citrin@ucbvax.UUCP (Wayne Citrin) (05/20/84)
Sigh...Well I guess it was just Edmonton's year. They played very well and the Islanders looked kind of burned out. In a way, the end of the streak will be better for the future of the team. The "drive for five" caused a peculiar type of desperation in the Islanders' management which caused them to delay what would ordinarily be reasonable player moves for fear of upsetting a winning formula. Now that the Isles are back at square one, they can get on with the business of building the team. - First and most important, Smitty will not be one of the Islanders' goalies next year. Were it not for the prospect of a fifth Cup he probably would have been traded last year. His stock is not as high as it was after last year's playoffs, but I'm sure that there are many teams that would take him. Which ones? Any team outside the Patrick division with goaltending problems, like Los Angeles or Toronto. Possibly the Isles could get a top player like Bernie Nicholls of Rick Vaive for him, but more likely they will get a first or second round draft pick. If he isn't traded, he'll probably retire and stay on as Islanders' goalie coach. Whatever happens, the Islanders must make room for Kelly Hrudey and Rollie Melanson as their regular goalies. - Speaking of coaches, now that the Cup streak is over I wouldn't be surprised if Al Arbour retires. After the last Cup he spent a week in bed for nervous exhaustion. Who needs it? He's got the promise of a lifetime job with the Isles as their VP for player personnel, and I think he'll take it. - If Arbour retires, their new coach will be assistant coach Lorne Henning. Rumor has it that he's being considered for the Philadelphia coaching job and the Islanders would like to stay in the family I'm sure. - If this happens I also expect to see Butch Goring retiring and becoming the full-time assistant coach. Again, the Isles will stay in the family and Goring appears to be nearing the end of his career. - The Islanders will move a number of their lesser players in return for draft choices and minor league players. These players include Wayne Merrick, Gord Lane, and Anders Kallur. This will give more playing time to younger players, like Billy Caroll and Mats Hallin who are currently riding the bench, allow the team to restock its farm system and let the club look at promising minor leaguers like Bruce Affleck, the top defenseman in the CHL the last two years; Ron Handy, one of the CHL's leading scorers; and Monty Trottier, the top rookie in camp this year who couldn't break into the team. I know these are all pretty radical changes, but I think they're all reasonable and likely. In all, I feel good about the team's future. Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)