You are AGAIN incorrect - a team cannot accrue cap space if they are utilizing the LTIR, so players like Dumba and Johnson who both went for a 4th rounders came with their full cap hits. So, I am not sure what other depth d men that went for a 4th you are referring to. All of the deals LL has made at the TDL - all were made with an eye to the future - JGP, Palmieri, and Horvat - even Engvall - all came with extensions and none are middling talent. even if Engvall plays soft and does not have amazing production his puck possession ability and speed and transition is very much an asset. He is certainly not a middling talent - none of those players are. So what middling players are you referring to? And if it is Engvall? that is 1 player.
You are correct about LTIR, but forget Dumba per se. Ruhwedel and Miller are examples of guys who went for 4th round picks, could fit under the cap, and play better defense than Aho.
And in terms of Lou "having an eye on the future" - I'm not sure it's as much of an eye as it is not being able to simply let UFA's walk. Sure I love that Horvat is signed long term (and that's the best trade he's made by far), but his unwillingness to not sign a guy long term has saddled the franchise with a new "mini-Ladd" deal in Engvall.
So again - I DO NOT care that Lou didn't make a deal at the deadline. Just surprised. In fact I'm glad he didn't make a deal because he wouldn't have landed a core player and yet he would've signed that NON-core player to a long term deal making the cap situation worse.
You are obsessed with Lou and you continue to pump this idea that owners are somehow injected themselves in the operations of the team when there IS NO evidence of that. LL didn’t make a deal because there was none to be made that fit his criteria. He was willing to move the 1st and may actually do so at the draft.
Not obsessed with Lou. At all.
I'm obsessed with winning a Cup...And I just don't believe that Lou is the GM to lead us there, so that is the opinion I voice. One day Lou will be done and he'll fade into the rearview for me and all of us and I'll be focused on whoever is the next GM.
And again you twist my opinions. Again I was just surprised that Lou didn't make a trade deadline deal, and as a result I simply wondered if ownership told him not to. That's it. Was a one time thought that you spin into "
continue to pump this idea that owners are somehow injected themselves in the operations of the team..."
Again - A one time thought based on being surprised no moves were made. Thus not "continuing" off any previous opinion and certainly never said it was gospel.
Just a thought dude.
This is why I say that you are obsessed/triggered by me - Because you're more fired up than I am and as a result twisting what my real opinions are.
I take issue with the rebuild now crowd and especially with the “we ain’t winning the cup anyway” crowd… it’s absurd and beserk at the same time.
I'm not totally sure that the Isles need to rebuild, but I am confident that (1st round) picks have to stop being spend on middling talent, and then that middling talent being signed to long-term deals. You talk about "obsessions" - Well Lou is obsessed with that model and it's really going to hurt us when older guys (Lee, Nelson, Cizikas, Pageau, etc) start fading and there's literally no youth to take their place.
And what if Lou is GM for the next 5 years and during that time they don't advance past the 2nd round of the playoffs in any season - Or what if they never win a round and miss the playoffs a few of those years. Would you still be of the opinion then that Lou did a great job during that period and we just got "unlucky?"
I hope not.
We are both passionate Islander fans, fathers, and most likely the same age but that is where our common interests lie. We watch sports through a different lens - I saw how this team Played differently under ROY and saw that things could change for the better and was essentially laughed at -but here we are. The team and franchise has never been healthier- we have exciting pieces here and hopefully one day it will come that we see the team win a cup again.
I agree with basically all of this. You seem to just enjoy "Islanders hockey" on a nightly basis. If they win - Awesome. If they lose - So be it.
I'm really only interested in - Are we on a path to winning a Cup, so I'm looking at big picture. Is it great that the Isles just won 6 in a row while scoring 13 goals against the Sharks and Ducks? Of course it is.
However if you zoom out...Why are we told over and over how much Lou believes in this team, but with less than 19 games to go we're not even in a playoff position?
Is this franchise as (financially) healthy as it's ever been - No question and I love Malkin...But what does that have to do with Lou saddling us with Lane Lambert for a season and a half?
It will all come out in the wash over the next few weeks, but I don't believe Lou's GMing has put this team in the best position to beat the best teams in the league. That's my belief which you obviously don't share, but why you hear me constantly talk about it - Because I want things to be better.
Anything can happen in sports, especially in hockey.
Enjoy winning hockey.
Last time I heard that "anything can happen" philosophy thrown out about the Islanders it was by Garth Snow, so you'll pardon me if I expect more. The way teams like the Panthers and Knights have been going about their business the last few seasons sure feels like they're more like "let's make it f***ing happen." That's the kind of GM I want.
And I'm sure you'll retort with something about Vegas being handed unbelievably favorable expansion rules, but they still had to make all those trades, manage their cap, convince Pietrangelo to sign there, etc.
And what about Florida? Let's look at where their core was drafted...
Barkov -2nd overall
Ekblad - 1st overall
Tkachuk - 6th overall (got by trading Huberdeau who was drafted 3rd overall)
Reinhart - 4th overall
Bennett - 4th overall
And of course they convinced Bobrovsky to sign there.
I know you keep harping on the fact that rebuilds guarantee nothing and of course that is true. Yet when you look at the Stanley Cup champions over the past 20 years their rosters are littered with core players who were drafted in the top 10 of their draft years.
Look at the Penguins, Kings, Blackhawks, Lightning, Avalanche, etc - All of them had/have 2-3 elite players who were drafted when they absolutely sucked and drafted at the top of the 1st round the following years.
So to be clear once again...I'm not saying that a rebuild is necessary. But what I am saying is that this team needs to find a way to add the kind of elite talent that ultimately wins Championships - And short of a very rare Jack Eichel or Matthew Tkachuk trade, that talent is almost always found at the top end of the draft.
Anyway I hope you can truly digest what I wrote. I'm not attacking you or putting you down in any way. Just trying to get you to see how I see things even if we disagree.
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