go through yet another youth movement can you? I feel bad for you people. Go get DirecTV so you can watch real teams everynight!
Henrik:
I can understand the attraction of posting meaningless prognostications under an Internet pseudonym. You can't be held accountable for your idiotic commentary when it turns out to be worthless.
How was the Rangers' prospect camp this week up in Tarrytown? Did you even consider supporting the young kids your own team is developing, or are you a bit too fixated on the Islanders?
I'd sincerely welcome any thoughts you have on your own team's prospects.
BRIERE TO PHILLY!!!
ITS OFFICIAL!!!
8-years ... 52 mil.!!!
Are you kidding me????
Oh great another fan coming to this blog again.
I am picturing Wang right now as Homer Simpson when he needs to make a decision.
"Dooo do dododo dah doooooo dah dododddo....emmmm beer"
Believe me he is sticking his head in and making decisions.
Where have you gone Bill Torrey ?????????
The above anonymous was me.
Detroit City:
I'm not about to defend most of the decisions management's made. I'd just prefer they had some breathing room from the constant negativity. Let them work, then let's see what happens. If they crap it up during the season, then I'll be the first to give them hell. Doing it before the season's even begun smacks of stupidity.
Philly is going to be good. TOUGH as well!!!
and "Wang and the gang" have done ????????????
The problem is many of the teams in our division have a good young nucleus to add too.....We do not!
Sign Simon~Asham~Steve Webb and turn every game into a circus! lol
Rafalski gets 5yrs/$30mil with the wings
It's crazy!!!
Briere for 8 years and 6,5 per season. And they already signed Timmonen and Hartnell for long and juicy contracts...
Sarich to Calgary - 3.5 per season! Whoa, that's an awful lot!!! What's gonna be next? Drury for 10 years - 85 mil.??
Someone should stop overpaying these players...
And Wang & Co should start doing something. This team is looking really bad...
As I said, this is crazy ... Rafalsi to Red Wings - 5 years/30 mil. ... that's 6 mil for a season. Man, that's too much. Thank's god we have MAB signed for another season. Otherwise, someone else would sign him and give him 4 mil.+ per season...
Salary cap is in place Piero.....Some teams now how to play it better then others. Detroit and Philly look really good!
"Everybody have fun tonight. Everybody WANG chung tonight!"
Ryan:
My prospects played in the big boy league this year. Rangers are stacked with young talent. Isles do not have one big name to speak of. Keep watching your tiny tots play, and I will watch the NHL games where it counts.
Icelanders are pathetic.
Park will lead your team in goals this year with 12.
This is NY boys. You cannot re-build every year! Get the moving vans because you are going to the desert.
lol lol lol lol lol lol
Did I miss something??? Is it possible that the isles haven't done anything yet???? Dude... what are these guys thinking? Let get some players for our roster already!
sorry.... "KNOW" how to play it.......
I know I know I cannot spell!
Waiting the early signings out may not be the worst idea. As teams start using up cap space, the market will go back down. It happened last year, and it will happen again.
Thing that scares me is the Rangers have room and money to spend, and they are still silent!
Good, Rafalski just ate up a lot of Red Wings cap room, so I don't think Smyth is going to Detroit.
Oh, and stop complaining about not making any siginings yet. The Rags, San Jose, Montreal et al haven't done anything yet either.
Interesting. I asked, in all sincerity, for some actual opinion and instead all I get is more belligerent idiocy from Mr. Henrik. Seriously, either grow some balls and pick fights with Islander fans in real life or else grow some brains and prove to be a mildly interesting commentator on the sport. Your current path will lead to nothing but an online girlfriend named Tom.
And the Rangers? While we're trading in worthless prognostications, I predict Sean Avery will split the team in half with his locker room histrionics after Shanahan, the only one there able to control him, goes out for the season with a broken hip. Without Nylander, Jagr pisses away another season in his march towards irrelevancy. Eventually, the lukewarm corps of Ranger "fans" will dissolve into a mush as their team goes down in flames.
Oh, and Ryan Hollweg will continue to lose just about every fight he picks with his cheap shots and pissant annoyance tactics. With any luck, Chris Simon'll have the chance to show he doesn't need a stick in his hand to do it.
Why are you so called Islander fans so effin fixated on Zednik. Look at these rediculous contracts being handed out and you're worried about Blake getting an average of 5 mil a year when he is clearly going to get it from someone... why not have it be islanders?
i have a question. if this free agent signing turns out bad for us icelanders, could we undo the buyout of yashin? we are not looking so good thus far...
Uh oh ...Steady is about to throw yet another temper tantrum ...get out the Pampers ...the Isles didn't sign anyone at 12:01 ...time to abondon ship as per usual huh steady?
Back from playing golf? There's no way a tubby guy like you played 18 holes. How are your kids? Do they still wear helmets and mittens?
The Avalanche play alot farther from Canada than do the Islanders and missed the playoffs last season. I highly doubt that with 9 teams interested Smyth is jumping to Colorado on Day 1.
Wow, GMs have been throwing around a lot of money. Yikes.
Any thoughts on losing Poti? (I doubt anyone is sad to lose Zednick.)
I, for one, am not that upset. Poti played a lot of minutes for us, but he was a -1. Maybe I'm cherry-picking memories, but I have too many mental images of him standing around in front of the goal, failing to clear the crease, while the other team scored a goal.
That said, we have a lot of work to do on the D. We've got a good bunch of prospects (Henrik's carefully reasoned comments notwithstanding) in terms of forwards, but I'm more worried about the D for the future.
Update from Snow at 5:40pm.
http://islanders.nhl.com/...age=NewsPage&service=page
Looking to Strike a Deal
Chris Botta Jul 1, 2007, 5:41 PM EDT
Snow says Islanders have a few deals in the works
Islanders GM Garth Snow emerged from his office at 5:30 pm to provide an update for his team’s fans during the first day of free agency in the NHL.
“We dropped a lot of lines in the water in the first two hours,” said Snow. “Some discussions ended quickly, some are still very much on-going.
I don’t know yet if we’ll have anything to announce sometime tonight, but we are definitely working on a few deals. Way too early to tell. We’re going to be here a while.”
The general manager acknowledged he was interested in bringing former Islander (and longtime Snow friend) Mathieu Schneider back to Long Island. “There was some genuine interest there and we had a discussion,” said Snow, “but Matt had the opportunity to join the Stanley Cup champs on a very lucrative deal. I’m happy for him.”
The pursuit of a veteran defenseman continues as Tom Poti signed a four-year deal this afternoon with the Washington Capitals. “We pretty much expected to see Tom sign with another team today or tomorrow,” said Snow. “As I mentioned this morning, the climate for deals for solid defensemen changed a lot over the last few weeks. We thank Tom for his contributions to the Islanders last season and wish him the best in Washington.”
Snow continues to be joined by pro scouting director Ken Morrow and head coach Ted Nolan in his bunker at the Coliseum. The walls of his office are completely filled with vital information such as the names of the available top free agents, the depth charts of every NHL franchise and the priority list by position of Snow and his staff. Don’t mistake the lack of a signing – so far – as evidence all is quiet in Islanders Country.
“We are not going to jump into a deal that’s not in both the short-term and long-term best interests of the Islanders,” said Snow. “I’m very comfortable with our process. I know sometimes fans get frustrated when their teams talk about having patience, but the market has only been open for less than six hours. Ted, Kenny Morrow and I are on the same page. We’re not going to make a foolish deal that will hurt the future of our team. Whenever this process ends, we will be a better team.”
Gomez to Rangers, 7 years, big dollars
theyre not silent anymore...
they signed gomez for 7 years
I doubt the Avs thing
Hey Garth !! ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Hockey buzz is saying that Gomez has signed with the rangers per tsn and espn but nothing official. Smyth is weighing the isles offer and Montreal? Very interesting as how montreal has seemed to come out of nowhere for smythe. I think now that poti is gone it is time to make a big push for Souray. I think he would be better defensively and his minus rating might be a little skewed due to the poor goaltending in montreal last year. I mean you are getting 18-25 goals from the dman. We havent had that since Potvin. Also dont forget about RFA's. I like to make an offer to Stephen Weiss who put up 50+ points in FLA last year. He is a playmaking centerman and is only 24 years old. Also not sure if Michael Ryder signed back with the habs. TSN lists him as an RFA. If so we can make an offer to him too. I give up draft picks for proven players in their prime any day. Make it happen Garth. Lets go Islanders.
Just heard the Edmonton deal. What the ???? is Keving lowe doing? Smith and Lupul for Pitkannen and Sanderson. So the flyers get a steady dman with leadership and a young prospect who has put up 28 goals in a season and edmonton gets a -25 dman in pitkanann and a washed up sanderson? I dont get it. Lowe got absolutely robbed!!!The isles are in for some battles this year. The Atlantic division is monster with all the moves philly made. DP will be seeing many pucks his way in that div. Lets go isles
like i said....
word is smyth is close to signing with colorado with a five year deal worth just over six mil a year...
in other words, for less years and less per year than the isles offered.... nah winning isnt important to players and hanging 12 of your 20 starters from last seasons roster just looks SO good to prospective free agents.....
also, blake is rumored to be close to a deal with toronto of all places....
poti has already signed with the caps....
we will end up with eight starters from last seasons team and lots of kids....
yay garth.
lol
the rumor is even ASHAM is bailing on this management
ricky is gonna end up playing with all his buddies from bridgeport
lol
yay wangarth
Blake signed with Toronto - 5 years 20 million
four mil for five years.... now THAT is what a 40 goal scorer is worth at LEAST... toronto got off cheap and our management is too STUPID to see we just lost the only working player on last years team.
this team is destined for nothing right now.... now wang will offer one of our top prospects a 20 year contract.
Will the last Islander please turn off the light when you leave.
yup it's true.....tsn is reporting it
how the **** did the rags land Drury too?
RAgs just signed Drury