Courtesy: Associated Press
The Buffalo Sabres have finally pulled the trigger with one of their high end talents as they sent Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson, a 2014 first round pick and a 2015 second round pick. The Sabres have been absolutely terrible for the past two seasons and rumors of Vanek and goaltender Ryan Miller’s departure have been ongoing for the better part of a year. This is the second step in their rebuilding process as they already sent former captain, Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild last season. The Sabres aren’t done by any means and Ryan Miller is now front and center once again.
Vanek has been one of the NHL’s premiere players for a few years, but he’s been ‘stuck’ in Buffalo with a team and an ownership that is sub-par. Vanek now will have the kind of supporting cast that can propel him, and his new team, to the next level.
HOWEVER
Let’s really take a look at why the Islanders may have done the dumbest thing since signing Rick DiPietro to a 15 year contract.
Matt Moulson has blossomed since coming to the Islanders 4 years ago. He had three straight 30 goal seasons playing with John Tavares, and the chemistry those two had was something every NHL team wants from their top line. Moulson will no doubt suffer a bit in Buffalo until he’s a little more comfortable. I think he’ll do well, but not right away. The Islanders will desperately miss him though. The two draft picks are also something that will hurt the Islanders. They are coming out of their rebuild mode and they are a good team, but they need goaltending. Evgeni Nabokov can’t play forever and they could have used that top pick to trade for a veteran goaltender. They can’t rely on signing one. They had enough scoring power already without having to get Vanek, although he obviously makes their offense even more dangerous.
Here’s the real problem though. Vanek is a UFA at the end of year and I seriously doubt he will sign with the New York Islanders.
Why? Because the Minnesota Wild have been stalking Vanek for a couple years now. One of Vanek’s best friends, Jason Pominville, is on the Minnesota Wild. AND Vanek played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. He’s even rumored to have been eyeing the Wild if/when they came calling at the end of this year. If you think the Wild couldn’t possibly take on a contract of Vanek’s size due to the Parise and Suter mega-signings, well, you’re very wrong. Dany Heatley’s $7.5M contract comes to an end this year as well, and I seriously doubt the Wild would re-sign Heatley since his fall from elite status. The Wild can easily toss that kind of money to Vanek.
Courtesy: Zimbio
So, the Islanders may have just given up one of the best budding scorers in the NHL and two high draft picks for an elite player who they may not even have for a whole year. If GM Garth Snow wasn’t on the hot seat before, he certainly is now. Matt Moulson will also be a UFA at the end of the year, but that doesn’t matter too much. If he doesn’t resign, the Sabres still come away on top with this trade because of the draft picks.
At any rate, for the time the Islanders do have Vanek, they will be a highly regarded offensive team – just like they were with Moulson. If this fails, however, they will be a laughing stock again.
The Sabres are now stocking up draft picks for the beginning of their rebuild. They have a few really good young players right now, but I really feel their coaching staff needs a re-tooling. Ron Rolston isn’t the man for the job and I think he’s one of the reasons why the Sabres are doing so poorly. Ryan Miller will be traded soon. They can’t hold on to him for long like the Canucks did with Luongo. They will get the highest return possible right now. With free agents like Jose Theodore and Ilya Bryzgalov on the market, teams could turn to them and take a gamble – like the Hurricanes did with Rick DiPietro.
More to come…
Photo Credit: Jocelyn Maletta – QMI Agency
