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

[BelovedIsles]

Sorokin needs off-season to reset, all the criticism he gets here is ironic to me because I think lesser goalies would have had much worse numbers than he has this year behind this team.

He hasn't been as elite (e.g. softies), but he's faced the most shots, at the hardest spots on the ice.

He's the least of their problems; I'm confident he'll have a bounceback season.

 

[BelovedIsles]

It only takes one to spice this thread up.

 

[Throttle]

He hasn't been as elite (e.g. softies), but he's faced the most shots, at the hardest spots on the ice.

He's the least of their problems; I'm confident he'll have a bounceback season.

I think the theme is the ‘least of their problems’ includes the ‘core’ of flawed, but relied upon players such as Barzal, Sorokin, and Dobson. I guess all will be cured when the scrubs are gone and poof, these guys put on their bat capes and lead the team to glory. Seems like an unlikely story, but worth a try, I guess.

 

[Lek]

I firmly believe, that.....too many here would find something so wrong with absolutely any, and i mean ANY player that made it here and played for this team.

There are some really good players on this team.
There are some good players on this team.
There are players that were good to very good on this team that are now aging.
There are average to below average players on this team
There are some that do not make the cut.
...and no, maybe none are excellent, but then there are probably less than handful of those out there.

And all this "all that matters is winning a cup" is crap.
Why not then figure whatever money you make is a failure and not worth the effort unless you win the mega millions jackpot.
Life is not worth living unless you have "Everything"
and so on...

Yeah, this team right now is playing like crap, but do not give me that they have done nothing worth nothing over the last 5-6 years. They gave us some fun hockey and that was more than worth it.

Now...back to enjoying it a game at a time because if you can't, and all that matters to you is winning the cup, then why the hell are you watching, reading and posting?....just to bitch, moan, be miserable and complain?

...mind you , the occasional complaint is mandatory...it is human....but the on and on and on and on droning....good lord!

...that felt good.

 

[saintunspecified]

This is big news and there is a significant chance that the League and NHL PA will go beyond the 5% MAX increase from the MOU they signed in the middle of the pandemic. It should have been higher last year and hopefully, we see a cap close to if not 90m when it is official.

This is 100% up to the owners, and whether they could come to a consensus. Tbh, I don't see it happening. But if the cap is going to increase significantly in 25-26, that might make pursuing a buyout that will hit harder in that season ( for example buying out Lee) easier to pull off.

 

[Isles72]

shoulda woulda coulda is kinda pointless at this point .

constructive ideas for immediate future are more interesting to me .

I think if Roy has a 3 year deal Lou's not going anywhere in the next 2 years but will have an open mind to what Patrick might suggest in regards to potential additions/subtractions

perhaps by then ownership takes a serious look at whether Roy has the chops to become a GM

 

[The Real JT]

I’m a bit indifferent to the talk about buying out Lee and the benefits of a higher salary cap.

Haven’t we figured out that most UFAs aren’t looking at the Isles as their preferred destination? The higher cap may push each team’s UFA/RFA player’s salaries higher but for a team like the Isles I think that any additional benefit is overstated.

The key is to draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

 

[periferal]

Vegas is not a different animal. Players want to play there. They are aggressive because the owner wants them to be.

Maybe one of the reasons players want to play in Vegas....Is because the owner might be the most aggressive in the entire NHL.

The best player Lou acquired by far was Horvat. The rest of the time while he's shipping off 1sts for middle-level talent in Pageau, Palmieri, and Romanov, Vegas was out there putting a full court press on to acquire guys like Stone, Eichel, and Pietrangelo.

And I'm sure the retort will be that none of those players wanted to come here. And if so then I'd say if you can't lure a player to NY then your owner isn't being aggresssive enough or your GM isn't doing his job. Horvat had no problem committing the best years of his career to Long Island…Once the Islanders offered a contract commiserate with his asking price.

They want to win AND they don’t care about waiting on prospects to turn into players.

So Vegas is the team that wants to win. Phew. I was struggling for years trying to figure out which of the 32 it was.

They use them and their draft picks to improve for the here and now and sign guys. They also move guys that they no longer deem worthy of their mission - again, they can do that bc players want to play there. It matters on how you operate because they backfill easily.

Again…See above. The “Vegas” excuse is just lame. As if the Islanders and Knights switched cities all of a sudden the Isles would just start adding elite talent.

You’re damn right “it matters how you operate.” I’d say almost every team in the league is chasing Vegas in terms of management style right now.

We need to hold the Isles owners and front office accountable - Not make excuses for them.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

We need to hold the Isles owners and front office accountable

Bwahaha!!

 

[PK Cronin]

Maybe one of the reasons players want to play in Vegas....Is because the owner might be the most aggressive in the entire NHL.

The best player Lou acquired by far was Horvat. The rest of the time while he's shipping off 1sts for middle-level talent in Pageau, Palmieri, and Romanov, Vegas was out there putting a full court press on to acquire guys like Stone, Eichel, and Pietrangelo.

And I'm sure the retort will be that none of those players wanted to come here. And if so then I'd say if you can't lure a player to NY then your owner isn't being aggresssive enough or your GM isn't doing his job. Horvat had no problem committing the best years of his career to Long Island…Once the Islanders offered a contract commiserate with his asking price.

This is simply not true. You can't make someone want to do something they don't want to do. If someone were to offer me a job in a location that isn't advantageous to me then I wouldn't take it and there's nothing anyone could do to change that. Why do you think it's different for athletes? People have preferences and with the rules in place for the NHL there's not a whole lot of difference in what a team can offer when compared to another.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

You mean the year where they made the playoffs because the Pens choked a game against the worst team in the league? Where Sorokin dragged this team into the playoffs? You want me to credit Lou? Is the bar that low here? Man, if that's the case then Steve Stirling was a pretty good coach, no?

And here's a direct question: is Romanov a difference maker?

Your posts are difference makers, that's for sure.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

The key is to draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

Isn't that what they've been doing?

 

[Torrey Redux]

The key is to draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

Isn't that what they've been doing?

No, it isn't.

Why do you think we are where we are? We haven't had a first round pick since '19 and the team results in Bridgeport, not to mention the quality of the players that they have called up suggests that whatever development program this organization has isn't working. As for the trades, talented is relative term and everyone can put their own definition on it, but in the end, not talented enough.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

No, it isn't.

Why do you think we are where we are? We haven't had a first round pick since '19 and the team results in Bridgeport, not to mention the quality of the players that they have called up suggests that whatever development program this organization has isn't working. As for the trades, talented is relative term and everyone can put their own definition on it, but in the end, not talented enough.

Barzal, Dobson, Lee, Pelech, Pulock, Sorokin. All drafted, developed and signed long term. Romanov, Horvat, Varlamov, Palmieri, Pageau... all traded for and signed long term.

"Not talented enough" is a valid argument (though there are some pretty talented names on that list) but they have definitely subscribed to the strategy of of draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

they have definitely subscribed to the strategy of of draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

But. you don't get to look at prospects and play out fantasies in your head about how they'll put up 100 point seasons next to each other.

 

[Osakahaus]

We’ve won 30 of 71 games this year and still getting “we’re not winning the Cup anyway” banter. The bar has sunk through the floor and is hurtling towards the earth’s core.

This bar needs like 20 more orders of scotch

He hasn't been as elite (e.g. softies), but he's faced the most shots, at the hardest spots on the ice.

He's the least of their problems; I'm confident he'll have a bounceback season.

well lets be real, Sorokin isn't the first (or last) elite goalie who has struggled. Remember when Quick went through the bends in LA?

 

[Torrey Redux]

Barzal, Dobson, Lee, Pelech, Pulock, Sorokin. All drafted, developed and signed long term. Romanov, Horvat, Varlamov, Palmieri, Pageau... all traded for and signed long term.

"Not talented enough" is a valid argument (though there are some pretty talented names on that list) but they have definitely subscribed to the strategy of of draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

What, so you get to stop when you've drafted a few decent players? Who after Dobson shows any real promise? And that was 6 years ago. Just look to Bridgeport, what more do you need to see? And just by way of comparison, TB in the past 10 years has won two cups, been to four finals, 6 conference finals, made the playoffs and had deep runs every year but one and yet, with even fewer draft picks than we've had and those deeper in the draft, there is Syracuse in first place in their division. Development, it's what they do well but I'm not sure it's a word even in Lou's vocabulary.

As for your list of tradees, as I said, not talented enough, particularly given what they cost and what the results have been.

 

[The Real JT]

Barzal, Dobson, Lee, Pelech, Pulock, Sorokin. All drafted, developed and signed long term. Romanov, Horvat, Varlamov, Palmieri, Pageau... all traded for and signed long term.

"Not talented enough" is a valid argument (though there are some pretty talented names on that list) but they have definitely subscribed to the strategy of of draft, develop and/or trade for talented players that will want to stay here long term.

The only drafted/developed player of recent vintage on your list is Dobson. That fact is pretty damning in and of itself.

Continually trading prime assets for good but not game changing players who are then signed to expensive long term deals hasn’t worked out. It was worth a shot and it gave us some thrills but that was several years ago.

Time for a new approach.

 

[leeroggy]

...that felt good.

Target rich environment!

 

[Osakahaus]

What, so you get to stop when you've drafted a few decent players? Who after Dobson shows any real promise? And that was 6 years ago. Just look to Bridgeport, what more do you need to see? And just by way of comparison, TB in the past 10 years has won two cups, been to four finals, 6 conference finals, made the playoffs and had deep runs every year but one and yet, with even fewer draft picks than we've had and those deeper in the draft, there is Syracuse in first place in their division. Development, it's what they do well but I'm not sure it's a word even in Lou's vocabulary.

As for your list of tradees, as I said, not talented enough, particularly given what they cost and what the results have been.

Lets be real: the islanders treat Bridgeport like a deadbeat child and they play in one of the worst AHL towns as well. I don't even blame the organization because they should just move them to Nassau instead. would be so much better, especially for player development.

their poor AHL track record isnt even Lou related: its been going on for decades.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

What, so you get to stop when you've drafted a few decent players? Who after Dobson shows any real promise? And that was 6 years ago. Just look to Bridgeport, what more do you need to see? And just by way of comparison, TB in the past 10 years has won two cups, been to four finals, 6 conference finals, made the playoffs and had deep runs every year but one and yet, with even fewer draft picks than we've had and those deeper in the draft, there is Syracuse in first place in their division. Development, it's what they do well but I'm not sure it's a word even in Lou's vocabulary.

As for your list of tradees, as I said, not talented enough, particularly given what they cost and what the results have been.

There are ebbs and flows. When you're in more of a win-now mode, you use the draft picks to acquire NHL-ready players. My point however, remains. The Islanders have drafted, developed and/or traded for talented players that signed long term. That's been the strategy (albeit with mixed results). I'd be down with more focus on the draft and develop side of things and given the lack of trades at the deadline, I'd say that is what they are doing.

 

[Osakahaus]

The only drafted/developed player of recent vintage on your list is Dobson. That fact is pretty damning in and of itself.

Continually trading prime assets for good but not game changing players who are then signed to expensive long term deals hasn’t worked out. It was worth a shot and it gave us some thrills but that was several years ago.

Time for a new approach.

but when they did that approach, they failed miserably. We need the right men in charge. That may mean getting Eric Tulsky or anyone from those forward thinking organizations.

 

[leeroggy]

Maybe one of the reasons players want to play in Vegas....Is because the owner might be the most aggressive in the entire NHL.

Nah, it's for the school system and proximity to the Mustang Ranch . . . covers both sides of a father's needs

 

[leeroggy]

but when they did that approach, they failed miserably. We need the right men in charge. That may mean getting Eric Tulsky or anyone from those forward thinking organizations.

Wasn't Kyle Dubas sold as exactly that? Or are you campaigning for AJ Mleczko for GM? Fits all the DEI stuff!
Would instantly make us the favorite hockey team of The View and HRC! Hillary could take that fake Yankees cap and recycle it.

 

[Osakahaus]

Wasn't Kyle Dubas sold as exactly that? Or are you campaigning for AJ Mleczko for GM? Fits all the DEI stuff!
Would instantly make us the favorite hockey team of The View and HRC! Hillary could take that fake Yankees cap and recycle it.

lets not go into that

I would campaign for someone who's won and has a pedigree of getting talented players. thats what matters most to me, especially as the Islanders enter an incredibly important stretch in their team. You need to keep the fans interested no matter what. We need to strengthen that farm, PERIOD.