Through the first 25 games of the season, I really thought Joe Vasicek was turning the corner in his career. Playing with more desire and passion than I’ve ever seen before, it looked like big Joe finally shook off a career-long case of OlegKavashitis. However, by the end of the season, I realized that despite putting up decent numbers, this guy just doesn’t have the overall consistency to be a top six forward and because of his inconsistency, he’s more suited to be a third or fourth line player.

This year’s team was all about taking chances on guys. Mike Comrie was given an opportunity to be a number one center and Vasicek was given more ice time than ever before in an effort to see where he really stands. Now we know. Aside from being a very good penalty killer, Vasicek can pot a few here and there, especially when he gets in front of the net, but when he’s not skating, he’s barely noticeable on the ice, which in effect limits the space his teammates have on the ice and plays a huge part in making his linemates less effective.

On a good team, Vasicek is a fourth liner, whose offensive upside and good penalty killing ability would be a great depth booster. If he played 12 minutes a game all season and ended up with 35 points, I don’t think any logical hockey fan would be too disappointed. However, like I said, there came a point, especially after Mike Sillinger’s injury, where all of these guys who were playing well in their roles, players like Comrie, Fedotenko and Vasicek, were exposed and were put in a situation to step up. They didn’t and that’s one the reasons why this team ended up not making the playoffs.

Now, I know Garth Snow has stated on the record that he’s sick of being average, so if Vasicek is resigned for next season, I don’t expect him to have the same type of role. If the Isles were smart about this, they’d throw him on the fourth line with someone like Richard Park and Blake Comeau, which in my mind would not only force Vasicek to skate every night, it would be a fourth line that plenty of teams in the NHL would love to have. Anyway, with the playoffs still going on, the Isles will have to wait a few more weeks until they start to decide what to do with him.

While he wasn’t horrible for the Isles, it’s clear he can’t be what the team needs him to be. With that being said, he may be forced into another role if resigned or let go all together. My guess is on the later.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2008