Interesting read. Don't always understand or like some stuff Snow does but I am slowly but surely trusting him more. I think he has done some solid stuff and he is on right track. Patience...patience...and some more patience.
As our young core continue to grow and develop on this team, I expect to see Tavares, Bailey (very important!), Okposo, Comeau, Franzie, Grabner, MacDonald, continue to grow and play more like NHL men....with some guys like Nino...DeHaan...Donovan...heading our way continuing the elevation of young talent. I like the Reasoner signing - a good player and good guy who will be a good example to younger guys. I do still believe we need another 3/4 defenseman and top 3 winger. Lets see what happens next few weeks...
I started to read it, then ended up skimming through it. It seems like the same stuff just worded differently to sound completely different. I guess you could spin it anyway you want.
I believe that we're on the cusp of being good, and being good for quite a while once we get there. But telling an Islander fan to be patient is a very dangerous request. For myself, I legitimately have a ton of faith in what Snow is doing and has done. Really, we're right there.
Very good read. If Snow has proven anything its that he can be trusted. He hasn't made any Milbury type moves, and doesn't look like he will.
Snow would have been well-received from the get-go if he didn't go from back-up goaltender to the front office. Also, he comes on the heels of the way too long tenured Mike Milbury. It's almost exactly five years since Snow took the reigns, and I really don't think he's lost a trade yet. Though he didn't stick around, Snow won the Ryan Smyth trade. Smyth helped us get to the playoffs, and Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra, and Alex Plante have made no impact on the NHL in any way whatsoever. At worst, Josh Bailey is prt of a major trade to get us an impact player. At best, he can be that solid 2nd liner, whether it's at center or on the wing. And if he fizzles before we can trade him, Travis Hamonic was part of that sliding back in 2008.
His drafting has been fine, and so much to the point, that when we start picking outside of the top 5 (which I hope is next year), he'll still find a good player. And next year's draft looks pretty good.
Sometimes the guy you expect the least from does the best job.
When we hired Milbury in 1995, I, like many Islander fans, had some high hopes. How wrong we were. Snow seems to be making us wrong in a much more positive way.
I think there is alot of OPINION in there as well:
Quote:
I believe he will get one
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I think Snow will do it again.
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You’d be nuts to think otherwise
I totally agree with him on the job Snow has done so far. I'm happy with him. But, I think this is the year we need to turn the corner and finally sniff the playoffs as part of this rebuild. With other teams in our Division/Conference getting stronger, that really worries me. Hopefully Snow well either get something done or our current squad makes the playoffs, but getting some help this summer (especially when we have some cap space) certainly wouldn't hurt.
I think there is alot of OPINION in there as well:
I totally agree with him on the job Snow has done so far. I'm happy with him. But, I think this is the year we need to turn the corner and finally sniff the playoffs as part of this rebuild. With other teams in our Division/Conference getting stronger, that really worries me. Hopefully Snow well either get something done or our current squad makes the playoffs, but getting some help this summer (especially when we have some cap space) certainly wouldn't hurt.
Without looking at the schedule, I can tell you that how the team plays in November and December is absolutely crucial to the team's playoffs chances next April. For at least the better part of the last 15 years, the Islanders would get dragged across the coals in the opening months of the season, and then start winning the "meaningless", I suppose you could say, in January. And normally, especially in 2008 and 2010, and even 2006, accumulate enough points to keep them out of the top two draft pick selections. With that said, it was very important to me that the Islnders go on little bit of run last season, and they did.
One thing that the Islanders have going for them is that the cast of characters is generally the same. They're all going to be a year older, and should be a year better. I don't think that the Flyers will be better this year. The Rangers always get a big fish in the free agent market, but it rarely actually works (Theo Fleury, Valeri Kamensky, Bobby Holik, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez). Who knows what to make of the Devils? They're likely to have another rookie coach. I would say that the Penguins are money in the bank. Crosby is likely to be fine, and the same could be said for Malkin, I believe.
I think there are a lot of question marks in this former Patrick Division, and in the Eastern Conference in general. Off the top of my head, and forgive me if I forget a team, but if I am, it must be for a reason, but you can assign playoff positions to the Penguins, Bruins, and Capitals right now, and the other five slots will be up for grabs. The Winnipeg Jets will be in our division for one year and will have a really mean travel schedule, and that could also reak havoc on the teams like the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes. I think the Capitals are too good to be overly affected by such a thing.
The 2011-12 addition of the Islanders should be better than last season's version. The core players will, again, be a year older and should be a year better. There's no book on John Tavares, because he's so damn smart that he'll continue to improve parts of his game that we don't even know he needs to work on. Kyle Okposo is wisely taking it upon himself to hit the net more frequently. Shadow Matt Moulson? Why? So John Taveres can shoot the puck more? Think that's very smart? How do you stop Michael Grabner? Tell your players they have to skate faster when he's on the ice. Absolutely, after the All-Star break, and more specifically, after abusing the Penguins last year, the Islander surprised a lot of people. They'll do it again, because though the names are the same, the players will be different. Yes, they were that good, and they're still growing and getting better. It may not be obvious, but that is an advantage to not throwing money at free agents. They're all in this together. Plus, Mark Streit is coming back. That's a huge addition!
By and large I like what Snow has done on the personnel side (and not at all on the PR side), but no writer ought to take the tone of snide reassurance towards Islanders fans. He's not fíng Belichick, yet.
This is just a fluff piece, with almost all opinion. Little facts are written, nothing wrong with the article but to call it factual is really stretching it. The writer just states his opinion that things will get better (can it get worse) and that Snow doing nothing is sticking to the plan.
This is just a fluff piece, with almost all opinion. Little facts are written, nothing wrong with the article but to call it factual is really stretching it. The writer just states his opinion that things will get better (can it get worse) and that Snow doing nothing is sticking to the plan.
agree with you for the most part.
Seems like alot of Opinion.
While I agree it's a fluff piece, it's nice to see articles like this crop up in the last year, when mostly the Isles were ignored or ridiculed on everything.
As for Snow, as odd as it is to me (especially given that I became an Isles fan under Mad Mikes regime), I have trust in Snow to build this team up the right way. Snow seems to have a patient and methodic way of building a team up from the farm system up; and he is doing it. If he can make the next step, and get the 2 quality vets we need to push this team to the next level, then I will be really impressed.
This year, I think more then any other will show us the type of GM Snow is. The year is wasted if he doesn't get us the vets we need. But if he gets us the right players (and puts DP in AHL to start season), I can see this team going into the playoffs and making some noise.
This is just a fluff piece, with almost all opinion. Little facts are written, nothing wrong with the article but to call it factual is really stretching it. The writer just states his opinion that things will get better (can it get worse) and that Snow doing nothing is sticking to the plan.
It is a COMPLETE fluff piece. And it's COMPLETE opinion. I do agree that Snow does a better job than he gets credit for, but I agree, this article is written from an extremely weak premise. It's nothing more than a "fan reassurance" piece. Which is ok, but anyone could have written this.
A friend of mine is an English professor, and I asked her about a year ago, "Is writing worse now than it was 10-15 years ago?" and she said, "Yes, because today's writing is too opinion based and not enough fact based." - This article is one of the many good examples of that. In fact, too often, and not just in sports, I read full articles, and yet, feel fully uninformed.
I do think the Islanders have a shot at the playoffs next season. I think that only the Penguins, Capitals, and Bruins are assured playoff spots. The other 12 teams will have to fight for the remaining five spots. I hope we're in that mix.
So... Bad press (most of which are just as opinionated) are a sign of mismanagement and incompetence among our fanbase while positive articles are fluff and to be shat upon.
Tough fanbase... A lo of negativity.
As for the "facts" there is only one GM that was a *quantifiable* success last year, and he's in Boston.
Every other GM was a factual failure. So good and bad are - wait for it - a measure of judgement (aka opinion).
It's a good article. More like this will help change the perception. Garth's done a good job. Stop bashing the positive!
So... Bad press (most of which are just as opinionated) are a sign of mismanagement and incompetence among our fanbase while positive articles are fluff and to be shat upon.
Tough fanbase... A lo of negativity.
As for the "facts" there is only one GM that was a *quantifiable* success last year, and he's in Boston.
Every other GM was a factual failure. So good and bad are - wait for it - a measure of judgement (aka opinion).
It's a good article. More like this will help change the perception. Garth's done a good job. Stop bashing the positive!
It's reported that the Canucks made $45 mill during their playoff run to the finals. I'm sure the owners of the Canucks doesn't view Gillis as a factual failure.
With regards to the article.... "whatever"... Haters will hate and only co-sign hating. Optimists see the future as rosey.
I like what Snow is doing, and believe he'll add a top 4 dman before the start of the season.
Snow adds someone overpriced and makes the cap floor but underwhelms
Snow adds a key player and makes the cap floor
Snow makes a big trade for a key player and makes the cap floor
Snow doesn't make the cap floor
Snow signs the remaining RFA's to contracts that are low with high dollar bonus clauses and makes the cap floor.
I think that spells it out. Pardon me if I'm happy with the team as is and disgusted our management/ownership prevent any real bona fide gains this year. Snow has done a more than adequate job regardless......but there is little done by any higher up to boost our image. Heck, even the vote coming up has made the team look silly - with a complete lack of preparation at every step.
It's a good article. More like this will help change the perception. Garth's done a good job. Stop bashing the positive!
This will sound odd, but I like Snow, I truly respect the players he's brought in AND got rid of, the focus on character and talent, his ability to manage the cap AND to sign key players to amazingly great contracts - the best GM the team has had in a long time.
I also think he's done a "good job" - despite my rant on another thread a few minutes ago. I trust Snow more than anyone since Torrey.
BUT
It's IMPOSSIBLE to give Snow any props for the perennial lottery finishes.
While it's wonderful to point to Moulson, Grabner, Parenteau, MacDonald, the Wis trade (BOTH PARTS were good trades), getting rid of Tambellini and Schremp were smart moves - etc.
There's been some mistakes as well, but far more positive than negative.
But the on-ice team still sucks horribly.
It's hypocritical to only look at the NUMEROUS positive moves WITHOUT the context of a near-last place finish.
It's naive to point to the NON-MOVES to help the team get better. Some of that is off-season moves, or trades NOT made, or coaches NOT replaced early enough, or injuries NOT replaced or NOT icing a team with enough depth/experience/leadership to overcome adversity/injury or watching the team lost 21 of 22 (or whatever), watching them truly drown, not offering any help.
Would another GM have done something different? Is it possible that some moves would have helped? Some of the non-moves?
Might those non-moves have been Milbury-type moves? God forbid? Just because Milbury was a bad GM (and make no mistake, he was pretty horrible) that doesn't mean that the OPPOSITE of Milbury is any better.
On paper, Milbury was far more successful than Snow, at least the team was.
My point is, there's people that blindly support Snow and people who fiercely oppose him (almost everyone opposes Wang but let's not go there for the moment). The reality is somewhere in the middle....and that middle can mean that we're on our way UP or sideways-down.
But I do know that's it's completely wrong to suggest Snow's done anything great given JUST the standings. Just because he hasn't done anything horrible, doesn't mean he's been great.
This will sound odd, but I like Snow, I truly respect the players he's brought in AND got rid of, the focus on character and talent, his ability to manage the cap AND to sign key players to amazingly great contracts - the best GM the team has had in a long time.
I also think he's done a "good job" - despite my rant on another thread a few minutes ago. I trust Snow more than anyone since Torrey.
BUT
It's IMPOSSIBLE to give Snow any props for the perennial lottery finishes.
While it's wonderful to point to Moulson, Grabner, Parenteau, MacDonald, the Wis trade (BOTH PARTS were good trades), getting rid of Tambellini and Schremp were smart moves - etc.
There's been some mistakes as well, but far more positive than negative.
But the on-ice team still sucks horribly.
It's hypocritical to only look at the NUMEROUS positive moves WITHOUT the context of a near-last place finish.
It's naive to point to the NON-MOVES to help the team get better. Some of that is off-season moves, or trades NOT made, or coaches NOT replaced early enough, or injuries NOT replaced or NOT icing a team with enough depth/experience/leadership to overcome adversity/injury or watching the team lost 21 of 22 (or whatever), watching them truly drown, not offering any help.
Would another GM have done something different? Is it possible that some moves would have helped? Some of the non-moves?
Might those non-moves have been Milbury-type moves? God forbid? Just because Milbury was a bad GM (and make no mistake, he was pretty horrible) that doesn't mean that the OPPOSITE of Milbury is any better.
On paper, Milbury was far more successful than Snow, at least the team was.
My point is, there's people that blindly support Snow and people who fiercely oppose him (almost everyone opposes Wang but let's not go there for the moment). The reality is somewhere in the middle....and that middle can mean that we're on our way UP or sideways-down.
But I do know that's it's completely wrong to suggest Snow's done anything great given JUST the standings. Just because he hasn't done anything horrible, doesn't mean he's been great.
Jury's still out.
And until we're a winner, he's failed - to be cold/blunt.
But I think he'll get us there in time. Just not as fast as, say, Lombardi would or (dreaming) Holland would. Kids were rushed, coaches fired, antics published (not Snow's thenkfully) and so on - the team held itself back and Snow hasn't really done anything substantial to remedy the BAAAADDDDD team image, but I feel he himself has quietly boosted his own.
Well, we have to win or make a solid trade to boost our image now. Snow is unfortunately given the burden of fulfilling this as out bat**** nutjob owner forced him into the role.
Let me know when his team actually makes the playoffs. They were only 20 pts out this year.
