There were plenty of signs pointing to Kyle Okposo hitting free agency instead of re-signing with the New York Islanders, yet Garth Snow really added credibility to such claims.
Earlier on Friday, Snow said to Sirius XM’s Stellick and Simmer that he wishes Okposo “nothing but the best.”
Such phrasing is a hockey executive’s answer to “It’s not you, it’s me” or “We need to talk ...”
The Score’s Ian McLaren transcribed some key bits:
“We’re just in a situation with the salary cap that you really have to analyze where you are today and where you’re going to be five years from now,” Snow said. “There’s always tough decisions. We’re not the only team that has tough decisions to make and potentially could lose free agents on July 1.”
This does bring up a tough question, though: would the Islanders have been better off trading Okposo?
It seems that way in hindsight, but punting away your second-leading scorer during a playoff run isn’t such an easy choice. These notes won’t make it much easier to shake off the “huge interest” the 28-year-old sniper is likely to draw in free agency.
Such is life for a quality team with a challenging budget, even while residing in Brooklyn.
(H/T to Newsday’s Arthur Staple.)