Lubomir Visnovsky Represents Everything Garth Snow Does Right, And Everything Wrong With How The World Perceives The Organization
ChrisTriants | Jul 26, 2012 | Comments 16
A few weeks ago, the Islanders traded for Lubomir Visnovsky. The Islanders got him on the phone at the draft party while most of Islanders fans were ecstatic about the trade for a legitimate top-4 defenseman. Garth Snow kept his promise. Garth went out and got his man.
During this phone call, Lubomir seemed excited to bring his talents to Long Island. He was excited about playing for a young team, and he was excited about playing on the same defensive unit as Islanders Captain, Mark Streit.
Turns out Lubomir was sleep-talking from his home-country Slovakia, where the Islanders woke him up at 3 AM to inform him of the news. On Monday, it was announced that Lubomir Visnovsky had filed a grievance through the NHLPA in order to block his trade to the New York Islanders, claiming his no-trade clause is still valid. That’s frustrating.
Now what? The Islanders appear to be getting disrespected by another NHL veteran whose rights were acquired fairly. Yes, Islanders fans. Garth Snow made a legitimate move to HELP the team, yet the Islanders, who so desperately need some veteran help (not washed-up), cannot seem to catch a break. Every time the Islanders extend their hand to bring someone in, the players act as if the Island would be the worst place to lace up their skates. Evgeni Nabokov was forced onto the Island (although he now loves it here), Christian Ehrhoff wouldn’t come anywhere near here, Brian Rolston came to simply collect his paycheck, and other free agents, such as Paul Martin, wouldn’t play here, even for the money.
Now, Lubomir doesn’t want to play here either, which he hinted at the right after he was traded to the Island. In a Slovakian interview, Visnovsky stated that he might stay in Europe, or take a contract with the KHL. He stated that he needed to do what was best for him and his family, regardless of it would upset the Islanders. This was thought to be resolved when Arthur Staple contacted him and got the response, “My first choice is to play for the New York Islanders.”
Well, Visnovsky lied, and now Islanders fans have to feel burned again. The Islanders, who are obviously unhappy, will be waiting to see what comes out of an arbitration ruling between Visnovsky and the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks, who are opposing Lubomir’s grievance, will hope that Visnovsky stays far away from Anaheim.
Lubomir claims that his no-trade clause is still void, but the issue is that his clause was not invoked in his trade from Edmonton to Anaheim in 2010. The arbitrator will determine whether or not the no-trade clause can still be in effect after he already allowed himself to be traded once.
If the arbitrator rules that the Visnovsky still had a no-trade clause, he will be in Anaheim. If the arbitrator rules in favor of the Ducks, saying his no-trade clause could no longer be invoked, Visnovsky will be an Islander. Well, Isles fans. We could be in for another awkward moment.
Honestly, like I felt with Nabby, I would want no part of him. Granted, he could come here, do right, and make amends with the fans, but 9 out of 10 times, disgruntled players are disgruntled players. Although players tend to fall in love with Long Island, Visnovsky may have torched his relationship with the Islanders. Garth Snow doesn’t take crap from his guys, so it will be interesting to see where this goes.
Obviously, Lubomir Visnovsky makes the Islanders D look better on paper, but I think that, even without him, the Islanders D is still better than what they had lat season. I also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Snow flipping that draft choice for another guy, or going out to sign someone else. The Islanders will be fine, but it’s a shame this kind of thing is a reoccurrence on Long Island.
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Filed Under: Featured • New York Islanders
If nothing else it will force the isles to spend some more money, Visnovsky was a 5.6 cap hit, without that hit they are no where near the floor, even if it comes down with the new CBA
I don’t know if the floor will be so much of a problem, only because we don’t know what the terms will look like under the next CBA, but I am all for Snow spending his money elsewhere if Visnovsky doesn’t make it to the Island. You would have to believe Snow would go right back out there while dangling that 2nd round pick. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I think Garth should’ve read the fine print in Viz’s contract. It would make sense to me that a GM should know the fine details in the contract your taking on.
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Why is it Garth’s fault? The team that traded him should know the contract of one of their players and so should the NHL, who allowed the trade to go through on draft night.
I am not saying to throw the blame all on Garth. But he trusted the word of the Panthers GM and Vis’ agent. Maybe a more experienced GM catches it before it happens by reading the contract he is taking on. If he read there is a NTC he would naturally ask Vis’s agent if the Isles are on his list. I guarantee this will never happen again because now Garth learned a valuable lesson. Don’t take the word of someone else. Find out for yourself.
Then again. This wouldn’t have happened if it was a different team. If Garth was the GM of the Pens or the Wings I’m 1000% sure this wouldn’t have happened.
This happened because, like Nabby, Viz did not want to play here. So its really not Garths fault. Its Wangburys fault for running this org into the ground. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate what Wang has tried to do. Hes just failed miserably at many facets of his reign.
Wang himself has said, many times, that owning a pro-sports team has a “steep learning curve”. Its just too bad he had to learn all his lessons at our expense.
Hopefully the worst is behind us. It all hinges on whether or not we have a future home. But then again, Wanger, has remained silent since the memorandum failed. The stubborn, silent treatment isn’t going to get the Isles anywhere, IMHO. But what do I know? Im just a disgruntled Isles fan, lol
Oh, and Viz did not sound excited to play on the Isles. He sounded like he was depressed and he sounded half hearted. People said it was because he was tired from being woke up early in the AM. I say from the start he was pissed about being traded here.
It’s fair to say there should have been a little bit of research done beforeheand, but seeing that he was traded before with the same contract, I think Garth would have a case in saying it was fair to think Vis didn’t have a no-trade clause. Regarding him sounding excited or not, I mean, he could have been tired, he could have been upset, or he could have just had a lot on his mind seeing that he was moving from Cali to NY. Could have very well been pissed, but I guess we’re going to have to see. The only way we will really know is if the trade holds up. From there, Vis will either play, or he won’t. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Viz sounded MISERABLE when he learned that he was a traded to the Isles and that is why he is trying to stop the trade from happening. The last thing he wants is to play here. If you think that this is about principles then I have bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya, lol. j/k Its not about principle. Read in between the lines. Do you think if he was traded to the Wings he would try and have the trade rescinded?
Lets be honest with ourselves as Isles fans. We are looked at around the league as a joke or an organization with a culture of losing, no future home, and an eccentric owner. We have yet to shake this stigma and that’s why Garth cant attract free agent talent. Im not here to rain on your positive vibe Isles blog. Just being honest.
I’m positive, and I am also realistic. I am very well aware of how the rest of the league looks at the Islanders, and I am very well aware the way the media and the rest of the world spins the team. In my opinion, it’s the reason the Islanders cannot attract the hamburglar. Being the “joke” is no hidden secret to the Islanders or their fans, and it’s frustrating. I still remember two years ago where Konopka called out TSN for consistently calling the Islanders doormats. The thing is, at this point, even if the Islanders were in first, I still think they would be referred to as a “doormat.”
The “culture of losing,” is the last of the worries right now. Players have come to teams in a hurry, only to turn around a franchise. Think Peca and Yashin in 2001, or the Panthers last season.
I 100% think that Vis does not want to play here because of the portrayed (true, but definitely over-stretched) circus, and that’s why I would say “bye” to him. Vis will not make or break the Islanders, and although he would definitely bolster a blue-line that needs severe help, he is not the savior by any means. The team has a ways to go (not as much time as most people say, but some time). I still think this team can make a push for the playoffs if the right guys play all season rather than just 20 games or so.
I was more optimistic about last season than this season. Last off season I really thought we were about to turn the corner. But the first 20 games was a reality check. Its going to be hard to compete if we stay the same while other teams surrounding us keep trying to do what ever they can to improve each off season.
The only way we have a chance of sniffing a playoff spot is if some of these kids have break out seasons because we still haven’t brought in pieces like the Rags did to speed up their rebuild. We must spend more than the least allowed by the league. We must improve the roster with some proven, veteran, talent, and the kids need to mature.
I think the lack of quality vets, in their primes, is a problem and a reason this team has a tough time dealing with success. As soon as the Isles start to play well and the media actually takes notice, it seems to get to their heads and they go into a tail spin. Its totally predicable. That’s why we didn’t win more than 3 games straight last year. They couldn’t get over the hump and deal with success.
Hopefully these kids that have been playing for a few years now, like KO, Moulson, Hammer, Nielsen, Bails, etc, have learned from this adversity and maybe they can learn to be even keeled during the seasons ebbs and flows. I just think its really tough to do when you don’t have guys on the team that have “been there done that”.
For example, I’m in sales and I do go into slumps sometimes. I get stressed out and I worry. What gets me to keep pushing is the fact that I can look back and say to myself “I’ve done this for 15 years and I always found a way so why stress because I know hard work will always pay off in the long run”…When I do well and I’m on a role, if I get too cocky, I end up letting up on hard work and I fall back into a slump.
I think this pertains to sports as well and that’s where these kids have a challenge. They never had success so they get down when things are bad and they get too high when things are good. Its a recipe for pro-longed slumps and short hot streaks. When you’re brought up in a culture of losing you never learn how to be successful for an extended amount of time.
At least we have Nabby, whos had some success right but not so much in the playoffs? Who else do we have that’s been successful in the playoffs? Has Carkner or Boyes played on winning teams?
Last season was certainly a reality check. I thought for sure the Islanders would come out flying and play the way they did at the end of 2010-11.
Now, it is definitely a much more realistic approach, although I do believe the Islanders should be where a lot of us expected them to be last year. If not the playoffs, the Islanders should certainly be in contention. It’s true we don’t have a lot of playoff experience. Carkner has made a few appearances along with Nabokov. The experience is not there, but if you have noticed, the Islanders have drafted players that have been going far into their respective teams’ runs. KK has been a winner in the QMJHL, Strome went deep into the offseason with his team, and even free agent signing Mike Halmo won a championship with Owen Sound.
Over the past few years, the Islanders have not been able to close games because they have lacked their killer instinct. Some of the players you see now will not be on the team in a few years, so seasosn like this one will be do or die for the Okposos and Baileys of this team.
The kids are not kids anymore (some of them are quality vets now), so the guys that do no play well in the face of adversity will be the guys that will be replaced by younger legs until this team gets it right. I believe this team is only a piece or two away from being in contention for a playoff spot,so this team is a lot closer than they are given credit for.
The sales analogy was a good one, but it’s also up to them to change the culture. This goes along with the point that the team is drafting guys that have won at their levels. We have all seen it…when these guys are on it, they are damn good..it’s a matter of discipline and putting it together for 60 minutes.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Ok, I can buy your points that we’re drafting players that have been part of successful teams in the minors. I don’t know if I agree that this is a make or break season for KO. Garth just gave KO a 5 year contract. I think Garth maybe rewarded KO to quickly. Same with Grabner. He should’ve let those guys prove themselves before committing to them so quickly. Bailey on the other hand is a different story. He didnt get a long term deal so he is still under the hot seat.
Agreed. I guess, although they aren’t untradeable, the window is probably a bit larger for Grabs and KO than it is for Bailey. I just hope these guys connect like they are supposed to. Grabs was definitely not short on chances last year, and KO was definitely hot at the end. If it carries over, KO scores, and Grabs converts, you have some legitimate firepower on the Islanders top-6.
They need to get off to a good start out of the gate. That will make a huge difference come year end. I think they were a bit too cocky to start the season last year. I hope they were humbled and they come out on fire to start. If they dont then I’ll be calling for Cool Caps replacment