December is almost over. The Islanders are 5-7-1 in December, far below what they needed to be to return to any semblance of a playoff race. There is one game left tonight in Detroit. Win or lose, December has not been good enough.
The Islanders front office has seemingly written off this season by trading James Wisniewski to the Montreal Canadiens for draft picks.
I appreciate the rebuild and the commitment to stockpiling draft picks. The question is when does the rebuild start to show progress? Wisniewski is 26 years old and was leading the defense corps in every way. Why trade him at this point? Why not try and sign the guy? Why not wait until the deadline?
It sends a clear message to the fans and the players. This season is over and has become a 40-plus-game training camp for next season.
The Islanders are 16 points out of a playoff spot with 45 games to play. That's over half a season and trading your best defenseman at this point does not make a whole lot of sense. Striet and Okposo could be back very soon and the team would have looked better with "The Wiz" in the lineup instead of in Montreal.
The focus would ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Frank Trovato
New York Islanders: With Do-or-Die December Over, What’s Next?
December 31st, 2010 by Frank Trovato Leave a reply »
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