February 27, 2007 started as a day filled with uncertainty for the Islanders. Would they or wouldn’t they? Jason Blake, coming or going? No doubt GM Garth Snow was looking to make a splash on deadline day to improve the Isles playoff positioning. What he did instead was drop a cannonball in the water.
When he was hired, Snow was looked at as a joke. After longtime GM Mike Milbury stepped away from the GM position, in an almost comical turn of events, Neil Smith was hired as GM and fired 40 days later, replaced by the Isles own former backup goalie. He came into office with no management or front office background, simply a college degree that Jeremy Roenick said would only make Snow a career backup. Every media outlet in the US and Canada had a field day with owner Charles Wang’s crazy antics. Before even playing a single game, virtually every NHL expert picked the Isles to finish dead last in the league.
Indeed the Islanders were a joke, and everyone was certainly laughing at them. Now who’s laughing now?
Snow and the Isles certainly have the last laugh. In by far the most stunning deal of deadline day, Snow caught himself the biggest fish on deadline day. An 11th hour deal put together right before the 3pm deadline saw Ryan Smyth trade his Oiler blue in for Islander blue. Instantaneously, the league took notice that the Islanders were indeed back.
Currently in a heated battle for one of the final playoff spots in the East, the Isles by far improved their club far greater than Toronto, Montreal, and Carolina. The addition of Smyth virtually solidifies the fact the Isles will qualify for the playoffs this season.
The Isles though did pay a pretty premium to get Smyth in the form of highly touted Ryan O’Marra and Robert Nilsson in addition to a first round pick in this years draft. O’Marra and Nilsson are both former first round picks who should make significant noise in the league in their respective careers.
But in the eyes of Snow, coach Ted Nolan, the media and fanbase, the addition of Smyth serves another purpose. The Islanders are here to win and win now and will spare no expense to do so. Next summer, the hockey world will probably look a whole lot differently on Long Island than it did this offseason past.
The Islanders are back indeed.
