In a wide-ranging interview with Newsday on Wednesday, Islanders general manager Garth Snow reviewed the 2007-08 season. The story in today’s print edition focused primarily on Snow’s relationship with coach Ted Nolan and the organization’s emphasis on sticking with a youth movement. To read that article, please click here.
But Snow’s comments covered far more territory than could be contained in one newspaper article. The rest of the story begins here.
The most important concerns revolve around the recovery of franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro from his second hip operation in as many seasons. Snow said it’s important to establish a goaltender rotation that gives the starter more regular rest, and he linked Nolan’s decision to start DiPietro in 33 of the first 35 games to the failure of backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz to report to training camp in top shape.
“There should be a plan going into the season, some kind of rotation,” Snow said. “At the beginning of the year, for whatever reason, the decision was to ride Ricky…[Dubielewicz] didn’t show up in camp in the best of shape and, self-admittedly, struggled in the first few games of the year. Maybe there was a lack of confidence in doing some kind of rotation. But at the end, I think Dubie played really well, much like he did last season.”
Although Dubielewicz picked up two early wins in relief of DiPietro, the backup lost his first three starts and surrendered 17 goals in the process. But starting on Dec. 29 at New Jersey, when DiPietro was out with a strained knee, Dubielewicz went 7-6-1 over his last 14 starts and never gave up more than three goals in any of those games. In contrast, after returning from that knee injury, DiPietro went 10-15-5 in his last 30 starts and yielded at least four goals an alarming total of 15 times.
For the season, Dubielewicz finished with a 2.70 goals against average and a .919 save percentage compared to DiPietro’s 2.82 GAA and .902 save percentage. Obviously, DiPietro was hindered significantly by his second-half injuries, but Dubielewicz had to play behind a makeshift defense that allowed an average of 37 shots per game in his final seven starts after the team decided to shut DiPietro down for the season.
Despite the way “Dubie” played down the stretch, Bridgeport goaltender Joey MacDonald has a one-way contract for next season, which could put him in line for the backup job because Dubielewicz is a free agent. “I wouldn’t count anything out for Dubie,” Snow said. “We have his rights until July 1. We could end up re-signing him, or he could become a free agent. We haven’t made that decision yet.”
DiPietro is expected to be 100 percent when training camp opens in September, so, he remains the cornerstone around which the Islanders will build. Although the Isles were only 29th in scoring this season, the lack of defense is as much of a concern as the shortage of goals. The Isles were built with an eye toward the kind of grit and character Nolan sometimes favors at the expense of skill, so, the emphasis with that kind of team has to be on playing consistently tight defense. DiPietro often cites the Devils as the model, and the Islanders have shown they can play that way as well as anyone at times. But it has to be all the time within a structured system.
In terms of offense, Snow admitted his disappointment that a number of players delivered well below their career standards. “Just to not perform at their accustomed levels is one of the reasons our goal scoring was down,” the GM said. “Some players didn’t achieve, and it has nothing to do with overachieving. There’s a big difference between overachieving and achieving.”
Obviously, the Islanders were hoping for a big season from Satan in his free agent year, but he delivered only 16 goals. Free-agent forwards Ruslan Fedetenko and Josef Vasicek also had 16 goals each and endured long dry spells. Satan played with a sprained medial collateral ligament suffered in early January, and Fedotenko’s season was cut short by a knee injury just when he was heating up. But for the money they were paid, both fell far short of expectations.
As a result, it’s uncertain whether any of the three will return. If they go, it opens up larger roles for such young players as Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau, Sean Bergenheim and, possibly, Jeff Tambellini. Asked if they have shown enough for Snow to believe they can make a leap forward to replace the production that would be lost, Snow said, “I think so. You expect your young players to get better every year. If they don’t, then, you have a problem.”
That doesn’t mean Snow won’t be active in the free-agent market in search of veteran scorers. But many teams already have signed their top players to long-term deals, leaving only a few prize players on the market. Assuming forwards the caliber of Marian Hossa and Kristian Huselius and defenseman Brian Campbell migrate to established Stanley Cup contenders, the remaining pickings will be relatively slim. Putting together an offer sheet for a restricted free agent is a consideration, but that involves the loss of future draft picks, which would conflict with the desire to build through the draft.
“If we have a chance to add players in free agency, we’ll do it,” Snow said. “We can’t predict what’s going to happen July 1. But the bottom line is we have to develop our young players at this level and create a nucleus of young players. After the trade deadline, when we brought up the Kid Line [playing Tambellini and Frans Nielsen with Comeau], they added an element of speed and enthusiasm.”
Snow already has made a move to improve the defense with the signing of Colorado College’s Jack Hillen, who was impressive with his self-confidence and puck-moving ability in the final two games against the Rangers. It’s too early to tell whether he can make the leap straight to the NHL, but his skills were obvious.
“He’s a puck-moving defenseman that makes a great first pass, as you noticed in these two games at the end of the season,” Snow said. “I think we’ve proven that if someone earns a spot on the team, we’ll make room for him. But nothing will be handed out. It will be something that’s earned.”
By playing Hillen against the Rangers, Snow effectively burned the first year of his two-year entry-level contract. So, Hillen will be in the second year of his deal next season. It simply means he will be eligible for restricted free agency and arbitration one year earlier than normal. Hillen made it clear to all the teams pursuing him that such an arrangement was necessary to sign him. Another Eastern Conference team offered Hillen the same deal, but he chose the Islanders.
In the end, one of the major keys for next season’s Islanders is the return to good health of a veteran core that includes forwards Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Mike Sillinger, Trent Hunter, Jonathan Sim, Richard Park and Andy Hilbert and defensemen Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer, Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais. Eight of those 13 players were on the injury list at the end of the season, and Snow said Guerin was playing through an injury.
Guerin and Comrie were Snow’s two major additions during the free-agent period last July. While Guerin, who was named captain, led the Isles with 23 goals and Comrie added 21 goals and a team-high 49 points, their production was lower than expected. Still, Snow said he was satisfied with what those two brought to the team.
“When you look at Mike, he was on pace for 70 points for about three-quarters of the season and then, obviously, started playing through a hip injury that slowed him up a significant amount,” Snow said. “When we signed him, we knew what we expected out of him, and he was well on his way to doing that before he slowed down.
“Billy did a great job in the leadership role in our locker room. Those two players performed at a level near what we expected out of them. But there’s more than just scoring points. There’s the leadership side of it, and I thought both of them were impressive in their roles in the locker room and they both gutted it out. Mike missed time with his hip, but Bill wasn’t necessarily 100 percent himself for part of the season. I give him high marks for gutting it out.”
No doubt, Comrie and Guerin both would benefit if Snow can add a little more skill around them. But the best chance to do that might come in the draft, where the Islanders have the fifth pick. Snow declined to say whether he would lean toward a forward or defenseman with the pick. Center Steve Stamkos is certain to go to Tampa Bay at No. 1, and then, several defensemen are next in the rankings.
The second-best forward in most ratings is Russian Nikita Filapov, but some teams are reluctant to take players from that country because of problems with the Russian ice hockey federation. It’s also uncertain whether Los Angeles, Atlanta and St. Louis, picking ahead of the Isles, would take a chance on him.
Asked for his thoughts on Filatov, Snow said, “He’s one of the top offensive players in the draft. All indications are he wants to come over here and play in the NHL. It’s always a question mark with an 18-year-old. It’s hard to project what he’s going to do at the NHL level.”
Other candidates for the Islanders’ pick likely include defensemen Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Alex Pietrangelo and Luke Schenn and forwards Cody Hodgson, Mikkel Boedker, Colin Wilson and Kyle Beach.
Although this draft class is regarded as exceptional, Snow declined to say whether he thought the Islanders might get a player who could have an immediate impact, saying, “I don’t want to put a time-frame on it.”
Whether or not the draft pick is ready to play in the NHL, it’s clear the Islanders will be a much younger team next season. That could mean a season of growing pains, but when Snow was asked if they could return to the playoffs, he didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” the GM said. “If everyone plays to their capabilities, it’s not overachieving. It’s achieving.”
