Following a puzzling prepared statement during the New York Islanders media day, Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin are in the process of making changes to their hockey operations.
Eight days ago, New York Islanders fans and those in the hockey world reacted to what felt like a very truncated, filtered and purposefully ambiguous prepared statement from Jon Ledecky.One week later, it appears that activity is finally starting to ramp up in evaluating the Islanders as not only a hockey club but on a business level.
According to Chris Botta of SNY, Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin are undergoing their promised top-down evaluation of the Islanders from their roster to management and they’ve come to the same conclusion most have for the past several years — the Islanders and Garth Snow is not a winning combination.
“Since current Islanders President/GM/Alternate Governor Garth Snow has not been relieved of his duties more than a week since the end of another disastrous season, it is believed that the new hire would become Islanders GM while Snow would remain President (or given a new title).”
Get ready Isles fans, because here’s how it’s going to shake out. The situation with Garth Snow closely mimics what happened in Carolina with Ron Francis.
When Tom Dundon assumed full ownership of the Hurricanes, he reassigned Ron Francis to the position of Team President and began the search for a new GM. Essentially, a demotion and a total removal of influence over hockey operations since it appears: “his replacement as general manager will report directly to new owner Tom Dundon.”
This is a ghost firing, make no mistake. It’s the same situation with the Islanders and Snow, whose rumored contract extension extends beyond five years. If this is all true, it indicates Ledecky intended to remove himself of Snow but couldn’t completely.
Of course, any and all rumored candidates ranging from both Lou and Chris Lamorillo to Tom Fitzgerald and Julien BriseBois wouldn’t be interested if Snow retains any influence over hockey operations. However, those are the names that are being floated around as possible candidates.
It’s estimated that the pace will start to pick up once the first round of the playoffs is resolved and more candidates become available.
When Ledecky and Malkin first bought the team, it’s natural that the current regime had their chance to prove their worth. So when the Islanders sat at 17-17-8 on January 17, Jack Capuano was held responsible.
Garth Snow, it’s time you were held accountable.
