Why are they "not likely" to re-sign Tavares?
Based on what?
Also,
arena not withstanding? You can't discuss an unclear future for NYI and simply gloss over the arena situation. That has been the NUMBER ONE uncertainty for this franchise since forever it seems. L&M were able to do in 1-2 years what
multiple ownership groups couldn't do for
decades. Secure their own arena, exclusively for the Islanders, in Nassau.
They have also opened up the purse strings and we are now a cap ceiling team. I look for two main things in ownership: commitment to the area and investing in team payroll. Everything else is secondary. I understand that people are frustrated Snow is still GM but let's not forget that we have some some pretty solid owners. They paid a fortune for the team and have done some very positive things.
The uncertainty I see is not with the arena at all - it's essentially what you say, a cap ceiling team that sucks isn't a place you can win. So if Tavares feels that he wants to win, he'd have to be completely delusional to think that a Garth Snow team is that place. It's beyond absurd - no?
He's built a team without defense or goaltending, no prospects for a top pairing dman (no disrespect to Toews, MVS - they are closer to deHaan/Donovan than Karlsson/Doughty), who knows if/when Sorokin happens - and keeping this team together as-is, for the next two years, means almost ZERO roster moves and they will be a cap ceiling team.
So what could Garth or Ledecky/Malkin possibly say to Tavares (even if the new shiny arena was ready today) to make him believe this was his best chance to win? I just don't see it.
And, frankly, If I'm Garth, I should SEE these holes and realize that trading JT may, in fact, be a better move to building a winner for when the arena's ready. A GM who has 4-5 star players playing way above their current cap hit (Barzal, Tavares, Bailey, Lee, arguably Eberle) - all due for huge raises, and still can't be a contending team - maybe the GM should be hit with a brick of awareness "oh, crap, maybe I wasn't able to build a winner with this "CORE" of players" but at least I locked up the pathetic FRINGE to long term deals. Yay.
It's not what JT says about wanting to sign or not - I think it's in everyone's interest for JT to be dealt. It saddens me to say that, he's my favourite Islander since #22 - I hate that this team sucks so much. And I hate the ownership/GM even more now.