Jon Ledecky has figured out the NHL equation for a successful franchise, and he has figured out how to get the answer within his grasp. Now the Islanders co-owner and the rest of the organization are just waiting to see if it’s finally theirs to have.
The equation starts easy enough: In order to make money, the team needs to win, and in order to win, the team needs good players. But maybe the final part isn’t as clear: In a league with a hard salary cap, getting good players means recruiting them with more than just money. In this financial landscape, teams need to be attractive on many fronts — and this is where Ledecky and his team await the decision of New York State concerning their bid to build a brand-new arena for the Islanders at Belmont Park.
It was just more than a month ago when they officially submitted the bid, and there has been no timetable on when they might hear back.
“I think we’re circling the airport,” Ledecky told The Post on Tuesday, “just waiting to be given a landing clue.”
In the meantime, Ledecky was showing off another part of his fancy new offerings, that being the renovated practice facility at Northwell Health Ice Center, in East Meadow, Long Island. Ledecky just sunk about $7 million into building a whole new backend, with high-end comforts for the players and coaches, including hiring a world-class chef.
It is now at least on par with the best practice facilities in the league, with their own on-site cryo-chamber and an underwater treadmill for rehabbing injuries. The goal was to give the coaches and players every advantage possible, and for them not to have to go anywhere else for anything. With another win Monday night at their current home, Barclays Center, they are 7-4-1 and heading to Washington for a match Thursday night against the Capitals.
But the bigger goal for the Islanders organization as a whole is to become a more attractive place to play. That is why Ledecky put so much money into the practice facility, and has put so much stock into the Belmont project.
“There is no Plan B,” he said. “The way that [the practice facility] came together in such fast fashion is emblematic of what we can do if we were granted the right [to build] at Belmont. We would do it right, we would do it timely, and the team would have a permanent home. That’s the most important thing.”
As far as the state understanding the urgency of the situation, Ledecky said he is focused on being “very respectful of the process.” Between now and Jan. 31, the Islanders and Barclays Center will remain in “good faith” negotiations about how to end their 25-year lease, he said. They are currently in the third year of what has been a calamitous marriage that will continue at least through next season. If the Islanders were able to put a shovel in the ground tomorrow for the Belmont site, the very earliest they could play there would be the 2020-21 season.
That leaves the 2019-20 season as a gap year with no set home, and that’s likely the biggest sticking point with negotiations in Brooklyn. Goodness knows the team doesn’t want to have to find another random home for a single year.
And they have one huge asset to recruit, that being current captain John Tavares. With nine goals in his past five games, Tavares is off to a roaring start in the final year on his current contract. When asked how influential the arena outcome would be to Tavares’ decision to sign an extension, general manager Garth Snow would only say he didn’t want to speak for Tavares or his camp. Well, he doesn’t have to. It’s obvious this is the biggest issue looming over his decision to stay or leave.
A new arena is what will make the Islanders an attractive home again, with a revamped practice facility helping that along. It’s the largest part of the equation to building a successful NHL franchise, which is what Ledecky wants more than anything else.
“This level of excellence is the level of excellence that we’re going to bring to Belmont,” he said. “We’re planners, and we execute a vision extremely well. Obviously we hope that we’re selected.”