Which Cards to Keep & Which do you Discard?

If, after the first twenty minutes, you don't know who the sucker at the table is, it's you. ~Author Unknown.

The question for all Isles fans is - will Garth Snow & the Isles be suckers at this summer's draft & free agent tables, or will they be sharks?

In a 12 month span we have seen Garth Snow look like a risk-taker & shark with bold moves; such as last year's trading deadine when he threw caution to the wind by dealing 3 first round picks (2 already picked and the 2007 pick) to Edmonton and scooped up top-liner Ryan Smyth. It was a risky move that after Smyth's summer defection seems to not have paid off. Then last summer we saw Garth shift to a more conservative position -- bringing in steady but not flashy veterans like Guerin, Sutton, and Comrie to fill some holes. But these moves certainly didn't scare anyone in the East. Then Garth took an even greater leap into the world of GM restraint at this year's trading deadline - the team essentially stood still.

Which version of Garth Snow will we see this summer. Gun-slinging risk-taker or Pat Robertsonlike conservative?? There is not a tremendous amount of talent to be had as free agents in 2008 - particularly if teams keep locking up their players with long-term contracts.

Players like Satan, Fedotenko, Vasicek, Dubie, and Meyer will all be unrestricted free agents. Do you let some or all of these guys walk and maybe open the door for a permanent slot for Okposo, Tambellini, Nielsen, and others? These last handful of games should give a little bit of a peak into what these young guys can bring to the table at the NHL level which will either make Garth's life easier or more difficult.

Balance this situation with Nolan's apparent preference for the veterans -- how else can you explain the amount of ice time given to Hilbert & Park (even on the PP for goodness sake) when you have guys who have greater scoring potential sitting on the bench. Alas - that is the defense - it is just potential, nothing proven.

One thing is for sure - the Isles will have a lot of tough decisions to make this summer. All to be impacted by where the team lands in the draft lottery. At this point all we can hope for is some quality play for the young guys and a high draft pick.

Gotta have something positive to root for.
He will have some major to make. While some criticized his inaction -- either lock up certain players or deal them -- none of us can say we sat next to Garth & were privy to what his options were. We can only hypothicize, theorize, and outright guess.