If the Islanders are going to make another move today, they barely have three hours left in which to do it. Jason Blake skated this morning with the rest of his teammates in preparation for tonight’s game against Philadelphia at the Coliseum.
We spoke briefly as he was leaving the locker room. As you might expect, Jason is a little bit on pins and needles. He hasn’t heard anything about a trade yet this morning and neither have I.
Of the five Western Conference teams said to be interested in Jason – San Jose, Detroit, Nashville, Vancouver and Dallas – the first four all have made recent trades. Only Dallas has been idle so far, and a Western Conference personnel expert recently told me he would be surprised if the Stars had serious interest in Blake.
Blake’s agent, Neil Sheehy, recently said he and Islanders general manager Garth Snow had agreed that the Feb. 27 NHL trade deadline was “a deadline of no consequence” in their negotiations. Maybe that will turn out to be prophetic if Blake stays put.
If the initial reports from TSN are true that San Jose has acquired Bill Guerin from St. Louis, then, it’s quite possible Blake is going nowhere. Blake would have been a fallback position for the Sharks, who were said to be the frontrunner for the Isles’ leading scorer last night, if they failed to land Guerin. Detroit also was said to still be in the bidding. The Red Wings acquired Kyle Calder from Philadelphia, which doesn’t seem like much. The question now is whether they want to add something else. We’ll see.
Comments (8)
Mr Logan,
Just wanted to say thanks you for the great job you have done this year. When Alan hahn left I got scared the the coverage of the islanders was going to get even more scarce in the new york media. Weather you are an islander fan or not, I am not sure but you certainly come across as more than just an average teams reporter. Your blog as been a great addition and those who say you don't write enough on it should just look at all the posts in the last week or so; You are writing alot in a time when we need the information. No one should be complaining about two posts a week in december, theres nothing important going on then. I hope you are staying with this team for awhile, and I looks forward to reading your blog/articles once the islanders make the playoffs and start winning some games.
I completely agree with JP on his last post. Why should the fans believe that trading Blake for 1st round picks will be a good move for the future? It never has been in the past. So sick of this team building for the future..... How about signing him for 3 more years before the deadline? It would give the team and the fans confidence that this team can make a splash where they are at. Do I think they will go far, no. But, I do think that for this organization to make the playoffs and be competitive in them, overall it would be a great season and would lay the foundation for an even better one next year!! LETS GO ISLANDERS!!!!!!!
I completely agree. Greg, you are doing a great job and you truly seem to care about the fans opinions and I love the blog as well. Thank you
Nice job, Greg..and thanks for getting the editors to change the standings from division to conference like I suggested.
offer blake 3 years with a team option for a 4th at $3.25-$3.5M per. If he declines, then trade him immediately.
as for standings, i remember the good old days when they broke the records down by home and away records.
greg, can you give us any information on if the isles will adapt those retro jerseys as their third jerseys or how we can voice our opinions?
i think garth is asking for a fortune for blake
He's probably on eBay, and the auction ends at 2:55. I'm guessing DieHardDuck is going to win with a bid of Kent Huskins and a conditional 1st rounder.
I like the scenario where Blake signs for 3, 3.25, 3.5 and a team option for 4 and 4.25, with a $1M buyout after each. this way he can make $18M if he stays upright, or he he's guarenteed $10.75 for 3years, $14.75 for four or $18M for 5... and everybody is happy.
Hey Greg, love your blog and great coverage of the Smyth deal, which I am all for, by the way. Finally, the Isles make a huge impact and are making a serious run at a playoff berth and beyond; I can't understand what Isles fan couldn't be happy with that.
I've grown weary of us selling off solid players like Blake for a parcel of nebulous prospects.
And this isn't like some of the Milbury trades of old where we gave up young known commodities (McCabe, Bertuzzi, Berard, Jokinen) for vets with declining skills or those w/ potential that doesn't pan out(Felix Potvin, Trevor Linden, Oleg Kvasha).
Smyth is in his prime and is hungry and determined. The kids we traded up have made nary a splash in the NHL.
My one question for you, Greg, is how much longer before we can expect Yashin in the lineup? And is Nolan and the team souring on how long it's taking him? Is the injury that serious? Or are there questions about him dogging it?