Let's go Rangers!!

Sorry about the title of this blog. Me even writing it made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. But hear me out on this one. The rest of the Atlantic division has gotten a lot better this off season and is arguably the best division in hockey. The Islanders, meanwhile, have not gotten any better except for John Tavares. Yes, their goaltending is much improved. But they still have zero offense.

So why is the Rangers, Flyers, Devils and Penguins all being really good teams a good thing for the Islanders? Because the Isles play them a combined 24 times this year will lose a lot of those games. Let's be honest, with the moves made by Snow this offseason (or lack thereof), they WANT to be bad again this year. Actually, they NEED to be bad again this year. They still have a lack of talent in their system. John Tavares alone will not make them a contendor.

Even if they were in a weaker division, this team would still not be a playoff team. But if they got to play Atlanta and Tampa Bay a combined 12 times this year, they would most likely end up with more points at the end of the year and subsequently end up with a worse draft pick. That is not what they need right now. They need the highest draft pick they can possibly get. Don't get me wrong, I hate watching them lose every game. I don't want to bear yet another 30th place season. Last year was a horrible experience. But, until they get a new arena, building through the draft is the only way for them to become competitive. Kovalchuck is not signing here after next season. Either is any other big name free agent. The draft is the only way for them to become a consistent contender.

Don't root against the Isles this year, as some fans stated they were doing last year. But realize that Snow's lack of activity in the free agent market this offseason is calculated. What will adding Tanguay or Zheredev do for them long term? Nothing. The only thing it will do is slightly improve the team in the short term and turn from a 29th or 30th place team into a 24th or 25th place team. And finishing 30th is far better in the long term then finishing 25th.

So let's go Rangers! Let's hope they make the trade for Heatley and hope the rest of the teams in the division lives up to their talent level. Because only 1 team can win the Stanley Cup this year, but only the Islanders can benefit from ALL the other teams in their division being much improved.