It appears Islanders co-Owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky "are comfortable" with President & GM Garth Snow holding the reins for the time being, according to Arthur Staple of NEWSDAY. Snow yesterday said that he is "always open to adding people to the Islanders’ front-office staff and that he understands the 'bullets and arrows' are flying his way after his team failed to make the playoffs for the seventh time in his 11 seasons." Snow yesterday "did not sound like" a person "unsure of his role." The Isles are "still looking for a permanent home, there is an expansion draft coming in two months" and C John Tavares, the team’s "lone star, needs a contract extension." Snow: "It’s what I signed up for. It’s a situation anyone in pro sports understands, it’s part of the package.” Malkin and Ledecky have not "ceased their search for a president of hockey operations." But after the team removed the interim tag from coach Doug Weight's title yesterday, it would "appear to mean any new hire will not have complete control of the team." Usually such a role would "allow a president to choose his own GM and his own coach." Snow, who has "upward of five years left on a deal he signed" with previous Owner Charles Wang, "does not sound as if he’s waiting for a new boss to sign off on any offseason moves he may make" (NEWSDAY, 4/13).
HOLD YOUR WEIGHT: NEWSDAY's Staple reports Weight was "clearly" Snow’s first choice. Malkin and Ledecky also were "on board, and the team moved quickly to answer at least one of the looming question about the franchise" (NEWSDAY, 4/13). But in N.Y., Brett Cyrgalis writes under the header, "What Will It Take To Disrupt The Lackluster Islanders Status Quo?" Cyrgalis: "It’s apparent day after day and year after year that the Islanders operate in their own bubble, and the surrounding world of the NHL has little impact on how they operate." It is a "worldview ... cultivated" by Snow. If Ledecky and Malkin "want to change the organization for the better, they need to abandon the us-against-the-world mentality" (N.Y. POST, 4/13).
