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

[Chapin Landvogt]

Saw on the main board "Krug for a bad contract swap" - is something there to work with?

Swap a bad contract and then try to trade from a position of strength on Defense - Pulock, Pelech, Mayfield - to restock?

Don't you acutally mean, "Send Mayfield home to St. Louis!"

Dunno how it could work out until Lee's M-NTC sets in and he would have the Blues on that 15-team list? Then I could see the teams working something out.

6 points out with 1 game in hand, essentially in a morass of teams that are essentially the same.

What it means:
- Don't trade 1st or 2nd round pick

Whether/how NYI decide to shed salary now vs. the offseason isn't something I'm going to get excited about. If NYI do nothing or nothing significant, that's fine with me. If they get offered a big package for Nelson, I'd be for doing it, but that's up to other teams first. The teams that really could use him might have a hard time with his very reasonable contract, and/or don't have much to offer.

You know that one, if not both, are gone, right?

They just won two in a row on the road with newly created lines!

What more does Lou need to jump right back into seller mode???

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Don't you acutally mean, "Send Mayfield home to St. Louis!"

Dunno how it could work out until Lee's M-NTC sets in and he would have the Blues on that 15-team list? Then I could see the teams working something out.

Lol, didn't even think of that. Also - "reunite the Leddy-Mayfield pairing!"

(I don't remember if that was an actual pairing, but it sounds good).

 

[Lek]

Unless a major asset falls into or out of our laps (which i do not see) pretty sure i would do nothing right now.....see if this group can make the playoffs....if not, major retooling in the off season. Hopefully Lou is on this page.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Clear is, if the Nelson-Horvat-Barzal line is looking like the thing to do from here on out, then there's no moving any of the other centers.

Heck, if anything happens to a Cizikas or Pageau, then Koivula is like the next on the list in the center depth department.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Clear is, if the Nelson-Horvat-Barzal line is looking like the thing to do from here on out, then there's no moving any of the other centers.

Heck, if anything happens to a Cizikas or Pageau, then Koivula is like the next on the list in the center depth department.

Interestingly enough as someone who watches all the Bridgeport games Ishakov has been returned to center in recent games.

 

[Tres Peleches]

He could, but then that would have meant signing another KHL deal and giving up good $$ and pushing your big pay day back by a year. Russian money beats the hell out of AHL $$. Especially the starting goalie for CSKA Moscow. But the NHL blows the KHL money out of the water.

So I find it hard to believe he was never coming over.

That’s if you actually get played and/or not conscripted to fight a bullshit war on Putin’s behalf

 

[SI]

Would need to move out cap to add tank I believe

We have seen the last two deals - Tanev and Lybushkin bring in another team to eat some of the cap hit -

Carolina received a 6th rounder to eat 687k of Lybushkin's contract and the Devils got a 4th for eating 1.125 of Tanev's cap hit. Both Carolina and NJ have a ton of space on LTIR.

If Ottawa takes 50% retained, then Isles would need to send a 4th rounder to a team who can eat at least 1.1 m from Tarasenko.

 

[SI]

Interestingly enough as someone who watches all the Bridgeport games Ishakov has been returned to center in recent games.

He is not a C in NHL - no way.

 

[SI]

Clear is, if the Nelson-Horvat-Barzal line is looking like the thing to do from here on out, then there's no moving any of the other centers.

Heck, if anything happens to a Cizikas or Pageau, then Koivula is like the next on the list in the center depth department.

I am not sure if 29-14-13 is a long-term thing.

I do like 18 and 10 playing together and between JGP that could be an effective line.

I do think they'll go on a run here and I believe Tarasenko will be an Islander...
IMO, LL wants Pinto and he has done it before with Horvat, where he moved a first and a tough contract and got an upgrade.

JGP
2024 1st (top 3 protected)
2025 2nd
Wahlstrom
for
Tarasenko (no retention needed)
Pinto

 

[PWJunior]

I think Holmstrom could be a pretty good option for the Borvat Wonder Twins on the top line. He skates well enough to excel on the rush with such a fast pace line, competes, is defensively responsible, and is an opportunistic goal scorer. He has been attached to Pageau's hip all season, but he has shown some surprisingly decent playmaking ability with his new linemates where he has looked very good - possibly the best he's looked all season. I think it could work out well in case Nelson is traded any time before the start of next season or Roy breaks up the "Helicopter Line". There is definite upside there.

If Holmy Does Play Dat, that would be pretty big. A 25-goal, 60-point, 2-way winger who complements Barzal and Horvat is a possible outcome. Just saying...

 

[YearlyLottery]

I think Holmstrom could be a pretty good option for the Borvat Wonder Twins on the top line. He skates well enough to excel on the rush with such a fast pace line, competes, is defensively responsible, and is an opportunistic goal scorer. He has been attached to Pageau's hip all season, but he has shown some surprisingly decent playmaking ability with his new linemates where he has looked very good - possibly the best he's looked all season. I think it could work out well in case Nelson is traded any time before the start of next season or Roy breaks up the "Helicopter Line". There is definite upside there.

If Holmy Does Play Dat, that would be pretty big. A 25-goal, 60-point, 2-way winger who complements Barzal and Horvat is a possible outcome. Just saying...

Ever since Holmstrom came up I loved the guy. Still not sure of his overall potential but the kid is a solid middle six forward who can play defensive. Over the course of this full season you can tell he is starting to wear down. I would love to see him get a full look on line one at some point. I have a feeling we will see this happen in training camp though.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

He is not a C in NHL - no way.

Yeah I wasn’t saying that and I agree but it’s interesting isles having playing center again. Maybe it’s for deal purposes who knows.

 

[Osakahaus]

As much as I did pound the table for trading Nelson

I think the better avenue is trading Pageau and/or Palmieri instead.

 

[impaaaaaact]

What reason does Ottawa have for trading Pinto? Or wanting Wahlstrom? Or Pageau (besides that he's from there)? They're in a similar situation to us right now - no reason for them to move 23 year old centers. I could have seen them moving from Norris because of Pinto and Stutzle but he's out now

I am not sure if 29-14-13 is a long-term thing.

I do like 18 and 10 playing together and between JGP that could be an effective line.

I do think they'll go on a run here and I believe Tarasenko will be an Islander...
IMO, LL wants Pinto and he has done it before with Horvat, where he moved a first and a tough contract and got an upgrade.

JGP
2024 1st (top 3 protected)
2025 2nd
Wahlstrom
for
Tarasenko (no retention needed)
Pinto

 

[doublechili]

I am not sure if 29-14-13 is a long-term thing.

I do like 18 and 10 playing together and between JGP that could be an effective line.

I do think they'll go on a run here and I believe Tarasenko will be an Islander...
IMO, LL wants Pinto and he has done it before with Horvat, where he moved a first and a tough contract and got an upgrade.

JGP
2024 1st (top 3 protected)
2025 2nd
Wahlstrom
for
Tarasenko (no retention needed)
Pinto

A problem with this deal for OTT is that next season their cap hit is higher and they're a worse team. And they're gambling everything on hitting on the 2024 1st round pick. Pinto is good, so the Isles get the best asset.

 

[doublechili]

With cap space so tight around the league trades may be tough to make this TDL. I'd be fine with holding onto our picks and sticking with "the group" and see how the season plays out. Moving salary out would be great, but where, and how?

I did a search of all NHL players on CapFriendly listed in descending cap hit order. I was having trouble finding a way to move Lee, for example. Part of the problem is that the guys other teams may be willing to move in a deal for Lee - I'd rather keep Lee for 2 more years at $7M than take on those contracts!

I half joked after last summer's signings that the team basically will have to retool by default because there's no space on the roster to trade for players and Lou will have to just keep his picks. I say "half joked" because there might be some truth to it. We'll see....

 

[Chokabloc]

Lol, didn't even think of that. Also - "reunite the Leddy-Mayfield pairing!"

(I don't remember if that was an actual pairing, but it sounds good).

A Mayfield return to St Louis might be good for all parties. He may have lived past his usefulness here and the contract is "sellable". BTW, source confirmed that Mayfield has been playing almost the entire season with a fractured ankle so we might want to consider that for his lack of performance. Just sayin

 

[periferal]

Unless a major asset falls into or out of our laps (which i do not see) pretty sure i would do nothing right now.....see if this group can make the playoffs....if not, major retooling in the off season. Hopefully Lou is on this page.

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

Right now the Isles have about 7M in cap space this offseason with the following FAs:

• UFAs: Clutterbuck, Martin, Reilly, Aho
• RFAs: Holmstrom, Wahlstrom, MacLean

Then consider the following factors...

• Since Lou literally resigns every FA that he can, he's going to wind up using up most all of our cap space doing just that with that list above.
• And even if Lou decides not to sign any of the UFAs and even let Wahlstrom walk, there's not enough cap to sign any quality/great UFA from another team (even if he could convince them to come).
• The Isles have basically no tradable contracts that would clear up notable cap space other than Nelson (which would leave a hole at center) and Dobson (which would be insane).
• The Isles have their own 1st and 2nd this year, but might need to trade them to get a deal like Lee's off the books to open up cap space.
• Thanks to Lou the Isles literally don't have a minor leaguer/prospect that could step into the lineup and have a notable impact, or be traded for a good veteran player.

So essentially no cap space, no tradable players that wouldn't create another problem by dealing them, and zero prospects to promote or trade for help.

Even if Lou is fired (and man should he be ASAP), this lackluster and aging group is basically the team you're going to be watching next season so you can expect the same conversations about missing the playoffs in the spring of 2025 as well.

 

[CupHolders]

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

Right now the Isles have about 7M in cap space this offseason (and the cap is only projected to go up about 1M) with the following FAs:

• UFAs: Clutterbuck, Martin, Reilly, Aho
• RFAs: Holmstrom, Wahlstrom, MacLean

Then consider the following factors...

• Since Lou literally resigns every FA that he can, he's going to wind up using up most all of our cap space doing just that with that list above.
• And even if Lou decides not to sign any of the UFAs and even let Wahlstrom walk, there's not enough cap to sign any quality/great UFA from another team (even if he could convince them to come).
• The Isles have basically no tradable contracts that would clear up notable cap space other than Nelson (which would leave a hole at center) and Dobson (which would be insane).
• The Isles have their own 1st and 2nd this year, but might need to trade them to get a deal like Lee's off the books to open up cap space.
• Thanks to Lou the Isles literally don't have a minor leaguer/prospect that could step into the lineup and have a notable impact, or be traded for a good veteran player.

So essentially no cap space, no tradable players that wouldn't create another problem by dealing them, and zero prospects to promote or trade for help.

Even if Lou is fired (and man should he be ASAP), this lackluster and aging group is basically the team you're going to be watching next season so you can expect the same conversations about missing the playoffs in the spring of 2025 as well.

Good morning Periferal. Did you write this before or after breakfast?

Also regarding...

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

I'm sure suggestions offered by posters on this forum are based on what they themselves would try, not what they think Lou will do.

 

[impaaaaaact]

A Mayfield return to St Louis might be good for all parties. He may have lived past his usefulness here and the contract is "sellable". BTW, source confirmed that Mayfield has been playing almost the entire season with a fractured ankle so we might want to consider that for his lack of performance. Just sayin

Yeah, Mayfield has been pretty obviously not right all year. His contract will age poorly eventually, sucks that one of the reasonable years of it was lost. But I expect him to bounce back next year

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

I'm sure suggestions offered by posters on this forum are based on what they themselves would try, not what they think Lou will do.

It's self-fulfilling prophecy. Note that it starts with a umproveable and baseless assumption, then builds a narrative based on it. It's pure fantasy.

 

[periferal]

Good morning Periferal. Did you write this before or after breakfast?

Also regarding...

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

I'm sure suggestions offered by posters on this forum are based on what they themselves would try, not what they think Lou will do.

Good morning CH...Nice to see you.

I'll assume that most here would like/love to see the Isles win a Cup, but too many just casually throw out trade ideas, FA signings, cap dumps that would/could never happen. Yes I understand some suggestions are just for fun, but I'm not talking about those posts. I'm talking about the ones where the poster is dead serious about a move(s) that can't happen because they don't think through the big picture (like cap space), or admit there's no way they would make the same move if they were the other team's GM (like any poster suggesting that another GM would take Mayfield's insane contract).

And forget what any poster, or Lou, would do. If you just look at the Isles roster, contracts, cap space, picks, farm system, etc you'll see that a "major retooling" this offseason is not possible no matter who the GM is. The closest you could get to it would be essentially dumping whatever you can and committing to a rebuild, but how dare we even mention that word in these parts.

Now - What's for breakfast...?

 

[The Real JT]

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

Right now the Isles have about 7M in cap space this offseason (and the cap is only projected to go up about 1M) with the following FAs:

• UFAs: Clutterbuck, Martin, Reilly, Aho
• RFAs: Holmstrom, Wahlstrom, MacLean

Then consider the following factors...

• Since Lou literally resigns every FA that he can, he's going to wind up using up most all of our cap space doing just that with that list above.
• And even if Lou decides not to sign any of the UFAs and even let Wahlstrom walk, there's not enough cap to sign any quality/great UFA from another team (even if he could convince them to come).
• The Isles have basically no tradable contracts that would clear up notable cap space other than Nelson (which would leave a hole at center) and Dobson (which would be insane).
• The Isles have their own 1st and 2nd this year, but might need to trade them to get a deal like Lee's off the books to open up cap space.
• Thanks to Lou the Isles literally don't have a minor leaguer/prospect that could step into the lineup and have a notable impact, or be traded for a good veteran player.

So essentially no cap space, no tradable players that wouldn't create another problem by dealing them, and zero prospects to promote or trade for help.

Even if Lou is fired (and man should he be ASAP), this lackluster and aging group is basically the team you're going to be watching next season so you can expect the same conversations about missing the playoffs in the spring of 2025 as well.

Good morning Periferal. Did you write this before or after breakfast?

Also regarding...

Several people have suggested a "major retooling" as if that's something that Lou would even do....Or that can happen at all.

I'm sure suggestions offered by posters on this forum are based on what they themselves would try, not what they think Lou will do.

Full disclosure: This post was after coffee but before breakfast.

The unspoken reality for next year is that current roster players that have shown their age will be yet one year older next season. I’m looking at you Lee, Pageau, Palmieri, Mayfield, Varly…
Others might improve: Dobson, Holmstrom, Romanov. Expecting a prospect to be a significant contributor is a nice thought but unlikely to happen.

Did I also mention that assumes no injuries and no drop off in performance by other current contributors?

I’ll be a broken record here and say I’m good with anything Lou does or doesn’t do here with the exception of him adding at the TDL at the expense of losing even more futures. Truth be told, while there are five teams that are clearly better than the isles in their conference, the rest of the pretenders are not necessarily any better than our squad.

That gives me no solace. This team has no chance of contending for a Cup and therefore retooling rather than adding is the prudent thing to do.

 

[leeroggy]

When we debate re-tool versus re-build, let's not forget that we ALREADY have done a re-tool, as new players inserted into the lineup from the day Lambert took over:

Holmstrom
Horvat
Fasching
Romanov
Reilly
Bortuzzo
Bolduc
Engvall
MacLean
Aho
Gauthier

I think it's fair to say this IS a re-tool, but not a re-build. And I'm not counting those who got a cup of coffee like Koivula or Dufour.

 

[Zeeker]

When we debate re-tool versus re-build, let's not forget that we ALREADY have done a re-tool, as new players inserted into the lineup from the day Lambert took over:

Holmstrom
Horvat
Fasching
Romanov
Reilly
Bortuzzo
Bolduc
Engvall
MacLean
Aho
Gauthier

I think it's fair to say this IS a re-tool, but not a re-build. And I'm not counting those who got a cup of coffee like Koivula or Dufour.

If that’s considered a re-tool, then there are 31 other teams that have also re-tooled over the last couple years.