CHICAGO — There is no more hollow talk from the Islanders about trying to win now. Instead, they spent draft weekend making big moves and preparing themselves to make more in the coming days.
General manager Garth Snow completed his second blockbuster trade on Saturday, sending heart-and-soul defenseman Travis Hamonic, along with a conditional fourth-round pick in either 2019 or 2020, to the Flames in exchange for a first-round pick in 2018, a second-round pick in 2019 and another conditional second-round pick in either 2019 or 2020.
The condition is based on if the Flames make the playoffs in 2019, then a trade already in place has their second-round pick that year going to the Coyotes. So if that happens, the Islanders would get their 2020 second-rounder, and the Flames would get the Isles’ 2019 fourth-rounder. If they don’t make the playoffs that year, it would be reversed.
Snow already made waves on Thursday by trading Ryan Strome to the Oilers in exchange for talented winger Jordan Eberle. By shipping off the 26-year-old Hamonic, Snow cleared an annual $3.857 million salary-cap hit over the next three seasons and stockpiled more picks that he doesn’t seem intent on sitting on.
“Definitely look to improve the club,” Snow said Saturday afternoon at United Center during Rounds 2-7 of the draft. “It takes some time to build up a prospect pool, draft picks, in order for the organization to be sustainable for the short and long terms. I think we’re at that point. I think the luxury now to use is currency to improve our club for the near future.”
That would turn all eyes to the two most coveted forwards available: Matt Duchene of the Avalanche and Alex Galchenyuk of the Canadiens. Both are very talented and experienced, and both absolutely would help the club in the short term. A move also would give the Islanders a little more stability going into the opening of free agency on July 1.
“I don’t envision anything happening here in the next two days, but that can change,” Snow said. “We have a good hockey team, we have a team that’s built for now and for the future. When you look at our prospects and our draft picks, we also have the ability to use some of those assets to bring in a player to improve our club.”
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All of this adds intrigue to the situation swirling around the contract extension talks with captain John Tavares, who is set to be a free agent after this coming season and can sign an extension starting July 1. If Tavares left, it would crush the organization, and it seems he is waiting to see how the team is shaking out before committing to a long-term deal.
“We think the world of him,” Snow said of his captain. “We want him to retire as an Islander.”
Of course, to get to this point, Snow had to make a difficult decision in trading Hamonic, a homegrown player who he said was like “a little brother.” Harmonic had been an alternate captain and one of the strongest voices in the locker room since the Isles took him with their second-round pick (No. 53 overall) in the 2008 draft. He also won the NHL Foundation Award this year, presented to the player “who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of the people in the community.”
At this time last year, Hamonic had asked the Islanders for a trade to be closer to his hometown of Winnipeg. He then rescinded the request and played out the season, but it was clear that if it was possible, he still wanted to be closer to his family.
“I’m not going to speak for Travis, we’ve talked a lot. Those will remain between Travis and myself,” Snow said. “I think he’s in a good place to play, for his family, and the Islanders got a solid return. So I think it’s a win-win for both teams.”
Snow also was confident in his group of young defensemen, including Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, both of whom he protected in the expansion draft earlier in the week. But losing Hamonic means there is a big piece of the Islanders missing, and now it’s on Snow to make the deal worth it.
“This was a situation where we felt we could capitalize on some assets we can use in the future in a draft, or use them in a currency in a future player transaction,” Snow said. “That is a luxury our organization has.”