The Ily-anders: Post-Mortem

First off, I hope everyone had a very Happy Fourth of July. Now that the weekend has settled and passed us by, we must settle back into reality, and that also means settling back into reality on the hockey front. What began as a late-night rumor earlier in the three-day holiday weekend turned into fact, and quickly grew legs of its own. From NHL.Com to several “respected” media outlets, to all of Twitterverse, Ilya Kovalchuk and the New York Islanders were in serious negotiations and the possibility of him coming to Long Island was “very real.”

Unfortunately, I think the Fourth of July weekend and all the drinking that comes along with it began earlier than necessary for several publications, specifically the Los Angeles Times and TSN. The beginnings of the 10-year, $100 million offer can be traced back to reports that leaked from TSN, but more specifically, a blog entrance on the Los Angeles Times stating that the Kings were losing ground to the Islanders, who would be using Kovalchuk as the focal point for the Lighthouse Project. Talk about taking one phone-call inquiry and running with it.

Unfortunately, that one phone call, and a text message to ESPN stating the Islanders had made contact with the Kovalchuk camp, was enough to have major media sources report is as fact. As bloggers, we aren’t entitled to much first hand information, and we rely on these “respectable” news sources. Unfortunately, that led us very wrong this time around, as did the constant tune of changing stories on Twitter.

In any case, I still stand by my belief that Kovalchuk would have been a great addition for the New York Islanders, for all the reasons I stated in my previous article, and for many, many more that I’m sure we could name together. His star-power, his ability to entertain, and his gift for scoring goals are deep needs of this young and rebuilding New York Islanders team, however, we must now move on from that idea, as it was never really more than just an idea.

So what forwards are left in free agency for the New York Islanders to pursue?

In terms of scoring talent, there are very few second-tier options left. Alexander Frolov has long been mentioned as one of the better forwards available in this free-agent crop, however, he has many detractors in Los Angeles claiming that he is highly inconsistent and he has a poor work ethic. As a player who has managed to put up between 50 and 71 points over the past five seasons in Los Angeles, it is obvious that he is very talented, but could he replicate those numbers on a young, inexperienced New York Islanders team? This is a very tough call. Considering I’ve only heard that the New York Rangers briefly spoke with his camp about signing the Russian forward and then walked away, I’m sure many other teams are holding the same concerns.

Another second-level forward available that has intrigued some is Lee Stempniak. Although he played decently in Toronto during the first three-quarters of last season, he did more than show he can play and score in this league with the Phoenix Coyotes, putting back 14 goals and 4 assists in the 18 regular season games he played with them. Unfortunately, he was less than stellar in the playoffs, registering 0 goals and 2 assists and a -4 rating in the 7 game series loss to the Detroit Red Wings. While he is obviously not a premier talent, Stempniak could easily find his way into the Islanders top-six forwards, as well as receiving quality power-play time. The question is, how long of a commitment would we need to make to him? A three-year deal seems to be the type of range that most of my colleagues would be comfortable seeing, however, the salary itself is what comes into question. While he was just “average” with the Maple Leafs, he played extremely well for the Coyotes to finish off the year.

Would you be interested in Stempniak? If so, for how long and how much? My opinion? Three years, $3.75 million per season.

Beyond these two forwards, who I believe stand out from the remaining free agents, there are several other decent players including:

Jere Lehtinen, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Dominic Moore, Kyle Wellwood, Bill Guerin, Frederik Modin, and Arron Asham.

Unfortunately, if you take the same approach I do, you don’t see anyone on this list that makes sense age-wise or fits into the Islanders current roster situation. Although the Islanders could use the toughness and grit that Arron Asham could bring to the lineup, I do not believe that Snow is interested in adding him in place of playing one of the younger guys from Bridgeport. With Zenon Konopka already signed, and with Gillies playing next to him on the wing, the Islanders do not need to worry too much in the fighting department.

Unfortunately, after the first day frenzy, and past Ilya Kovalchuk, it is a rather weak group of free agents. What do you think Snow’s next move in the forward department will be, if any at all?

-Justin M.

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