Lubomir Visnovsky wants to keep playing, and he wants to remain a member of the New York Islanders.
However, the 38-year-old may not get his wish on that second part, based on what Isles GM Garth Snow told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.
“I don’t anticipate Visnovsky coming back,” said Snow, “so there’s potential for one of our young defensemen to earn a spot, whether it’s [Scott] Mayfield, [Ryan] Pulock, [Griffin] Reinhart, we’ll see what happens via the trade route at the draft and then look into free agency. Those are not guarantees. We feel we have a good group. I’m not shy to say we’d be happy to have the same group back.”
The Isles were a good team in 2014-15, but after finishing 23rd in goals against, it’s safe to say they still need to improve defensively.
That’s not to say Visnovsky was a massive defensive liability; he wasn’t. But it’s one of the things Snow will have to keep in mind when assembling his group.
Regular-season GAA ranking of past 6 champs
— Jason Brough 🙁 (@SadClubCommish) June 17, 2015
'15 Hawks (2nd)
'14 Kings (1st)
'13 Hawks (1st)
'12 Kings (2nd)
'11 Bruins (2nd)
'10 Hawks (6th)