October 4, 2014 was a day that effectively altered the course of the New York Islanders’ 2014-15 season.
Just days before the puck was set to drop on the NHL’s 97th season, Islanders general manager Garth Snow pulled off a pair of trades that solidified his club’s blueline. Snow landed Johnny Boychuk in a deal with the Boston Bruins and later, Nick Leddy in a seperate trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.
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“This is a tough trade. We all like Johnny,” Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said shortly after sending Boychuk to Long Island. “… He was upset, I was upset, I’m still upset.”
Pressed up against the salary cap, Chiarelli moved Boychuk for the Philadelphia Flyers’ second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (previously acquired by the Islanders) and the Islanders’ 2016 second-round pick.
Chiarelli, of course, was relieved of his duties by the Bruins last week after the 2013-14 Presidents’ Trophy winners failed to make the post-season. Many Bruins fans would point to the July 4, 2013 trade that sent former second overall pick (2010) Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars as a major factor in Chiarelli’s demise.
On Sunday, Don Cherry cited the Boychuk deal as the one that ostensibly cost Chiarelli his job.
“The reason that Chiarelli got fired in Boston and why they’re out of the playoffs is getting rid of Boychuk,” Cherry said during his Coach’s Corner spot in Game 3 between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. “You want to get the cap down but you should have taken somebody else.”
“Garth Snow took an awful lot of heat and he’s laughing now,” Cherry added. “He [Boychuk] is one of the best defencemen in the league.”
The Islanders showed a 22-point improvement in 2014-15. In terms of possession totals, the Islanders finished this season with the NHL’s fifth best Corsi for percentage a 52.8 per cent. They ranked 20th in 2013-14 with a 49.5 per cent mark.
Paired together this season, Boychuk and Leddy finished with a very impressive Corsi for mark of 56.5 per cent in five-on-five situations (via stats.hockeyanalysis.com).
With unrestricted free agency looming for Boychuk, the Islanders locked the 31-year-old up to seven-year extension worth $42 million in March.
Leddy, too, received a seven-year deal worth slightly less at $38.5 million.
Snow has spent the past several years stockpiling top draft picks, but the club had just two playoff appearances in his first eight years on the job. The Islanders are currently leading their best-of-seven series with the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Snow’s third post-season trip on Long Island.
With a plethora of young talent set to enter their primes, and a blueline anchored by Boychuk and Leddy, Snow appears to finally have the Islanders in a position to compete for the franchise’s fifth Stanley Cup.
