New York Islanders have big decision to make
After the results of Tuesday night’s NHL draft lottery, the New York Islanders find themselves the holders of the 5th overall pick. However, now that they know where could be selecting this June, a decision has to made about whether or not to actually use that pack.
For those unaware, when Islanders general manager Garth Snow decided to acquire Thomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres, he included a conditional first round pick in the trade. The condition was that, should the 2014 pick be a top 10 selection, Snow has until June 1 to decide whether to give Buffalo the first this year or in 2015.
With the Islanders finishing the season much worse than (internally) expected when the deal was originally made back in October, Snow now has to decide if he wants to give Buffalo a second top five pick this year, or hold on to it and hope that his team improves enough next season to be out of the lottery.
Things can change and players can prove to not be what many thought they were, but a year out, the 2015 draft class is expected to be one of the most talented classes in the last decade, especially at the top.
Seventeen-year-old Erie Otters forward Connor McDavid and US National Under-18 Team forward Jack Eichel are expected to compete for the No. 1 overall pick next year which could be yet another season where the Islanders finish as a lottery team.
Snow and his management team have to sit down over the next month-and-a-half and really figure out, honestly, where the Islanders are as a franchise on the ice. Are they a team that can make a serious postseason push with the addition of a big piece in the offseason, or are they a team that is still more than a few pieces away from being a serious threat to make the playoffs.
A top five pick is huge in any draft, and 2014 will prove to be no different. Now it just begs the question of how realistic are the Islanders thinking in terms of success next season?
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