Five Days Away: The Calm Before Friday’s Storm

In 1981, Phil Collins released “In the Air Tonight,” and perhaps no song better fits the mood of New York Islanders’ fans at this present moment.

From Port Jefferson to Roslyn and Montauk to Elmont, it’s impossible to ignore the palpable excitement surrounding the Islanders. The NHL Draft is just five days away. The Islanders hold the first overall pick, where they intend to select Matthew Schaefer. The worst-kept secret in the hockey world is the Islanders’ desire to land James Hagens in addition to drafting Schaefer first.

To do so, they’ll have to acquire another top ten pick, with rumors swirling around talks with the Boston Bruins and Utah Mammoth.

Beyond that, the trade and contract chatter surrounding Noah Dobson increased exponentially on Friday, continuing into the weekend. While trading Dobson this week would be a big surprise, it’s undeniable that the chances went from what seemed to be 0% to something above that.

With all the noise, all the chatter, something is bound to happen. You can feel it coming in the air.

The Calm:

Despite that, this week will likely be silent on Long Island. It’d be unusual to land a top ten pick before knowing if Hagens is available, so that trade will happen on draft night.

What is expected is that Bridgeport’s Head Coaching hire is expected to come down this week. In recent weeks, the Islanders announced staff hirings on Mondays. Two weeks ago, assistant coaches Bob Boughner and Ray Bennett arrived. Last week, the Islanders introduced Ryan Bowness.

Rumors swirled earlier this week about Matt Carkner, but there is nothing concrete at the moment. Carkner may be the man for the job, but it’s just as likely that it’s an unknown candidate.

Aside from Bridgeport housekeeping, extensions for any of the team’s UFAs may come down. Tony DeAngelo is the least likely, while I’d think Grant Hutton is kept around for Bridgeport and depth’s sake. As for Hudson Fasching and Mike Reilly, it solely comes down to how Darche and Patrick Roy want the organizational depth chart set up.

It’s also possible RFA extensions happen for Dobson, Simon Holmstrom, Maxim Tsyplakov, or Alexander Romanov, but with no need to rush, it’s probable other situations command the Islanders’ attention.

The Storm:

Eventually, this week will melt away. It’ll be Friday. Round one of the NHL Draft kicks off at 7 p.m. on the East Coast, and from that moment on, fireworks feel inevitable.

Some outlets have begun reporting that Hagens isn’t the only player the Islanders would trade back into the top 10 for. However, I do not find that likely. The Islanders reportedly only dined with three players at the Draft Combine: Schaefer, Hagens, and Michael Misa.

The San Jose Sharks are widely expected to take Misa, but if they don’t, the Chicago Blackhawks will be doing cartwheels at landing the #1 guy on their draft board third overall.

All recent mock drafts have Hagens slipping anywhere from fifth overall down to ninth overall. If Hagens is there at seventh overall, the Islanders will likely be going all-in with a package for the Boston Bruins to try and land Hagens, then doing the same with Seattle and Buffalo if other deals don’t get done.

The fear on Long Island surrounds Philadelphia, who pick sixth overall. Hagens visited Philadelphia after the combine, and they’re a team to watch. If the Islanders can strike a deal with Utah for the fourth overall pick, it could avoid the Philadelphia conundrum all together.

Philadelphia also reportedly could look to move up, and they’ve got plenty of assets to do so. It could be a bidding war for the fourth overall pick on Friday night.

But all the solid, unquestionable truths will come that night. Until then, it’ll be all speculation and rumors, something foreign to the Islanders after the past seven seasons.

For now, it’s the calm. In five days, the storm will arrive.