Player Discussion: Noah Dobson

[Chapin Landvogt]

Speaking of Dobson, he's now played in 4 WC games with his all-star-laden Team Canada and has 1-1-2 and a +4 rating (thus far).

These stats have been accumulated against the powerhouses of Slovenia, Latvia, France, and Austria.

He's averaging just under 16 minutes of TOI per game.

 

[Islesfan22]

Speaking of Dobson, he's now played in 4 WC games with his all-star-laden Team Canada and has 1-1-2 and a +4 rating (thus far).

These stats have been accumulated against the powerhouses of Slovenia, Latvia, France, and Austria.

He's averaging just under 16 minutes of TOI per game.

Maybe it will boost his trade value.

 

[Thrasymachus]

Horvat, Dobson excited for 'big offseason' for Islanders | New York Islanders

Winning 2025 Draft Lottery, incoming young talent highlight reasons for renewed energy in New York

www.nhl.com

Dobson for new GM?

He seems like a pretty smart guy.


"I think our prospect pool has kind of been depleted for a little bit," Dobson said. "We were going to conference finals, so you're trading away picks at the deadline and adding rentals. We've gathered a couple of good prospects... Eiserman, Ritchie we got in a trade this year, and we have that first overall pick coming.


"I think it's all exciting. I think the guys are motivated going into the offseason, and with a new GM coming in we should have new energy and guys should be excited."

 

[Reality Czech]

Greetings Isles fans! Some fellow Blues fans are kicking around Dobson as a potential trade target. I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum, but I'd like your opinions on the following questions:

How likely is Dobson to be traded?
How good/bad is he defensively?

Figured I might as well go straight to the experts to get some answers. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

[Lek]

After listening to Darche, i think it comes down to whether Darche (and assuming Roy as well) thinks he is part of his idea of able to play fast and defend. He can definitely pay fast and offensive, but his D last year has been, eh. Along with what one has to figure what Darche thinks he is worth salary wise vs what he may be able to get for him to help the team progress. Both will surely be explored.

Hard to really speculate wiht any accuracy but right now I would think it is a toss up on whether he stays or goes.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

it is a toss up on whether he stays or goes.

So, he either stays or goes? What's the alternative? He finds a portal to Narnia?

 

[MJF]

After listening to Darche, i think it comes down to whether Darche (and assuming Roy as well) thinks he is part of his idea of able to play fast and defend. He can definitely pay fast and offensive, but his D last year has been, eh. Along with what one has to figure what Darche thinks he is worth salary wise vs what he may be able to get for him to help the team progress. Both will surely be explored.

Hard to really speculate wiht any accuracy but right now I would think it is a toss up on whether he stays or goes.

Nobody on this team can play fast and defend, particularly the play fast part. Dobson skates well enough and has a good grasp on when to jump up into the play. That part he does smoothly most of the time.

 

[Lek]

So, he either stays or goes? What's the alternative? He finds a portal to Narnia?

I actually had more in mind, a stargate.....

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Greetings Isles fans! Some fellow Blues fans are kicking around Dobson as a potential trade target. I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum, but I'd like your opinions on the following questions:

How likely is Dobson to be traded?
How good/bad is he defensively?

Figured I might as well go straight to the experts to get some answers. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Moving Dobson is very much in discussion.

He's an RFA who you cannot simply give a bridge deal to. That would push him straight into unrestricted free agency.

So, management has to decide if it's ready to give him the term and $$$ his market value calls for - now.

And considering the team has RHDs Pulock, Mayfield, and Boqvist signed, with UFA DeAngelo having been the big revelation when he was added (and felt to be just waiting to re-sign), there's good reason to believe Dobson could be the odd man out.

He's the most marketable.

What do you think St. Louis would be willing to offer?

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Pulock, Mayfield, and Boqvist signed, with UFA DeAngelo

Have you considered a Freddy Meyer III comeback? Dobson is definitely in play if that's on the table.

 

[seafoam]

Moving Dobson is very much in discussion.

He's an RFA who you cannot simply give a bridge deal to. That would push him straight into unrestricted free agency.

So, management has to decide if it's ready to give him the term and $$$ his market value calls for - now.

And considering the team has RHDs Pulock, Mayfield, and Boqvist signed, with UFA DeAngelo having been the big revelation when he was added (and felt to be just waiting to re-sign), there's good reason to believe Dobson could be the odd man out.

He's the most marketable.

What do you think St. Louis would be willing to offer?

They should realistically be able to offer one of Neighbours, Bolduc, Dvorsky, Snuggerud + an additional asset.

 

[Reality Czech]

Moving Dobson is very much in discussion.

He's an RFA who you cannot simply give a bridge deal to. That would push him straight into unrestricted free agency.

So, management has to decide if it's ready to give him the term and $$$ his market value calls for - now.

And considering the team has RHDs Pulock, Mayfield, and Boqvist signed, with UFA DeAngelo having been the big revelation when he was added (and felt to be just waiting to re-sign), there's good reason to believe Dobson could be the odd man out.

He's the most marketable.

What do you think St. Louis would be willing to offer?

As someone posted below, we have the assets to get a deal done. Kyrou may even be on the table in the right deal, but we would probably have to move Faulk somehow if we're adding Dobson. I'm just trying to figure out if Dobson is the right target for us. What do Isles fans think of his overall game and defensive abilities?

Is there also a possibility the Isles decide to keep Dobson and move Pulock instead?

 

[Islesfan22]

Dobson is good off the rush good passer good skater. Defensively he’s shaky especially when pressured turns the puck over a lot as he doesn’t use his size and loses battles to smaller players. Offensively he will give you 50-60 points but defensively he has not taken that next step that most people thought he would.

 

[Reality Czech]

Dobson is good off the rush good passer good skater. Defensively he’s shaky especially when pressured turns the puck over a lot as he doesn’t use his size and loses battles to smaller players. Offensively he will give you 50-60 points but defensively he has not taken that next step that most people thought he would.

Appreciate the feedback. I guess as long as we have Parayko around, we wouldn't need Dobson to do the heavy lifting on defense. But my main concern is giving around $10 million to a d-man who is shaky defensively, not to mention the assets traded to get him.

 

[boredmale]

Appreciate the feedback. I guess as long as we have Parayko around, we wouldn't need Dobson to do the heavy lifting on defense. But my main concern is giving around $10 million to a d-man who is shaky defensively, not to mention the assets traded to get him.

It should be pointed out as "bad" of a season he had offensively this year he was still on pace for just under 50 points, which means of the last 4 seasons he had 3 that pro rated to 50, one 70. And that's without really excelling on the PP

Sort of funny that when we drafted him I was expecting a more 2 way defensemen but not as high offensive output as we are getting

 

[Kevin27nyi]

But my main concern is giving around $10 million to a d-man who is shaky defensively

Welcome to the club.

I want to keep Dobson now that we’re going to take Schaefer. It might sound counterintuitive to maybe trade him and take Misa but I don’t want Dobson being “the guy”. Down the line though if Schaeffer takes off, him on one pairing and Dobson on another could be huge. Dobson hasn’t shown anything in playoffs either.

But it’s hard to pay a guy that money and be the guy. 8.5 is my number, anything more I will genuinely be upset. I think he should get less but the cap is going up and I’ll have to accept that. Chychrun set the tone a bit.

But he’s a fifty point dman and even in a down year he can make an impact. So you have to reconcile that 70 point year with last and that’s Darches job.

The reason to trade him of course is using him as an asset to gain a strong forward. Kyrou gets mentioned. If Deangelo can put up 40 points at a third or fourth of the salary, it’s enticing to use Dobson as bait for a top 6 forward in the same age bracket. Kyrou has great numbers too but is also frustrating and has flaws. You don’t want to sell low on these guys despite the frustration as the production is there but if you’re able to put someone above them in the chart (like Schaeffer) you can handle the flaws better.

 

[icelander25]

Welcome to the club.

I want to keep Dobson now that we’re going to take Schaefer. It might sound counterintuitive to maybe trade him and take Misa but I don’t want Dobson being “the guy”. Down the line though if Schaeffer takes off, him on one pairing and Dobson on another could be huge. Dobson hasn’t shown anything in playoffs either.

But it’s hard to pay a guy that money and be the guy. 8.5 is my number, anything more I will genuinely be upset. I think he should get less but the cap is going up and I’ll have to accept that. Chychrun set the tone a bit.

But he’s a fifty point dman and even in a down year he can make an impact. So you have to reconcile that 70 point year with last and that’s Darches job.

The reason to trade him of course is using him as an asset to gain a strong forward. Kyrou gets mentioned. If Deangelo can put up 40 points at a third or fourth of the salary, it’s enticing to use Dobson as bait for a top 6 forward in the same age bracket. Kyrou has great numbers too but is also frustrating and has flaws. You don’t want to sell low on these guys despite the frustration as the production is there but if you’re able to put someone above them in the chart (like Schaeffer) you can handle the flaws better.

I think that Dobson will definitely get at least $9 mil on his deal, by us or someone else. I'm usually one to be okay with a .5-1 mil overpay, especially for top players, but he's really pushing that value. As many of us have said during the year he's probably a 7ish mil player but it's his intangibles (young RHD) and the timing of the market that's gonna get him paid.
I truly think this can go either way. I think that a trade is best suited for Dobson, but Darche might not want to make such a move immediately. IT would probably have to happen before/at the draft also which limits his time. I think if we can turn him into 2 quality nhlers instead of prospects/draft picks that's ideal. I keep coming back to Buffalo and them being so deseprate plus with cap space. Lots of players want out and if Dobson wants the bag that it'd probably work out. I'm thinking Dobson + (Tsyplkakov? He's a middle six with grit, and most importantly no trade protection) for Peterka & Power/Byram. I think Byram is gonna get a little overpaid and Power is already a bit high, but I'd prefer to take on 2 talented but flawed players and give away 1 high end player also with flaws. I feel like Buff is the only team that makes that however, because of their desperation for a RHD plus their players possibly wanting out.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Have you considered a Freddy Meyer III comeback? Dobson is definitely in play if that's on the table.

Ohhh, I was really rooting for Freddy M back in the day...

But I get your point.

If Dobson is moved, it's not going to be because they currently have too many RHDs.

 

[MarsTBOW]

How about a swap Dobson for Robertson from Dallas.
Would give us 1 year to decide to keep or swap him and we would avoid giving Dobson the undeserved pay raise...

 

[isles55]

How about a swap Dobson for Robertson from Dallas.
Would give us 1 year to decide to keep or swap him and we would avoid giving Dobson the undeserved pay raise...

Trading Dobson means you’re tanking. Pulock, Deangelo, Mayfield, Boqvist is the defense of a totally uncompetitive team down the right side. Arguably the worst in the league

 

[Throttle]

Trading Dobson means you’re tanking. Pulock, Deangelo, Mayfield, Boqvist is the defense of a totally uncompetitive team down the right side. Arguably the worst in the league

No, depending on the return, it means you don’t believe that player is worth his soon to be way overpaid salary/cap hit.

If Dobson was that important he wouldn’t fold under pressure like he routinely does - you ain’t winning anything with a guy playing like that.

 

[MarsTBOW]

Trading Dobson means you’re tanking. Pulock, Deangelo, Mayfield, Boqvist is the defense of a totally uncompetitive team down the right side. Arguably the worst in the league

I would not call that "Uncompetitive".
Now having a Marshmallow like Dobson who is as soft as Woody was is "Competitive"?
We have a rugged guy named Romanov too.....
I'm for trading Mayfield also...

 

[doublechili]

Robertson is a nice player, but unless Dobson's value has gone way down around the league (doubtful), and assuming we're taking Schaefer on draft day, and unless they're moving Barzal back to C and think he's the solution, I'm not trading Dobson unless we're getting a #1 C back.

 

[MarsTBOW]

Robertson is a nice player, but unless Dobson's value has gone way down around the league (doubtful), and assuming we're taking Schaefer on draft day, and unless they're moving Barzal back to C and think he's the solution, I'm not trading Dobson unless we're getting a #1 C back.

I respect your opinion.
I do think Barzal goes back to Center.
Robertson scored +40 Goals Twice and and 40+ if you count playoff goals every full year he has played.
394 pts in 374 Reg Season games games
44 pts. in 56 playoff games.
He is better than just a "Nice Player".
I do think having him would make a big impact.

 

[isles55]

I would not call that "Uncompetitive".
Now having a Marshmallow like Dobson who is as soft as Woody was is "Competitive"?
We have a rugged guy named Romanov too.....
I'm for trading Mayfield also...

Pulock is aging and declining(and I thought he was awful this season). It’s debatable that he’s still a top-4 defenseman, but I don’t think he is. Deangelo and Boqvist are waiver-wire/KHL players, and Mayfield was being scratched over them. Without Dobson, our right-side defensemen are likely the worst in the league or close to it.

I think Robertson is a great player, and has more value than Dobson. But if you trade Dobson, the Islanders then desperately need right-sided defensemen and they have no players in the system showing any promise.

I don’t see how Romanov plays any role into the discussion on Dobson. Romanov is ideally behind a better defensemen on the left-side. Being competitive isn’t about being “rugged”. It’s about being good at hockey. Dobson is a good hockey player.