JG and his agent read the market wrong, he panicked - his agent went fishing in Columbus. If he wanted NYI, then he could have done that and the Isles could have opened up the cap space. It’s pretty obvious he had no interest. Blaming the GM for not making a player sign with you is fruitless. Just like CLB cleared out cap space rather quickly after Laine signed.
And yes the Isles do have to overpay for UFA players. That’s not going to change no matter who the GM is. However, Snow and Lou have been able to resign their own RFAs and certain UFAs to reasonable deals, in some instances below market.
Complain all day about overpay this and that, but the Isles and Long Island are not the place fans think it is. There are much better places to play in the league. In hockey and in general.
Sounds like the same talking points to me with a lot of conjucture. You open the second paragraph with Isles "have to overpay" for UFA players and yet your first paragraph contradicts it to say JG "needed to want to be here" and Lou clearing the space and making the highest offer wouldn't have mattered. Makes no sense really.
Truth is (I repeat) we have no idea whether the a million-million and a half more per wouldn't have kept him in the East and signed here. Reports are Philly certainly would have been an option had they had the cash. The only thing we know for sure is we didn't offer that "overpay" and I would argue that difference makers are the only time we should and not the Kadri's of the world.
We also know that (out of his own lips) that trading Varlamov was not an option and there were reports we weren't even shopping Bailey. This coupled with reports that "not being able to clear the space" was the central reason we didn't even engage.
And no one is indicating the Islanders are the go-to destination, but obviously it is more attractive now with new owners and a new stadium.
Regardless it is NOT an excuse to overpay for non difference makers, all you do is go around in circles that way. If you are convinced that you are never going to get a big time player (either because you refuse to overpay or because of the unattractiveness of your team's location/status) than Lou is clearly not the right GM for the job....because you should be building your roster ONLY through the draft and strike gold on your difference makers that way.....
Can't do that if you are trading away your first round picks for the likes of Pageau, Palmieri and Romanov- good players but not "difference makers"....