The possibility that any of the aging forwards lurking around the Islanders were going to score contracts was at least temporarily squashed yesterday by general manager Garth Snow.
“Right now, I don’t have any plans to add another forward to our group,” Snow told The Post. “As much as we’d like to add quality veterans, we’re not going to box out our young guys.”
The biggest name that caused a stir was Alexei Yashin, who was recently skating at the Islanders’ practice facility in Syosset. The 37-year-old Yashin is on the Islanders’ payroll through the 2014-15 season, but hasn’t played a game for the Islanders — or in the NHL — in four years.
Another player who has been toiling on the ice is Miroslav Satan, who skated in Syosset on Friday. Satan last played for the Islanders three years ago and was out of the NHL this past season. He played 38 games for the Bruins in the 2009-10 season.
“We always have given access to our facilities,” Snow said, “not only to our current players but to our alumni.”
When Satan was on the ice Friday, he skated with youngsters Nino Niederreiter and Tony Romano, along with a finally-healthy Rick DiPietro in net. The development of Niederreiter, a first-round pick in 2010, is one of the main reasons Snow doesn’t want to flood his roster with veteran forwards.
“We want to give a guy like Nino a chance to make our team,” Snow said.
With Niederreiter showing up to rookie camp on Sept. 10, and with regular training camp starting a week later, Snow is also aware, more than most, of the uncertainty of a hockey season. So just for posterity’s sake — or for the ongoing heart ailments of Islanders’ fans everywhere — Snow added this:
“A lot of things can happen, an injury to a player,” he said. “We’re not ruling out anything.”