Speculation: 2025-2026 Offseason Thread 2: lol Kucherov is never winning another MVP again is he?

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I wonder who is stepping in for Darche now? Also any rumours on who is going to step in for Blashill?

As long as its not Mike Yeo

 

[DistantThunderRep]

I feel like the outdated approach to the AHL makes the Isles seem worse than they are.

Even with Buffalo, you can look at Rochester being a good team and think there's some level of hope or underlying competence somewhere in the organization. Bridgeport was just absolutely terrible. 15 wins all season.

A big chunk of that is Lou and Ownership wanting to compete. I wonder if they are finally committing to a rebuild because they literally need a full ground up rebuild.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

As long as its not Mike Yeo

I feel like Tony Granato might actually be a good fit for Coop and the team.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I feel like Tony Granato might actually be a good fit for Coop and the team.

He would be yes. I don't viscerally hate the idea of Don Granato either. He got dealt a raw hand in Buffalo

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

My wet dream is Bruce Boudreau but I don't see it happening

 

[Felonious Python]

A big chunk of that is Lou and Ownership wanting to compete. I wonder if they are finally committing to a rebuild because they literally need a full ground up rebuild.

Bridgeport Islanders' 12-Step Program to Fix the Team - The Hockey Writers Bridgeport Islanders Latest News, Analysis & More

The Bridgeport Islanders are wrapping up a historically bad season so what must happen for them to fix this broken situation?

thehockeywriters.com

Lamoriello cares about the players and is known for having a great relationship with them but there are downsides to how he operates as well. While he cares about the players, specifically, those who can either join the NHL roster or be a part of a trade to add NHL talent, he doesn’t care about the AHL team or building a winning culture in Bridgeport, which explains back-to-back last-place finishes. It’s why the coaching staff, the AHL team, the winning culture, and everything else are ignored. It’s also why Lamoriello has a reputation for running AHL teams into the ground with teams in Albany, Binghamton, and Lowell being relocated or folding. The Islanders are spending on the players but cutting corners elsewhere and it’s reflected in their play.

 

[DFC]

Yeah it was as much a paper tiger as 2019

Right, because the goals were coming largely by way of skill. More skill isn't the answer here. We have plenty of that. We need sandpaper and glue. The only guys we have providing that aren't impact players.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Resume pointless arguing here

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Right, because the goals were coming largely by way of skill. More skill isn't the answer here. We have plenty of that. We need sandpaper and glue. The only guys we have providing that aren't impact players.

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the sandpaper and glue my good sir. I will never argue otherwise. But that's not the point. My point is went from a soft perimeter team that couldn't score a dirty goal to save its life in 2018 and 2019 to a soft perimeter team that chases shooting percentages and can't score a dirty goal to save its life.

You're right. We don't need "MOAR SKILLZ" We need sandpaper, glue and common sense. Common sense dictates that making **THIS TEAM** THIS picky about shooting is the stupidest possible thing you can do. I don't want more skill. I want a system that doesn't fall apart the second it can't produce at a 15% clip. We get behind. We stay behind. We are predictable.

I'm not asking for BrindAmour hockey here. I'm asking for our guys to stop the Kucherovitis. Glue isn't gonna make our PP land a shot on goal more than every 6 minutes

 

[DFC]

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the sandpaper and glue my good sir. I will never argue otherwise. But that's not the point. My point is went from a soft perimeter team that couldn't score a dirty goal to save its life in 2018 and 2019 to a soft perimeter team that chases shooting percentages and can't score a dirty goal to save its life.

View attachment 1041134

You're right. We don't need "MOAR SKILLZ" We need sandpaper, glue and common sense. Common sense dictates that making **THIS TEAM** THIS picky about shooting is the stupidest possible thing you can do. I don't want more skill. I want a system that doesn't fall apart the second it can't produce at a 15% clip. We get behind. We stay behind. We are predictable.

I'm not asking for BrindAmour hockey here. I'm asking for our guys to stop the Kucherovitis. Glue isn't gonna make our PP land a shot on goal more than every 6 minutes

Our PP was 5th in the league.

Florida has shut down nearly every star they've played against for 3 years.

 

[Major4Boarding]

Hey, any mods available? I have a question. It's about the main boards. Thanks.

 

[Crunchrulz]

Weren't we the highest scoring team in the league?

In the Regular Season. Post Season, we all know how that went.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Our PP was 5th in the league.

Florida has shut down nearly every star they've played against for 3 years.

Dude our power play is enough of a crutch to supply a med-surg unit in a hospital. It never passed the eye test and anyone who thought it was competent was fooling itself.

The only teams the Cats have consistently down are the Canes and Leafs. EVERYONE shuts them down dude. McDavid and the gang went absolutely buck wild on them. The Knights went wild on them. The Bruins too until they went full dumbass.

They're not this flawless juggernaut. We would have beaten them within an inch of their lives if we were even a little more selfish about shooting

 

[DFC]

Dude our power play is enough of a crutch to supply a med-surg unit in a hospital. It never passed the eye test and anyone who thought it was competent was fooling itself.

The only teams the Cats have consistently down are the Canes and Leafs. EVERYONE shuts them down dude. McDavid and the gang went absolutely buck wild on them. The Knights went wild on them. The Bruins too until they went full dumbass.

They're not this flawless juggernaut. We would have beaten them within an inch of their lives if we were even a little more selfish about shooting

Pastrnak and the Bruins.

McDavid is pretty much the ONLY guy who's broken out against Barkov, and he's very likely a top 10 player all time.

The PP definitely went stale at the wrong time. But it was hovering around the best in the league all year.

Your argument is that the guy (Cooper) who stopped this team from playing a perimeter game (late 2019 we had a major system change) is now insisting we play a perimeter game.

I think it's much more likely that we no longer have the personnel to force our way to the net the way we used to. And also that the Panthers are REALLY good at shutting down star players.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

@DFC

This is going in circles dude.

"The Panthers are good and play like we used to"

"I agree. Let's bulk up and change how we play to be like that"

"CHANGE HOW WE PLAY ARE YOU NUTS??!?!"

I can't do this anymore man

 

[Crunchrulz]

I feel like the outdated approach to the AHL makes the Isles seem worse than they are.

Even with Buffalo, you can look at Rochester being a good team and think there's some level of hope or underlying competence somewhere in the organization. Bridgeport was just absolutely terrible. 15 wins all season.

Advantage Rochester has is their ownership and Hockey operations Department understands that if a veteran player fails to produce like they are expected, they are NOT resigned to another AHL contract, and the team goes out to find new veterans who get a shot at getting the Amerks to the next level.

Crunch have had two veterans under AHL contracts for longer than many of the current fans have followed the team yet neither one has been able to stay healthy or lead the team to the next level. God willing, the front office has FINALLY seen the light and those two veteran contracts can be used for new faces.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

Advantage Rochester has is their ownership and Hockey operations Department understands that if a veteran player fails to produce like they are expected, they are NOT resigned to another AHL contract, and the team goes out to find new veterans who get a shot at getting the Amerks to the next level.

Crunch have had two veterans under AHL contracts for longer than many of the current fans have followed the team yet neither one has been able to stay healthy or lead the team to the next level. God willing, the front office has FINALLY seen the light and those two veteran contracts can be used for new faces.

We can carry this conversation over to the prospects thread, but if the fans agree with that, and they make it clear to the Crunch that's how they feel, it undermines any belief the team has that they have to re-sign certain guys who aren't really producing.

 

[Master P]

View attachment 1041140

 

[RussianBum86]

Get some size and nastiness in the lineup.

 

[Coopers Gum]

I'm normally a @DFC stan, but yeah, you're talking yourself in circles. We all acknowledge we need some size up front to provide some better quality, playoff offense, and you bring up how we were the highest scoring team or how sick our PP was.

It's not about "how many" in this particular case, it's more the "how." Our style, right now, does not translate to NHL playoff hockey. We need forwards that create space. We don't have that currently. Sure, we can come in off the rush and score. But sustained offensive pressure, with strong pressure in front of the net to get a dirty goal... severely lacking. Our midgets just get pushed away. That needs to change.

 

[Crunchrulz]

We can carry this conversation over to the prospects thread, but if the fans agree with that, and they make it clear to the Crunch that's how they feel, it undermines any belief the team has that they have to re-sign certain guys who aren't really producing.

I am fine with that. Buffalo/Rochester was mentioned here so I thought to give the point of view from a decades long Syracuse fan.

 

[DFC]

I'm normally a @DFC stan, but yeah, you're talking yourself in circles. We all acknowledge we need some size up front to provide some better quality, playoff offense, and you bring up how we were the highest scoring team or how sick our PP was.

It's not about "how many" in this particular case, it's more the "how." Our style, right now, does not translate to NHL playoff hockey. We need forwards that create space. We don't have that currently. Sure, we can come in off the rush and score. But sustained offensive pressure, with strong pressure in front of the net to get a dirty goal... severely lacking. Our midgets just get pushed away. That needs to change.

I think it's more the midgets than the style.

 

[CupsOverCash]

I think if Hagel and bjorkstrand were available during our series vs the panthers it would have been closer maybe more importantly have a healthy kucherov and hedman too. Panthers were too good tho and they're having a special run like we did a few years ago. I think if we or Toronto got through to Carolina we would be favored there and maybe in the finals too. How far ahead are they though? I think a few smart moves could put us there. Important offseason.

 

[Felonious Python]

I think if Hagel and bjorkstrand were available during our series vs the panthers it would have been closer maybe more importantly have a healthy kucherov and hedman too. Panthers were too good tho and they're having a special run like we did a few years ago. I think if we or Toronto got through to Carolina we would be favored there and maybe in the finals too. How far ahead are they though? I think a few smart moves could put us there. Important offseason.

We have probably been underplaying how injured the team was, but even if they were healthy...