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I agree with you about the defense. We have 4 guys locked up that are all on the downside of their careers for the next half decade.
With Nelson and Palms I think last years TDL was the time to move on from them as they probably had really good value and would have given wiggle room for us this off season. I like both players but they both should be dealt at the TDL this year unless we are a top 6 team in the conference at that time.
Holding onto Mayfield 2 years ago and not trading him at the TDL followed by a lifetime contract was a major major blunder
My bigger problem at hand is that the islanders DEFENSE just cannot function. They really need to either sell or try anything at this point because the team simply put looks lost. They have four and FIVE years left for both P&P and both have (at most) 40 points max between the two. Our defense doesn't push play at all, and in a league where you need at least two, maybe even three defensemen who are capable of pushing play, this is a disaster. Adam Pelech is very broken down at the ripe age of 30! Ryan Pulock over Devon Toews was a horrible choice and it severely limits the islanders offensive capability. Yes i know he was poor defensively here too but we gave Pulock that much to score at most 20 points in a year. Lamoriello is stuck in the old school of defense, and with the regression of P&P, it puts way more pressure on Romo and Dobson to not f*** up. Too bad one is just shattered mentally and the other is a dice game on if he wants to be amazing, or just becomes Brian Strait.
The other point on Mayfield feels harsh, since he's actually fine. I dont hate 3M for a guy who is solid. He should've gotten less than 7 years but again, Lamoriello is stubborn. If the isles continue to be bad then its time to trade Nelson and Palmieri for parts for the future. We need to draft a defenseman as well.
