It's ironic that the last trade Darcy Regier made in his long tenure in Buffalo could be move that sets the Sabres up for a bright future. On October the 27th the Sabres sent Thomas Vanek to the New York Islanders for Matt Moulson a 2015 2nd round pick and a conditional 2014 1st round pick. When you look at the return Snow received on Vanek at the deadline (conditional 2nd and prospect); Regier outright robbed the Islanders. Everyone knows that Vanek is going to Minnesota on July 1st. I respect Snow's guts on this move, but it wasn't a wise move.

What I want to focus on here is that conditional 2014 1st round pick. For those who don't know the condition on that pick is that if the pick is in the top 10 in 2014 the Islanders have the right to defer that pick to a 1st round pick in 2015.

With the loss of Tavares for the season and the Vanek trade the Islanders are almost sure to finish in the bottom 5 if not bottom three in the NHL. Now I would be shocked if Garth Snow survives this season with all that has gone on. So from the Islanders standpoint what should they do? The Islanders are moving to the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn in 2015. You would think they would want to bring some buzz into that season with perhaps a top pick. However no guarantee the Islanders are going to be in the bottom again 2015, but still pretty likely. So do the Islanders swallow hard and let the Sabres keep a potential top pick in 2014? Another issue is that 2015 is the McDavid-Eichel draft. Does New York give up a potential golden ticket in that 2015 draft? If I was the Islanders GM I would let the Sabres take the 2014 pick. Keep an eye on the future with McDavid and Eichel. I know this will be hard to explain to fans however it's the smarter move long run.

Now from the Sabres side I think it's simple. You'll take that golden ticket in 2015. Sure you could possibly get two of either Reinhart, Ekblad, or Bennett. I would rather take Reinhart this year and then put him with Eichel or McDavid next year and possibly another high pick in 15.

Personally as a Sabres fan I'm begging the Islanders to take the pick this year. The Islanders need to make the decision by June 1st. The lottery is held at the end of April so the Islanders will have about a month after the lottery to make a decision. The only way I would understand the Islanders keeping the 14 pick is if they have the 1st overall pick. What do you think the Islanders should do?