When Bill Guerin was reunited with Doug Weight this year on Long Island, the Islanders’ captain didn’t necessarily expect the duo to compete for a Stanley Cup, but he didn’t think things would be this bad – especially because both have played as well as they could have hoped.
And now that the team is looking directly to next year, both veterans’ roles could be reduced – not an easy thing to deal with.
“It’s disheartening to see where we are right now,” Guerin said of both the team’s place in the standings and the number of players out with injuries. “What could have been, who knows? But you never come to grips with losing, I don’t care what the situation is. Never. It’s miserable.”
But Guerin said he doesn’t think he and Weight should be punished because the team has failed to stay competitive.
“I feel like we’ve held up our end of the bargain,” Guerin said of him and his old teammate, who have been two of the most solid players on the team. “We’ve produced on our end and it’s disappointing to be where we’re at. I think we’ve both done our parts.”
And he would like to continue to be able to do so.
“I hope I can still contribute here and that Doug, when he comes back healthy, can do the same,” Guerin said. “But neither of us thought things would turn out this way.”
As the team looks further at its future and begins to focus more on its younger players, Weight’s name already has popped up in trade rumors and Guerin, who has a no-move clause, also could find himself involved in similar talk.
“I don’t want to get into that,” Guerin said. “We’ll see how things play out. You can’t rule out anything.”
With the way things have gone for the Isles this year, there’s no arguing that point.