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

[periferal]

A win tonight is huge and if they do I would like to see LL make the move for Tarasenko - it will not cost the Isles a first and it is someone I would like to see them retain.

I am still a believer - look at the schedule moving towards the deadline. I do not think the Caps are a threat- Flyers can be caught, Pens are ?, and the Devils lost a big one last night.

Flyers

• OTT
• STL
• FLA
• TBY

Devils

• LAK
• FLA
• STL
• CAR

Both teams could go 1-3 and if the Isles go 3-1 - hell they could go 4-0 if they can beat the Bruins tonight.

Isles would be 70pts/63GP
Flyers would be 71pts/65 GP
Devils would be 66 pts/64 GP

Your optimism is to be commended. Truly.

The problem is you’re comparing the Isles to the average teams they need to beat out just to get the 8th seed - Not the elite teams the Isles would have to play in the playoffs.

Is the goal here to just make the playoffs…Or actually win a Cup? Because if we’re being honest with ourselves, we have no shot at that this season.

And if you subscribe to the “if we just make the playoffs anything can happen” philosophy, you’ll pardon me if I don’t buy into that as the person who promoted that the most around here the last decade was Garth Snow.

The standings don’t lie. This is not the same team from 3-4 years ago that was younger, more talented on D, and coached by the best possible coach for that roster.

It’s just time to admit it already, make plans to get this team back to Cup contention, and stop denying reality to have false hope.



*Feel free to tag this post and call me out on it at any point as long as Lou is still GM. However if this team continues to get worse and miss the playoffs again, make sure I get at least a “like” on it ok?

 

[MJF]

I’d say our core is very good but definitely not elite. It’s enough to be a contender if the remainder of the squad had above average talent and grit without any glaring holes in the roster of which we have more than a few right now.

Too many provisions in your statement for my comfort.

 

[SI]

Your optimism is to be commended. Truly.

The problem is you’re comparing the Isles to the average teams they need to beat out just to get the 8th seed - Not the elite teams the Isles would have to play in the playoffs.

Is the goal here to just make the playoffs…Or actually win a Cup? Because if we’re being honest with ourselves, we have no shot at that this season.

And if you subscribe to the “if we just make the playoffs anything can happen” philosophy, you’ll pardon me if I don’t buy into that as the person who promoted that the most around here the last decade was Garth Snow.

The standings don’t lie. This is not the same team from 3-4 years ago that was younger, more talented on D, and coached by the best possible coach for that roster.

It’s just time to admit it already, make plans to get this team back to Cup contention, and stop denying reality to have false hope.



*Feel free to tag this post and call me out on it at any point as long as Lou is still GM. However if this team continues to get worse and miss the playoffs again, make sure I get at least a “like” on it ok?

I do not understand this first statement at all and no need to clarify. Also, in my scenario, the Isles would land the 3rd place in the Metro. Carolina elite? Not that goaltending tandem. And if Isles could get passed that team in the playoffs it would mean the Rangers.

And here is where we fundamentally disagree - I believe in the Sorokin, Dobson, Barzal, Horvat, Nelson group. You do not. I still believe that: Pulock and Pelech are an effective shutdown pair, Sorokin is a Vezina-caliber goalie who can catch fire in the playoffs and carry this team during a playoff run, Dobson is a Norris candidate having an incredible season, Barzal has found that extra notch to his game, Horvat was an incredible acquisition, and Nelson just seems to get better as he gets older.

I also believe that Roy was the best choice to take this team - you on the other hand wanted a coach rethread in Boudreau - who was an absolute mess in Vancouver. Roy has got the right temperament, philosophy, and gravitas to lead this team - watch out.

You are correct the standings do NOT lie - the Isles are 5 points away from the Flyers with 2 games at hand - an islander W and a Flyer L tonight means they 3 points away from 3rd with 2 games at hand - with a game head to head.

And I am not sure what you want me to ADMIT? They should sell and rip it down! NO.

And your little footnote - don't worry you made the list and I will let you know. And to correct Isles made the playoffs last season and in fact they have made the playoffs every year except 1 under LL.

 

[Glorydays22]

I do not understand this first statement at all and no need to clarify. Also, in my scenario, the Isles would land the 3rd place in the Metro.

And here is where we fundamentally disagree - I believe in the Sorokin, Dobson, Barzal, Horvat, Nelson group. You do not. I still believe that: Pulock and Pelech are an effective shutdown pair, Sorokin is a Vezina-caliber goalie who can catch fire in the playoffs and carry this team during a playoff run, Dobson is a Norris candidate having an incredible season, Barzal has found that extra notch to his game, Horvat was an incredible acquisition, and Nelson just seems to get better as he gets older.

You are correct the standings do NOT lie - the Isles are 5 points away from the Flyers with 2 games at hand - an islander W and a Flyer L tonight means they 3 points away from 3rd with 2 games at hand - with a game head to head.

And I am not sure what you want me to ADMIT? They should sell and rip it down! NO.

And your little footnote - don't worry you made the list and I will let you know. And to correct Isles made the playoffs last season and in fact they have made the playoffs every year except 1 under LL.

Not trying to be negative. But I honestly don't know how you can say Pelech and Pulock can be that shutdown pair anymore. Pelech to me is a shell of himself. Pulock is still decent but is NOWHERE near where he was when the were on of the best pairing.

 

[SI]

Not trying to be negative. But I honestly don't know how you can say Pelech and Pulock can be that shutdown pair anymore. Pelech to me is a shell of himself. Pulock is still decent but is NOWHERE near where he was when the were on of the best pairing.

Injury season for Pelech - still has it, IMO so does Pulock.

 

[Glory Days]

Injury season for Pelech - still has it, IMO so does Pulock.

Injury season for Mayfield also

 

[doublechili]

The problem is you’re comparing the Isles to the average teams they need to beat out just to get the 8th seed - Not the elite teams the Isles would have to play in the playoffs.

Is the goal here to just make the playoffs…Or actually win a Cup? Because if we’re being honest with ourselves, we have no shot at that this season.

Who are the elite teams in the East that would block the Isles from the Finals if they could make the playoffs? In other words, which East teams can you say, "yeah, we have zero chance against them in a 7 game series"? Florida would be tough, granted. But not impossible. And no other team scares me. It's a sea of mediocrity in the East this year.

 

[miscs75]

Who are the elite teams in the East that would block the Isles from the Finals if they could make the playoffs? In other words, which East teams can you say, "yeah, we have zero chance against them in a 7 game series"? Florida would be tough, granted. But not impossible. And no other team scares me. It's a sea of mediocrity in the East this year.

Carolina would be the only team honestly. For some reason no matter what, they struggle against them. You also have to factor in the always consistent officials if they match up with Gary’s chosen team in Manhattan. You know he doesn’t want the Isles beating them in a 7 game series because it destroys the obsession with the original six winning a cup again.

 

[Isles72]

Carolina would be the only team honestly. For some reason no matter what, they struggle against them. You also have to factor in the always consistent officials if they match up with Gary’s chosen team in Manhattan. You know he doesn’t want the Isles beating them in a 7 game series because it destroys the obsession with the original six winning a cup again.

canes goaltenders seem to step up vs the isles . I have a feeling they upgrade that position this week too .

 

[Isles72]

Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers, his cap hit is a problem, but this smells like something Lou would be interested, especially with Nelson shifting to wing as of late.

I'm curious to see how this plays out but I highly doubt Lou's interested .

I think he clears waivers and caps offer to allow teams to talk to him and his agent to gauge his motivation to play for said new team / fresh start .

my guess is mcphee/vegas prez makes that phone call and gets the caps to retain 2.8 mil lowering his cap hit to 5.0 in exchange for XYZ .

 

[miscs75]

Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers, his cap hit is a problem, but this smells like something Lou would be interested, especially with Nelson shifting to wing as of late.

I don’t even think Lou can save him at this point. He’s a good player with a medication problem.

 

[seafoam]

A Scott Laughton type would be nice, slide him in at 3C and move Cizikas back down to 4C with MacLean replacing Martin as the everyday LW.

 

[doublechili]

Carolina would be the only team honestly.

Florida is good. Based on past history CAR would be tough as well. You'd hope things shake out so one or both of them get knocked out by someone else (or beat up). BOS, NYR, TOR aren't unbeatable at all. Obviously you have to make the playoffs in the first place, but since we're all here I'll assume at least some people aren't just waiting around for the draft so instead of speculating about who Lou will extend for 7 years this summer I opted to talk about the playoffs.

I was just replying to a post with the "what's the point, we're not winning the Cup anyway" position by asking what teams in the East are so good that there's little to no chance the Isles could beat them in a 7 game series. Some apparently find that funny, but I think it's a legit question. I'm not saying we should compare the NYI to VGK, but if you go back a year to the VGK board and their trade thread there were plenty of geniuses there saying "what's the point". Of course, maybe the response here would be, "yeah, but even if we come out of the East we're not beating COL, etc.". In other words, the Ricky Bobby "if you ain't first, you're last" position.

 

[miscs75]

Florida is good. Based on past history CAR would be tough as well. You'd hope things shake out so one or both of them get knocked out by someone else (or beat up). BOS, NYR, TOR aren't unbeatable at all. Obviously you have to make the playoffs in the first place, but since we're all here I'll assume at least some people aren't just waiting around for the draft so instead of speculating about who Lou will extend for 7 years this summer I opted to talk about the playoffs.

I was just replying to a post with the "what's the point, we're not winning the Cup anyway" position by asking what teams in the East are so good that there's little to no chance the Isles could beat them in a 7 game series. Some apparently find that funny, but I think it's a legit question. I'm not saying we should compare the NYI to VGK, but if you go back a year to the VGK board and their trade thread there were plenty of geniuses there saying "what's the point". Of course, maybe the response here would be, "yeah, but even if we come out of the East we're not beating COL, etc.". In other words, the Ricky Bobby "if you ain't first, you're last" position.

I’m not worried about any team in a 7 game series. Carolina has notoriously been a team they struggle against, Nashville as well. Just some teams they match up well against and some they don’t. My point with the Rags was the fact that the league will do everything they can to push a rivalry while doing everything they can to ensure the Rags move on. If they didn’t blow the 3rd period of the stadium series, the league would have been panicking about what to do.

 

[crashthenet]

I like Zeke on the third line. Looking at SJ and armchair GMing, Kunin maybe Barbanov would be good middle six adds. I like Rutta as well. Replace Martin and Aho and they could go on a pretty good heater.

 

[Chockey22]

None of the names being thrown around really move the needle here. I hope Lou stands pat. We don't have assets to give up, we have to move cap out to bring anyone in and the only way to do that is expend assets to get rid of bad contracts. Let the season play out with the current roster - I think they have a decent chance to make the playoffs; and if they don't, use the offseason to retool.

 

[leeroggy]

I like Zeke on the third line. Looking at SJ and armchair GMing, Kunin maybe Barbanov would be good middle six adds. I like Rutta as well. Replace Martin and Aho and they could go on a pretty good heater.

Rutta has another year at $2,750,00 cap hit, we can't carry that over to next year unless Mayfield is unloaded

 

[periferal]

And here is where we fundamentally disagree - I believe in the Sorokin, Dobson, Barzal, Horvat, Nelson group. You do not. I still believe that: Pulock and Pelech are an effective shutdown pair, Sorokin is a Vezina-caliber goalie who can catch fire in the playoffs and carry this team during a playoff run, Dobson is a Norris candidate having an incredible season, Barzal has found that extra notch to his game, Horvat was an incredible acquisition, and Nelson just seems to get better as he gets older.

You keep telling us how much you believe in those players - The "core" of the team. However you keep missing the most important point...Why if all those players are so great, and in the prime of their careers, are the Isles struggling to make the playoffs yet again?

I love almost every single Islander playing on this roster, but there's a difference in loving them...And them being good enough to matchup against the very best teams in the league.

So sure I love Barzal, Horval, Nelson, Dobson, and Sorokin...But I'd trade them all to get a handful of other "cores" around the league including Colorado, Florida, Edmonton, Vegas, etc. We have good talent...They have elite talent, and that is proven where it matters most - The standings (and championships).

I also believe that Roy was the best choice to take this team - you on the other hand wanted a coach rethread in Boudreau - who was an absolute mess in Vancouver. Roy has got the right temperament, philosophy, and gravitas to lead this team - watch out.

Never said I wanted Boudeau. I might've taken him over Lambert, but he would never be a target of mine. I like and support Roy (but I still don't think this is the right roster for him to ultimately succeed with).

You are correct the standings do NOT lie - the Isles are 5 points away from the Flyers with 2 games at hand - an islander W and a Flyer L tonight means they 3 points away from 3rd with 2 games at hand - with a game head to head.

This is kinda the whole point. Yes the standings don't lie and yes the east is a mess this year and yet...The Isles are behind a totally average team in the Flyers (who might even be a seller at the deadline despite being a playoff spot). No matter what metric you use that is bad.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

Your optimism is to be commended. Truly.

The problem is you’re comparing the Isles to the average teams they need to beat out just to get the 8th seed - Not the elite teams the Isles would have to play in the playoffs.

Is the goal here to just make the playoffs…Or actually win a Cup? Because if we’re being honest with ourselves, we have no shot at that this season.

And if you subscribe to the “if we just make the playoffs anything can happen” philosophy, you’ll pardon me if I don’t buy into that as the person who promoted that the most around here the last decade was Garth Snow.

The standings don’t lie. This is not the same team from 3-4 years ago that was younger, more talented on D, and coached by the best possible coach for that roster.

It’s just time to admit it already, make plans to get this team back to Cup contention, and stop denying reality to have false hope.



*Feel free to tag this post and call me out on it at any point as long as Lou is still GM. However if this team continues to get worse and miss the playoffs again, make sure I get at least a “like” on it ok?

Oh look. This post again.

 

[crashthenet]

Rutta has another year at $2,750,00 cap hit, we can't carry that over to next year unless Mayfield is unloaded

True. Maybe some retention.

 

[seafoam]

None of the names being thrown around really move the needle here. I hope Lou stands pat. We don't have assets to give up, we have to move cap out to bring anyone in and the only way to do that is expend assets to get rid of bad contracts. Let the season play out with the current roster - I think they have a decent chance to make the playoffs; and if they don't, use the offseason to retool.

You shouldn’t really be trying to move the needle at the deadline, A.) It’s extremely difficult to navigate from a cap perspective B.) You’re not giving your addition adequate time to adjust to their new environment

You’re really just looking to plug holes, and right now the Islanders probably need insurance down the middle of the ice if they’re set on running Nelson-Horvat-Barzal as their top line (which I think they should be).

An injury to Pageau or Cizikas completely decimates their middle six and forces them to break up the top line.

Engvall’s where he needs to be on the third line and they aren’t going to push Lee to the 4th line, so someone like Vatrano makes no sense.

NYI has scouted SJS, I’m sure they are aware of what Duclair is at the point, however I wonder if they would look at Granlund who’s centering their 1st line and all he has done is collect points. Would be a swiss army knife middle six option, but SJS would likely need to retain 50%.

 

[Chockey22]

You shouldn’t really be trying to move the needle at the deadline, A.) It’s extremely difficult to navigate from a cap perspective B.) You’re not giving your addition adequate time to adjust to their new environment

You’re really just looking to plug holes, and right now the Islanders probably need insurance down the middle of the ice if they’re set on running Nelson-Horvat-Barzal as their top line (which I think they should be).

An injury to Pageau or Cizikas completely decimates their middle six and forces them to break up the top line.

Engvall’s where he needs to be on the third line and they aren’t going to push Lee to the 4th line, so someone like Vatrano makes no sense.

NYI has scouted SJS, I’m sure they are aware of what Duclair is at the point, however I wonder if they would look at Granlund who’s centering their 1st line and all he has done is collect points. Would be a swiss army knife middle six option, but SJS would likely need to retain 50%.

I respect this approach, but even Granlund at 50% is a 2.5 million cap hit. There's no easy scenario to open up that space. Obviously Mayfield or Pageau out opens up that space, but it costs assets to do it, or in Pageau's case, opens up another hole. I just don't see any way on this roster to free up cap space to make any significant move - even to plug holes. LL has put us in a tough spot with this roster construction. Let the season play out, then see what can be done in the offseason.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

I think if we traded Aho, Whalstrom and picks/prospects for Buchnevich at 50% by Blues and 50% by another team we'd be cap compliant.

 

[doublechili]

You shouldn’t really be trying to move the needle at the deadline, A.) It’s extremely difficult to navigate from a cap perspective B.) You’re not giving your addition adequate time to adjust to their new environment

You’re really just looking to plug holes, and right now the Islanders probably need insurance down the middle of the ice if they’re set on running Nelson-Horvat-Barzal as their top line (which I think they should be).

An injury to Pageau or Cizikas completely decimates their middle six and forces them to break up the top line.

Engvall’s where he needs to be on the third line and they aren’t going to push Lee to the 4th line, so someone like Vatrano makes no sense.

NYI has scouted SJS, I’m sure they are aware of what Duclair is at the point, however I wonder if they would look at Granlund who’s centering their 1st line and all he has done is collect points. Would be a swiss army knife middle six option, but SJS would likely need to retain 50%.

Funny you mention Granlund. I was thinking about a deal with Pageau+ for Granlund, but I'm not sure either team would do it and didn't bother posting the thought. They have identical contracts so it wouldn't require any retention by SJS. I just don't know what's in it for them. I guess if the + is a pick and they figure they can flip JGP for a pick next TDL? Of course, who knows if Lou even wants to move JGP. Granlund could be one of those guys who collects points on bad teams but doesn't help if you're looking to compete.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

So sure I love Barzal, Horval, Nelson, Dobson, and Sorokin...But I'd trade them all to get a handful of other "cores" around the league including Colorado, Florida, Edmonton, Vegas, etc. We have good talent...They have elite talent, and that is proven where it matters most - The standings (and championships).


This is kinda the whole point. Yes the standings don't lie and yes the east is a mess this year and yet...The Isles are behind a totally average team in the Flyers (who might even be a seller at the deadline despite being a playoff spot). No matter what metric you use that is bad.

Florida and Edmonton haven't won shit.

Also, last time I checked the season does not end on March 3rd. Let's revisit that metric at the end of the season.