Wow.

That was the word that I uttered when I found out the Islanders received a fifth round pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Bill Guerin yesterday.

Wow.

Simply put, I think Islanders GM Garth Snow panicked.

Why you ask? The guy got a third round pick for Marc-Andre Bergeron last season, a third round pick, [yes, I didn't stutter ]. He even got a sixth round pick for Chris Simon, a player no one in the NHL wanted last season and now, he gets a conditional fifth round pick for Bill Guerin, one of the most prolific American born goal scorers of our era.

Someone dropped the ball.

And to make matters worse, now Islander fans everywhere will have to root for the Pens and hope they get into the playoffs and past the first round so that fifth round pick can magically, deliciously transform into a third round pick.

Not going to happen.

So the Islanders will have an extra pick, but at what cost? I know Guerin was going to be gone at the end of the season anyway, but you simply cannot give away a player with his resume for a pick that low. If it was a third or second round pick, I would have been OK with it, but this is like a slap in the face.

Ray Shero is probably playing “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang as we speak.

Not cool.

With Guerin gone now, the Islanders will have to put the C on someone’s jersey and as of right now, I think it’ll either be Brendan Witt or Trent Hunter. While I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Witt, despite his struggles this season, I do think Hunter is the better choice. He’s going to be around another four years and is a young veteran and someone the Islanders can build around. More than anything right now, I feel this team needs to find some sort of stability right now, some kind of immovable object that fans know that regardless of how bad things get, that person will be there.

Trent Hunter can be that player.

After that, I’d give A’s to Richard Park and Witt. This way the Islanders have guys there that command a decent amount of respect around the league for their hustle and drive, which is exactly what Scott Gordon and the rest of the organization want to preach anyway.

But who knows what the Islanders will do. I remember when Bryan McCabe was named Islanders captain and I nearly crapped by teenage pants in disgusts.

What I do know however is that because of all of this, the last dozen or so games should be very interesting.

Stay Tuned.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009