Neil Smith was given a little over one month to turn around one of the more dissapointing franchises in recent history. That isn't a typo; I did say one month, not even one game, let alone one season, to see how he would fare as the new GM for the New York Islanders. A month or so back when the Islanders first hired Smith and Ted Nolan, we were praising their moves, speaking of how the Islanders were finally moving in the right direction. With this latest news, it seems the Islanders have most definitely taken a turn for the worse. What makes the whole situation even more comical is that backup goaltender Garth Snow is now the GM of the team! Let's be honest for a minute, Neil Smith hasn't exactly been bringing in the premier free-agents in the NHL, but the Islanders didn't even give this man a fighting chance to prove that he has what it takes to bring the Islanders back to the playoffs. Tom Poti was an awful signing for Smith and the Islanders, and I can't say I'm impressed by the likes of Andy Hilbert and Chris Simon, but a team has to give its GM a chance to showcase the talent that they put together. Now the Islanders are in the position in which they'll have to start with a different GM that didn't necessarily like the players that were previously signed, as well as being in a salary cap mess because of the huge contracts of Alexi Yashin and Miroslav Satan. This brings me to my next point: if you're going to fire a proven winner in Neil Smith, who are you going to bring in to replace him? Is Wang serious when he says that Garth Snow "impressed" him with his passion and knowledge of the game? I'm not doubting that Snow has a great passion for the game, and is fairly knowledgeable, after all he was a professional hockey player, but are those the characteristics that make a GM successful in the NHL? This move by Wang is unprecedented and seems just straight up ridiculous to me; you're taking the job from a man that has won the Executive of the Year twice, a Stanley Cup title, and years of experience after one month on the job, replacing him with the backup goalie from last season's team. |
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