New York Islanders

New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow has earned a little more respect among NHL circles following his draft performance.

By Michael Iuzzini

The New York Islanders blue-line was noticeably getting over crowded, especially with the long-term signing of Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk.

So, general manager Garth Snow reacted. He went to work and pulled off a solid move that put his team right back into the first round of a very deep crop of players in the draft.

Snow traded Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for the 16th and 33rd overall pick. He then rounded off the deals by trading the 33rd and 72nd pick to acquire the 28th overall from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Snow’s business sense got him and his staff from sitting in the dark corner at the draft to the VIP section.  With the 16th pick they drafted Matthew Barzal, a two-way center that is known as a play-maker rather than a goal scorer currently at this point in his hockey career.

Snow denied the rumors that Reinhart has been asking for a trade and focused the move on more of the fact that Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield will be NHL ready.

Sure, Snow was not on his own with the decisions to move Reinhart and draft Barzal, but the once hated GM and league joke proved to his NHL counterparts he has more than a clue how to manage a team.

Garth had been handcuffed by Owner Charles Wang for a little under a decade and had no choice to make do with what Wang’s cap was.

Islanders fans have to pat Snow on the back with what team the GM has put together and the solid prospects that are in their developing system.  Hopefully we will no longer hear the chants of “Garth Must Go.”

Currently, Snow is in the process of closing a deal in signing Thomas Hickey to a long-term extension.  He also has some work to do with Anders Lee and Brock Nelson signing on the dotted line.

Snow has a solid core of young players and with patience has rebuilt his team from within. The team’s depth on the blue-line along with a crop of young talented forwards waiting in the wings such as Michael Dal Colle, Josh Ho-Sang, and now Barzal, has Islanders nation salivating for the season to start.

Snow’s work is far from over as he still is in search for a veteran d-man most likely through free agency and locking down the backup goalie scenario.

When looking at the big picture the future is all Isles, and Snow is the man to thank.

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Editor for Elitesportsny.com and writer for Eyesonisles.com. Author of the forthcoming book, The Unconscious Awakening & Creator of The Unconscious Awakening series. A New Age/Paranormal adventure. I love the Paranormal. It only seems natural as a freaking Islanders fan.