The job in front of Islanders general manager Garth Snow is not an easy one.
Starting today at noon, when NHL free agency begins, Snow will try to overcome the slighted public image of his franchise — with an antiquated arena in the Nassau Coliseum and no long-term plan in place for a new home — and sign players with the potential to help him break the team’s five-year playoff drought.
“We’ll see what comes to us,” Snow said Saturday. “We will try to get something worked out, but there is plenty of time between now and the start of the season. We’re going to try and address our needs and make our calls.”
Snow was not hesitant in saying he knows the Islanders are not incredibly attractive to free agents. Over his six-year tenure as GM, Snow has continued to see new and creative ways for players to spurn his offers.
“Free agents are concerned with the arena situation,” he said. “It’s hard to persuade a free agent with a 5- or 7- or 10-year deal when our lease is up in three years [2015] and they don’t know where they’ll be playing.”
The two biggest free agents on the market are winger Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter, and a point-producing forward and a top-tier defenseman are both needs for the Islanders. Before the draft, Snow traded a second-round pick in the 2013 draft to the Ducks for veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, somewhat addressing one of those issues.
“I think with Andrew MacDonald, Mark Streit, Travis Hamonic and now Visnovsky, we have solidified our top four,” Snow said. “We expect one of our [prospects] Calvin de Haan, [Matt] Donovan and [Aaron] Ness to make the team. So that’s five defensemen. We still have one hole to fill.”
Though any discussions with a free agent or his representatives before today would constitute tampering, Snow said he has had internal discussions within the organization about all options, and the Islanders have a definitive plan in mind.
“We’ll make our calls only July 1,” Snow said, “and try to improve our team then and throughout the week.”