Times are strange for the Islanders. Last spring, they made a huge splash at the trade deadline, pulling off a deal to acquire gritty winger Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers. It seemed that GM Garth Snow had his team on the right track, rapidly emerging as one of the Eastern Conference’s most formidable teams. All they needed to do was find a way to keep Smyth and fellow unrestricted free agent-to-be Jason Blake in the fold.

As it turned out, neither player chose to remain with the team, and neither did Richard Zednik, Viktor Kozlov, or Tom Poti, for that matter. As a result, Snow was forced to execute an aggressive remodeling plan that included numerous second-tier free agents. The good news is that the team should be respectable in 2007–08, with free agent signee Bill Guerin providing an excellent short-term option as the team’s captain and leader.

The bad news, however, is that the Isles appear to be betwixt and between, in need of an aggressive rebuilding effort while at the same time desperately needing to regain traction with their disgruntled fan base. When all is said and done, Guerin’s biggest value will likely come next February, when a Cup contender sacrifices some top-tier young talent in order to procure his services.

This is not to say, of course, that the Isles’ story is all sadness and misery. With Rick DiPietro between the pipes, Ted Nolan’s squad should be able to count on top-tier goal-tending all season long. With rearguards Brendan Witt and Andy Sutton delivering their trademark hard hits, the defensive zone won’t be a comfortable place for opposing forwards to visit.

The signing of playmaking center Mike Comrie to a one-year contract will likely turn out to be a stroke of genius, for he’s exactly the kind of player who will deliver a career year in the hopes of converting it into a lucrative long-term deal offered by an unsuspecting GM fooled into thinking that he’s finally realized his tremendous potential. The 27-year-old center has already worked his way through four NHL franchises, and the odds are better than even that he’ll be in yet another new city at this time next year. He, like Guerin, will be valuable trade fodder as the deadline approaches.

Forward prospect Kyle Okposo, considered by many scouts to be the second coming of Jarome Iginla, has decided to play for one more season with the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers. It will most certainly be in his — and the Isles’ — best interests if he doesn’t attempt to play the role of savior in Uniondale, N.Y. this fall.

Indeed, the Isles’ prospects are best summed up by their opportunity, and Snow’s task to make the most of it. DiPietro’s 15-year contract has already become a bargain in just its second year, giving the Isles tremendous cap flexibility under which to construct a winning team. Now it’s up to Snow to get maximum value as he trades away veterans for youngsters, assembling a core around DiPietro and Okposo that should enable this franchise to build upon a legacy that’s remained largely dormant since they fell to Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers in the 1984 Cup Finals.

Last year at this time, pundits across North America were mocking the Isles and questioning owner Charles Wang’s sanity in handing the reins to Snow, a rookie GM just months removed from his previous role as the team’s back-up netminder. Snow proved them wrong then, handling his challenging first season with aplomb. There is good reason to believe that he’s the right man to get this ship back on course; it won’t happen this year, not in the competitive Atlantic Division. But if Snow’s given the time, look for him to get the job done.