Snow’s biggest mishandling seemed to be that of Nino Niederreiter. Internally, the Islanders felt that since he had dominated the WHL, he could be penciled in to the NHL. Snow went as far as to give him his word that he’d remain on the big club all season. However, being a man of your word and of honor is not just about intent to a player as it is to his and the team’s long-term development. In other words, Snow, thanks to his promises, pinned himself into a corner and has hampered development in both respects.

Snow should have been willing to change his stance. Above all, maybe he shouldn’t be making promises in the first place. According to sources close to the situation, the judgment on Niederreiter and his rookie season will really depend on how he comes out of the gate next season. However, what went on in 2011-12 is bit of a black mark on the Islanders’ internal development staff. These people looked a bit too much at the Boston Bruins’ development of Tyler Seguin. This is a group that also badly mishandled Josh Bailey’s development.

Mark Streit: What’s the deal?

Look, the guy was out most of last season and far too much has been made of him “not looking like the same player since his injury,” as many fans have said. I get that take, but think there is much more to it. I’m not going to sit here and agree with the types of statements that have come from the mainstream media, statements like “he’s just finding his stride.” Excuse me while I roll my eyes. However, we can all agree he did not have as good a season defensively as he did two years back. His offensive output, however, was still in excess of 40 points, which knocked on the top 10 among defensemen. However his minus-25 rating is the second worst among defensemen in the entire NHL.

Whose rating was worse? That would be the Islanders’ Milan Jurcina at a dismal minus-32. The question is: how much of this was due to Streit the player and how much was it the team’s defensive schemes and holes? Add in the fact that the Isles struggled to generate scoring and it makes that minus stat inflate to higher proportions. Translation: it may not have been as bad as it appeared.