Niederreiter's Ultimatium

Per Katie Strang, Nino Niederreiter's camp has requested a trade from the New York Islanders.  Arthur Staple has confirmed the report.

Niederreiter was the fifth over all pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  In 2010-11, he played for the Isles in a 9 game evaluation and went 1 and 1 for 2 pts and a -8 rating after which, he was returned to Bridgeport for more development.  Niederreiter made the Isles in the 2011-12 season, where he played for New York in 55 games and scored 1 goal with a -29 rating.

 

This season, the Islanders kept Niederreiter in Bridgeport to get top line forward minutes and he has responded  so far with 19 and 17 for 36 pts in 39 games and has been selected to represent the Sound Tigers in the 2013 All-Star game this AHL season.



The Isles have been criticized by some for rushing players like Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo in their development.  With Nino, they have opted for giving him time to excel and learn what it means to  have the responsibility of being a star player and team leader.  Maybe its just a diminished AHL salary getting to his ego.

 

As I expect and B.D. Gallof has said over and over, Niederreiter would be one of the first call ups from the BST in the event of an injury or a roster spot opened on the big club.  Islanders GM, Garth Snow has said to Katie Strang, "Yeah, absolutely. (about the possibility of an NHL call up this season) Nino is one of our top prospects in the organization. We felt it was best for his development long-term to play in Bridgeport."  Today, the Islanders started a campaign on twitter for fans to check in with the AHL to vote Niederreiter in as a starter to the All-Star team.

 

Arthur Staple adds, Garth Snow: "All convos with players remain private, but I haven't heard from Nino himself that he's unhappy."  Obviously, these are the things an Agent can stir up to get his client into the news.  Despite recent positive events, the Islanders have been an easy target for the news media who enjoy making them the butt of jokes that focus on the misfortunes and mistakes made by the franchise in recent years.  So a rumor like this by an agent whose clinent is having a good season in the minors may casue another GM to make a hasty trade, but not the kind of GM that Snow has shown to be.  Snow is patient, holds things close to his vest and only makes a move if it makes sense for the team.

 

I think Niederreiter or his agent, should understand that the Isles are evaluating some fringe assets right now and seeing who will fit into their team dynamic.  Not inviting a player like Nino to Isles camp is no slight to him.  With last season in the rear view mirror, the Islanders want him to continue his breakout season and allow him to flourish in the AHL, enjoy the All-Star experience and continue learning how to be a team leader and professional hockey player. 

 

Niederreiter is a key piece of the rebuild in managements eyes.  Here is hoping that he gets better counsel, wakes up and starts acting like it.

Update:

1/23

Mike Flannery attended the BSTBC Snowflake Dinner last night.  When he asked Nino Niederreiter if he requested a trade, he said,"No it was my agent, not me." 

 

Isles Notes:

 

Per Arthur Staple, Isles are off today. Josh Bailey (knee) told me he was hoping to start skating today, but won't practice until team returns from 4-gm trip.