AT: I'm not sure if any of these players are what the Islanders need, but it is what it is. There are certainly gaps that the Islanders have, but when 2 of these players are 4th liners, one a bottom pairing D man and the other a winger with a ton of potential (which we all know Garth loves). Do any of them fit on the Islanders?
Jay Pandolfo
AT: A former Devil who played for the team for his entire career, Pandolfo was bought out at the end of 2010 and has not played hockey for a team since. Clearly, he still has the desire to do so and would seek out the opportunity to play for the Islanders by proving that he still has some gas left in the tank for this coming season. Pandolfo, when healthy, can put up a 20-30 point season as should be expected of a 4th liner. However, his health has been an issue for several years now. If he can pull it together, stay healthy and bring the leadership presence that he brought to the Devils for so long, he would be a great presence on the 4th line along Marty Reasoner and Matt Martin.
CH: Katie seemed to elaborate a little more on Pandolfo, tweeted that the two sides should finalize some tryout agreement within the week. Pandolfo has been a valuable player in the NHL, so it certainly does not hurt to see if he can come in and still play a little. Chances are if he sticks with the organization, it would be in an AHL call-up capacity, but that is fine. If the Isles want to take the next step, calling up seasoned vets like Pandolfo are better options than players who will never see NHL action again. Experience is a big factor here.
Chris Clark
AT: A one time 30 goal scorer, the scoring ability wheels have fallen off Clark faster than a Michael Grabner 40 yard dash. Another player who has been marred by injuries the past few years, Clark was reduced to a 3rd and 4th line role in his time with the Blue Jackets for the past 2 seasons after captaining the Capitals in his tenure there. His skills still remain, just to a much diminished extent. There is no way he would be taking Matt Martin's slot, so a line of Martin-Reasoner-Clark would be our full time 4th line, with Reasoner or Martin possibly moving to the 3rd line if someone gets injured. Depth is great to have, but I'm not sure if Clark or Pandolfo are the solutions to a team that is seeking the playoffs.
CH: Clark is a great locker room guy, leader, and could certainly play a bit in his prime. Like Alex said, injuries have really slowed him down a bit over the past few years. Having him try out for a 4th line spot would make for a very interesting competition with Micheal Haley, one that is somewhat akin to Richard Park trying out for a spot in 2006-07. If he does try out, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he does lock that 12th forward spot up. I'll harp on the experience part all day, but with a top-6 full of kids and young veterans, having guys like Reasoner, Clark, and Brian Rolston in the bottom 6 could be very beneficial going forward.
Sergei Samsonov
AT: Samsonov, forever shifting teams, still remains unsigned after a solid season with an abysmal Florida Panthers team as well as some time with a mediocre Carolina team. A two time 70+ point scorer, the potential that remains in Samsonov is limitless. Paired with the right linemates, his shot could land him back in the 60+ point territory. I'm not really sure where Samsonov would fit unless Garth is considering replacing Parenteau with him on the first line. However, after a pretty solid chemistry was developed last year between Moulson, Tavares and PAP, it's doubtful we see a change to that until next year when Parenteau's contract is up.
CH: This one is the most intriguing to me, because it seemingly came out of nowhere. Strang tweeted that Samsonov wanted a guaranteed contract while the Isles only wanted a tryout. Since the Isles have all the leverage, Samsonov could very well agree to a try out as he looks for a spot on the team. But it's intriguing in the sense that Samsonov can only play in the top 9, and there are currently 10 forwards (Niederreiter) penciled in for 9 spots. So my guess is that this is either all smoke to push players to be better, Snow is actively looking to trade away one of the top-9, or Nino Niederreiter is not as much of a lock as it seems. My guess, is that Snow is shopping around. The question is, can Samsonov still play? Much like Clark reminds me of 06-07, this does as well. When the Islanders brought Viktor Kozlov in for a tryout, it was much maligned. He then put together a 50+ point season. Samsonov would not be coming in as a contributor - you know what you can with him. But could be put a 40 point season together with Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey? I believe he could come close. I'd make it a point to keep an eye out on this one.
Bryan McCabe
Ah, Mr. McCabe. After the consistent rumors that he would be traded to the Islanders every February and all those offseasons we heard he'd be signing with us following the end of his previous contracts, now comes the most realistic opportunity to land him. At this point, McCabe should be the very last option for the Islanders in case they can not land a top 4 d-man in a trade. Now, if that were the case, signing McCabe would be a lot better than having Mike Mottau as anything other than the 7th D-man, but let's be realistic here. McCabe's defense is pretty much gone, his offense has dwindled greatly, and he is at best a bottom pairing D-man. This team wants to (and needs to) make the playoffs this season, and signing McCabe is not going to help that.
This is an extremely important moment for the Islanders. Garth has publicly stated that he was going to attempt to acquire a top 4 d-man through trade, and the Rolston trade basically screamed that it was a precursor to a much bigger trade by giving us just one too many 3rd liners on the team (assuming Niederreiter makes the team). Again, McCabe would be better than having Mottau as the 5th or 6th d-man, but signing McCabe would, to me, scream that we are in for another season of mediocrity. This is a major situation for Snow, and I can only hope and pray he realizes it.
CH: Pretty much what Alex said above is correct. While McCabe is certainly better than no one, he is by no means much of an ideal option. He would come in to be a warm body to keep young players like Calvin de Haan from the NHL until they are fully developed and ready. But that is not what the Islanders need this year - they need stability in the top 4, and so far we haven't seen anything like that. The Islanders already have warm bodies as stopgaps - Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, and Mike Mottau are all unrestricted free agents after the season. To add a 4th stopgap will cause a major turnover issue, which makes it harder to develop chemistry. We saw that in 07-08, when the Isles were a completely different team of miscasts and couldn't make a push. The goal was to obtain a guy on a multi-year deal, and that hasn't happened. Yet. But like we said McCabe is better than no one, and I suppose that is the silver lining if there is one.
Check back here as we get closer to camp to see how things unfold.
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