The Mike Comrie Debate: To Trade or Not to Trade

If consistency were not a word in the English language, Mike Comrie would be considered a great player.

Consistency is something that Comrie fails to achieve, as he can have stretches of all-star quality play, and then revert down to a sub-par third-liner for a stretch of games.

Now that the Islanders, specifically GM Garth Snow, have decided to stick with the very well-known plan (rebuilding through drafts, the passing of the Lighthouse Plan, and the sprinkling in of proper free agents), the question arises of whether Mike Comrie will still be around next year.

At just 28 years old, Comrie is still very young and just about entering his prime as a player. The injuries that plagued him from the end of last season to the beginning of this season may have had some side effects on his play from the start. However, he seems to be coming out of that funk, performing decently as of late and increasing his trade value to any playoff teams.

When he recorded a team-high 49 points in the 2007-2008 season for the Islanders, Snow chose to resign him for one more season at $4 million. I personally feel he was overpaid, however, he fit into our salary without any problems.

This season, Comrie only has 13 points in a total of 25 games played—not a stellar season, but as I said, it took him a while to find his form after being out of the game for nearly five months.

With the trade deadline nearing, and with Comrie’s stock increasing as he continues to flourish on a line with youngsters Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau, Snow is faced with a big decision: to trade or not to trade Comrie.

My opinion, you ask? Trade him! We already have two promising centers locked up for next year in Joshua Bailey and Frans Nielsen. While Bailey is expected to be a decent first-line center, but a great second-line center, and Nielsen is expected to be a decent second-line center but a great third-line center, the question still arises who will play first-line center for the future?

Comrie is not the answer in this situation. He reaches his development ceiling as a good second-line center, but not a great one. Although only 28 years old, Comrie gets pushed out of the second-line center role by youngsters such as the aforementioned Bailey and Nielsen.

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