The New York Islanders ownership group is standing behind general manager Garth Snow and head coach Jack Capuano, but with an important caveat: This past season's success must be the new norm in Brooklyn.
Co-owner John Ledecky says he and Scott Malkin support the "hockey folks" within the organization 100 percent, but reiterated Wednesday the goal remains winning, especially after the club advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the last season of Charles Wang's tenure as majority owner.
"They have to keep performing, and we define performing as progressing," Ledecky said, according to Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. "We won our first playoff series in 23 years, we made it to the second round. If the puck bounced a couple ways differently, we would have made it to the semifinals. But we’re eighth in the league in points over the last two years, we made the final eight, and that’s the standard now.
"They have to progress. You have accountability. There is accountability for performance. The fans demand that."
While Snow has added free agents Andrew Ladd and P.A. Parenteau this offseason, the club allowed Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to hit the open market and sign elsewhere.
Still, the Islanders have a franchise center in John Tavares and a solid defense corps to build around, with several of Snow's draft picks set to begin making more of an impact at the NHL level.
The Metropolitan is one of the most competitive of the NHL's four divisions, and Snow, while endorsed by the new owners, will need to ensure his club keeps pace in order to remain one of the longest-tenured general managers
