After proclaiming a desire to rebuild entirely, Long Island GM James Jones just may have to take a second look after his team has reeled off 5 consecutive wins. The latest, against league powerhouse Boston may signify a change in attitude around the Isles' dressing room. In fact, it was the humiliating 4-0 loss against the very same Bruins that sparked this recent road win in Beantown. The Isles have now moved to within 9 points of 8th spot. Unfortunately, if they had been in the Western Conference, the Isles would be tied for the final playoff spot.
Many have pointed to the acquisition of Mathieu Garon as the reason for the recent winning trend. Before trading for Garon, the Isles were getting blown out on a regular basis. In fact, even the trade aroused some skeptics who disagreed with the trading of top prospect Hannu Toivonen. However, this deal seems to be working out at least right now.
The question now is if the Islanders will change their strategy and make a move towards the playoffs? Recently they acquired struggling winger Teemu Selanne, making some question if this team really would continue to rebuild. "Well the winning streak sure does look good", said coach Mike Keenan. "The luxury of getting Teemu was the $5,000,000 we also got to pay the roughly $3,000,000 left on his salary this season, so we don't necessarily need to move the guy to save money. I think the team is playing well, but we can't look past our main objective. We want to be a powerhouse, not tread water for the next half decade. So if a good deal comes along we'll take it, unless this success becomes too much to resist. I have confident in our new staff."
Indeed Keenan is correct, as most recently the Islanders have backed off talks involving some of their stars. "We feel less pressured to make rebuiding moves with the success, however we are definitely still sellers", said GM Jones. "Even players such as Mike Peca and Mattias Norstrom are regularilly discussed in trade talks, but we won't be so quick to pull the trigger anymore." One thing is for sure, the fans may have something to get excited about.