Florida GM Bryan Murray indicated he wished the Islanders would’ve been a little more patient before trading Bryan Berard.
As The Post reported first, Florida and the Isles held heated talks regarding Berard before Christmas. The Isles were interested in Florida’s 6-foot-5 Russian rookie Oleg Kvasha and wanted a defenseman in return, perhaps Robert Svehla.
Murray admitted yesterday he didn’t want to swing the Berard deal until he knew how the Pavel Bure sweepstakes played out.
“If I knew Ed Jovanovski was going to Vancouver (in the Bure deal), I would’ve stepped up a little more on Berard. Without Jovanovski here, the need for Berard would’ve been more.”
The Isles dealt Berard to Toronto for Felix Potvin 11 days ago. If they could’ve gotten it, Kvasha and Svehla would’ve been better.