Ok first of all I think there doesn't need to be much said when it comes to Brian Burke and his General Managing shenanigans. He turns your average draft day or trade deadline into a trip to the carnival, not saying of course that it isn't entertaining sometimes. But now, when asked who he thought the Islanders would take with their #1 overall pick today, his all knowing self was fairly quick to say "Matt Duchene" as per TSN.
Now, there are many ways to read into something like this. First, being a GM of an NHL franchise, is it possible that maybe he knows something we the fans don't? Not likely. Rather I think this is the Brian Burke way of hoping he can still land John Tavares. Remeber, Burke has made his desire to have Tavares in Toronto well known, and he is known for the heavy draft day trade to make some noise around the league.
The other way to interpret this is that maybe Matt Duchene is who Garth covets and Burke has given us a little insight as to what will happen later on, but also in my opinion, unlikely. Heres, why...
Matt Duchene is a great player, scouting reports from all across the league have this guy pegged as the fastest forward in the draft with the quickest release. Couple that with a fundamentally sound penalty killing ability and you've got yourself a star player. Some have even written that in last years draft, Duchene is a clear #1 over Steven Stamkos, but only time can give that rumor validity. So if all of this stands to be true, then Matt Duchene is a cardboard cutout of the type of player Scott Grodon looks for in his overspeed system of play. While all of this is well and good, Matt Duchene isn't "the player" the Islanders so deperately need right now.
Lets do the Math:
Which Player can have an immediate impact? All 3
-ok were even so far.
Which player can contribute to the "system" the best?
-On paper, Duchene, giving him the advantage so far
Which player can provide sufficient help for DiPietro, the current face of the franchise in front of the net?
-Hedman
Which player has to ability to contribute most offensively?
-Tavares and Duchene (215 OHL goals for Tavares kind of sticks out)
Which player can step up in the big situations?
-Tavares, see Team Canada's world junior score sheets and game summaries over the past two years and if you aren't convinced yet,you'll start to get the feeling this kid is the real deal.
Which player can help save a team from moving?
-Ok, so no single player can save any team, but its a start, and Tavares brings the name that can bring about that change.
Tavares wins the head to head.
More importantly, the acquisition of Tavares can start to put pressure on county officials to get Hempstead moving toward approval to keep Long Islands last professional team around. If 23,000 fans at a draft party, which surpasses the Coliseum seat total of 16,234 isnt a start, then I'm not sure what is. What Tavares does is brings in a marketable name, that will draw league and fan attention and can eventually lead to big name free agent or trade acquisitions. The time is now for Long Island, and right now, all eyes are on Garth Snow.
God speed Garth, our faith and future for the next few hours is in no ones hands but yours.
Draft Day Rumors:Heard from Eklund and hockeybuzz.com, here are my thoughts.
Touching on the rest of the NHL, as previously mentioned, Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs are already in the news as a rumored deal with Boston has been reported. The trade would involve Phil Kessel straight up for Tomas Kaberle. Clearly Brian Burke didn't pull the trigger and neither would I have. Kaberle is right in his prime and could get a lot more then just Phil Kessel.
It seems all but definite that Jay Bouwmeester will be headed out of South Florida today. A few teams are said to be involved in the talkes more notably Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Vancouver is my favorite here as it looks as Montreal has its priorities set on getting LeCavalier and Toronto is busy trying to either move up in the draft or move Kaberle first. Look for Vancouver to try for Kaberle if they fail on Jay Bo. Just a hunch.
As for Dany Heatley, I don't think I could be more confused. He is said to have released the list of teams he would accept a trade to which include Boston, Edmonton, Rangers and some others. To be quite honest, from what I heard Edmonton has their sights set on Spezza. That would either mean Heatley ends up staying or we may be witnessing the Ottawa Senators redefining themselves as a team.
The Islanders also could make a move today, as some on hockeybuzz.com and thefourthperiod.com think it possible that the Islanders could also land the negotiating rights to the Sedin twins as part of a Draft Day double whammie. I am not sure what would be traded to acquire this, but it would be nice having the twins on the Island. I just beg the Islanders make sure they can sign them before they go making a deal like this.
things should get interesting....
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