Roster/Rumors/Speculation/Trade Talk - 2023-24: Hotel California

[Fantom]

Again....

It's less about Trotz leaving and who Lou replaced him with. Last offseason 10 teams hired new coaches. The only ones that hired rookie coaches were...

• Red Wings (rebuilding)
• Blackhawks (rebuilding)
• Islanders (supposed Cup contender)

I don't know how this isn't discussed more. How can any GM take what he thinks is a Daytona 500 winning car and put a rookie driver's seat? That's GM malpractice to me.

 

[Lights911]

Would like to see the Isles give Iskhakov a call-up.

 

[BrockLobster]

Would like to see the Isles give Iskhakov a call-up.

That may take away playing time from ross Johnston.

 

[NYI365]

A Kulikov or other rental LD for an asset or two wouldn't have made much of a difference this year tbh. Just roll with who we got at this point and roll the dice to see if they can get in.

 

[WangMustGo]

Over Lane...? Easily Montgomery and DeBoer. And I would've taken Bowness (yes I know) and Cassidy as well. Maybe Lou reached out to all of them and none of them wanted to work for Lou- I mean come here, but I just cannot get behind hiring a rookie coach given where Lou says he wanted to go THIS YEAR.




Is this how we're judging trades now...?

"At least it wasn't the worst trade ever."

Come on...If we're trying to win a Cup we've got to do better than that. Lou blew it with Romanov. Why is it so hard for us to simply hold him fully accountable for that?

Completely agree on Romanov, we vastly overpaid for him, a 3rd pairing defenseman with very limited offensive upside doesnt deserve a top 15 pick in a draft. I would take Dach without hesitation. Hell I would have given AZ 2 firsts for Chychrun instead of Romanov. We needed a bonifide top 4 LD, instead we get a bottom pairing defensemam that looks lost more often than not.

 

[Mike C]

Again....

It's less about Trotz leaving and who Lou replaced him with. Last offseason 10 teams hired new coaches. The only ones that hired rookie coaches were...

• Red Wings (rebuilding)
• Blackhawks (rebuilding)
• Islanders (supposed Cup contender)

I don't know how this isn't discussed more. How can any GM take what he thinks is a Daytona 500 winning car and put a rookie driver's seat? That's GM malpractice to me.

he thought Lane was Trotz' clone and outsmarted himself twice because barry and lane vs lane and johnny mac is a double header loss

the answer to how he could have done it is that he didn't feel it mattered

all that said, if we were chastising Lane when the team was playing crappy....let's at least give him credit for how the team is doing better lately. in all honesty, fair is fair

That may take away playing time from ross Johnston.

hey hey hey.....anything but that! ....insult my kid, call me names, but giving Ross nobody's Boss less run.....you take that back right now!!

 

[Strummergas]

I think that today's inactivity around getting a defenseman is more of a vote of confidence in Aho than anything else. They seem to like him. I'm a bit baffled by this, but I'm also not a coach/GM so

 

[Glorydays22]

And you asked them in a somewhat sarcastic way by seemingly subtly implying you think those moves should count on some level. I don’t think I really took a dig either, it’s the trade deadline and I’m very aware we made moves in the last couple weeks so I’m obviously talking about a lack of moves today.

Hey guys, at the end of the day. We are all diehard Isles fans and only want the same thing - WIN- win a cup if possible. lol.

Everyone has a different opinion on how to get there, which is why we all come to these sites to play GM for a bit

 

[duster19]

A Kulikov or other rental LD for an asset or two wouldn't have made much of a difference this year tbh. Just roll with who we got at this point and roll the dice to see if they can get in.

They must be pretty comfortable with those dmen. There were guys to be had. And prices weren’t outrageous.

 

[BrockLobster]

I think that today's inactivity around getting a defenseman is more of a vote of confidence in Aho than anything else. They seem to like him. I'm a bit baffled by this, but I'm also not a coach/GM so

Bolduc > aho. But what do i know

 

[mm11]

Over Lane...? Easily Montgomery and DeBoer. And I would've taken Bowness (yes I know) and Cassidy as well. Maybe Lou reached out to all of them and none of them wanted to work for Lou- I mean come here, but I just cannot get behind hiring a rookie coach given where Lou says he wanted to go THIS YEAR.




Is this how we're judging trades now...?

"At least it wasn't the worst trade ever."

Come on...If we're trying to win a Cup we've got to do better than that. Lou blew it with Romanov. Why can't we hold him fully accountable for that?

Bolduc > aho. But what do i know

Heck, I thought Wotherspoon was more equipped to play playoff hockey then Aho. I'm sure is a nice kid but does anyone remember from the Isles brass what kind of forecheck Boston had in the playoffs vrs them? Dobson was scrambling all series, can't imagine Aho.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

It is what it is.

Personally, I have shared what I think they should have done and that is move Mayfield and Varly and concentrated on 2023-24 and beyond, but Lou doesn't work that way. He only trades his players if absolutely necessary for cap reasons (Toews/Leddy) and doesn't value assets at all (as we enter our 4th draft now without a first round pick selection).

It is a little surprising he would trade for a forward rental and NOT also add to the blueline if "going for it" was what he insisted we were doing, but my guess is he really didn't try. I doubt he would have added Engvall had not both of Pageau and Barzal been on the shelf.

It is unfortunate we are in this predicament with a real hard fight to even make the playoffs, a likely first round exit against the Bruins if we do, no first round pick in a loaded draft and up against the cap heading into next season.....all four to boot.

I dont think anyone here would mind Varlamov coming back, I am just not sure he takes 2-2.5 million to do so, knowing a bigger workload is going to Sorokin. Going to suck if someone gives him a clear cut 1B contract- because his days of sharing the load with us is over.

Mayfield too I think tests the market, regardless of what some on here think. After playing for peanuts on his current expiring deal, he may very well want to get paid. If that is 4 million plus, I don't know how beneficiary that would be for us when we currently have no 2LD and we still need to puck mover, something he isn't.

For those reasons and the obvious odds that are against us contending for the cup (especially with no set timetable on Barzal's return)- I would have tried to move them for any possible assets we could have gotten.

But, I will still cheer them on and hope for the best...

 

[Sparksrus3]

Would like to see the Isles give Iskhakov a call-up.

We can call him a deadline acquisition. Since it’s quiet here again it’s time for another round of name my avatar.

 

[SI90]

 

[Doshell Propivo]

It is what it is.

Personally, I have shared what I think they should have done...

Yes, you did. Yet you felt the need to share it again in 6 more paragraphs. Just giving some flack man. Respect your opinion. Peace.

I think I have a new term to add to may all-time hate list. "draft pick capital." Barf.

 

[Glory Days]

They're really not. Jim Hillier and Jon Gruden were also on Trotz's staff. How come they weren't given a shot at coach, or at least retained? Lane knew them better than anyone so says something they weren't kept. He did what he felt was best for the franchise (or they didn't believe in him) and both have other assistant jobs now. Either way that says something.

Bottom line - This is always about doing what's best for the franchise - Not giving an inexperienced person a shot to lead your players just because he's been with the organization for years.

I mean there's a reason why Lane wasn't given a shot by any number of other teams earlier. I have a hunch we are the only team that would've hired him and probably will be last NHL head coaching job he has.

Not looking to get in the middle of this debate as for me I’m still undecided on Lane. But I seem to recall Detroit was interested in hiring Lane.

Also didn’t Blysma win the cup as a rookie head coach with the Pens. He was the only one I could think of. I doubt this has happened too many times.

 

[Chardo]

That's Lou's job though? To inquire, to made (find) a deal to help the team in the offseason. He never does, name a time he made a trade during the offseason?

What I'm saying is, it's quite possible that Lou did inquire and try, but they were not for sale. We will never know.

 

[GOLFWANG]

I don't think you can write off Romanov as a bottom pairing dman yet he only just turned 23 in January. Same thing with Dobson and why he isn't fully developed they are both only 23. They both are pretty terrible at defending. Is there anyway they can get better defensively? of course they can. So far, I dont think that it was a good trade for 13.

People used to shit on Pelech also, then became our best defender and he is 28 now.

Also this whole team has looked like shit mostly and we just aren't talented enough up front and if we didn't have 2 defensemen shit the bed every game we would be in a better spot.

 

[Top Corner]

There are teams at the bottom of the league not good enough to make the playoffs but are building through the draft with many picks at their disposal, there are teams at the top with solid lineups considered contenders with minimal draft pick assets but using what they have to load up for playoff push. There are other teams that are always a lock to be in the playoffs or at least compete for a wildcard spot waiting for their younger talent to take the next steps to stardom. Then there’s the Islanders who are draft pick poor , close to the cap and never considered a shoe in for a playoff spot as our current roster ages. What do you do as a GM ? With nothing in the system, you are not going to be given a star or 2, so contender is out!
Not sure you can be a savvy trader that would make you a lock for the playoffs annually! There are not a lot of choices left …

 

[MJF]

And you think some kind of full rebuild is a guaranteed path to a cup?

No but I’d have rather attempted that than keep plugging ahead with this core. We lack the speed and skill to be a serious team in this NHL.

 

[MJF]

What's worse; Lou standing pat or overpaying for a player?

VOTE NOW!

Standing pat. He knows the roster has a hole on defense. Sebastian Aho.

 

[Strummergas]

Standing pat. He knows the roster has a hole on defense. Sebastian Aho.

I'm not 100% sure about this. I think they like Aho, which, as I said earlier, baffles me. But I don't know how else to explain not getting another d-man. Enough of them were moved this week. Surely Lou could've acquired one of them if he wanted.

 

[eoin92]

No but I’d have rather attempted that than keep plugging ahead with this core. We lack the speed and skill to be a serious team in this NHL.

Caught the last 30 mins of the draft coverage on ESPN+, they said some things regarding a full rebuild that made sense. They talked about how a full tear down rebuild is very time consuming and doesn’t guarantee any level of success. They mentioned how after 25 straight years of making the playoffs, Detroit opted for a rebuild, haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, haven’t won a round since 2013, and won’t be making again this year. Rebuilds are painful for everyone and don’t guarantee success. Certainly not quickly. Unless you’re the rangers and every top guy just goes there. Depending what happens this off-season, maybe the isles don’t need a tear down rebuild. Maybe Lou’s retool on the fly will get us somewhere. Idk.

 

[19 in a row]

reading back the last 10 pages, my take away is 'the sky is falling".. seems about par for the course here.

(that reference may show my age, chicken little was a must read once upon a time.. I actually had it on a 45rpm when I was 5).

 

[Tahoeblue]

Was not crazy about the Romanov deal when it happened. Warmed up to it as the season started and obviously disappointed at the moment. With that being said, it doesn't mean he can't develop into the dman we hoped we were acquiring. That falls on the coaching staff. I know the NHL isn't a developmental league but they need to teach on the fly, unlock the potential, and put players in the best position to succeed.

I think Lou really thought he would be the rock defensively for Dobson and both looked shaky at times together. Others may know how long Lane kept them together. If the team falls out I would like to see them paired together again. Rooting for Romanov as I think he has only played a couple hundred of games so far.

Surprised like others that we didn't pick up a depth dman piece. Happy Lou was not trigger happy with Bolduc. Hoping he can really be an effective player in the bigs.