New York Islanders

New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow passes up sleep these days in order to focus attention on impending contract negotiations.

By Michael Iuzzini

The 2015 NHL Draft must feel like it took place a decade ago for New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow.  After receiving praise for his actions during the draft, the Isles boss must now shift gears and focus on locking down a handful of the team’s future stars.

Snow’s first step was to extend qualifying offers to six of the team’s players.  Two of the six are Brock Nelson and Anders Lee, who each played an integral part in last season’s success.1isles2

As we speak, Snow is in negotiations with Lee and his group.  Lee, 24, enjoyed a solid rookie campaign.  In 76-games he found the net 25 times and racked up 41-points total.

Even though Lee was a healthy scratch for the last two games of the playoffs against the Washington Capitals, the big forward made his presence be known when on the ice, especially in front of the net.

Either Snow is going to sugarcoat a two-year deal just to put a temporary band aid on Lee from becoming a free agent, or whether Snow will lock Lee down with a long-term deal, it will be fun to see where this plays out.

Snow is also looking to lock down Brock Nelson who shot out of the gates at the beginning of the season.  Nelson is another big kid at only 23-years young.  Nelson played 82-games finishing with 20 goals and 22 assists.

Rounding off Snow’s agenda, he is coming close in working out an Extension on Thomas Hickey.  Hickey is often poked at by fans for being a small D-man that gets pushed around.  Regardless, he’s a solid third-pair defenseman who provides a little offense and gobbles up quality minutes.

As we inch closer to July it might be fun in the sun for Islanders-nation. But for Garth Snow it is all business.

That’s exactly what Islanders fans want to hear.

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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.