The trade deadline has come and gone and the New York Islanders are basically the same team they were before Tuesday.

Islanders' General Manager Garth Snow was relatively quiet on this day. His only moves were to send troubled Chris Simon to Minnesota for a sixth-round pick and Marc-Andre Bergeron to Anaheim for a third rounder. Rob Davison was acquired from San Jose for a seventh-round pick in return.

Many fans have voiced their displeasure over what they perceive to be Snow's inability or unwillingness to move potential unrestricted free agents like Miroslav Satan or Ruslan Fedotenko for meaningful players or draft picks. There has been talk that he sought too high of a draft pick for both of them and wasn't savvy enough to finesse a deal.

As I am not privy to private conversations between General Managers, I cannot speak about Garth's true motives on this subject. However, I have a feeling there is more here than meets the eye. Of all the adjectives I could use to describe Snow, "stupid" would not be one of them.

Satan specifically requested a no-trade clause when he signed with the Islanders. He obviously (well, at least for right now) wants to stay on Long Island. I've read he also recently built a house here. I don't know if he was asked to waive his clause, but clearly Satan has other priorities in mind besides winning a Stanley Cup with some NHL powerhouse. Sometimes, the stability of a family comes first in a player's life. Now, if he leaves this summer as a free agent, that may cast a different light on the matter. For now, though, I'd say that a Satan deal was likely never in the works.

Regarding Fedotenko, I think Snow has every intention of signing him to a deal this offseason. I will speculate that the reason he hasn't been signed yet is because Snow wanted to see if there was a market for this once proven playoff performer. If so, he's not wrong in his thinking. The deadline has been known to produce desperation in many a GM. Perhaps no one was willing to part with a first or second round pick for his services. It was a proposition worth exploring.

Overall, Snow chose to stay the course rather than gamble away the team's future. Despite their recent troubles, the Islanders are still in the thick of the hunt for one of the eight playoff spots. It is probable that owner Charles Wang would not have endorsed a "fire sale" and therefore surrendered the possibility of added revenue that home playoff games would provide. Even though I think the club would've benefited from more draft picks to build for the future, I cannot fault him for his opinion.

At the end of the day, it's his bottom line that will always concern him the most.