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

[PhysicalGraffiti]

Palms contract>>>>Pageau one. Its been very good for the islanders and I feel like Palms is a legit 2nd line scorer now. Well worth the contract.

Engvall is honestly a very useful player, I hope he reaches 40-45 points next season. He needs to be more consistent but the caliber of player is there. 4th line must change but I think it comes both in house and from trades. Liam O'Brian also should be considered if Utah cant keep him, for whatever reason.


coaching wise is what I feel.

A healthy Palms has been everything and then some, and for a second playoff series in a row he showed up. I hate that he's getting older and that doesn't speak well for his health, but his season was awesome and hope he can repeat it next year.

Ahh
But Nylander is the soft one according to many here
He scores important goals. Period.

Kind of wild to blame Samsonov on that one. My goalie bias might be showing, but dude had to skate around a lot of other players and made a great move.

 

[SI]

For those out there even suggesting 11M/year Marner should be a trade target (not that it would ever happen for lots of reasons)...

Not sure what u are highlighting of Marner - It is a set play and Pasta is off to races as soon as Lindholm rifles it in and he timed that perfectly
It's 88 not moving at all.

But agree that it is not happening - Mitch has a NMC - he ain’t going.

This may not be the popular opinion but I don’t think he leaves Toronto - what should happen is Shanahan, Keefe. and GM should all be fired and an entire new leadership team should be brought in.

Get a goalie and let Tavares walk next year

 

[PK Cronin]

Why would you trust Lou’s judgement anymore? Because 6 years ago tge team overperformed twice? Lou’s on his 3rd second chance since 2022 to set the team in the right direction.

I don't think this answers my question.

If he makes all of the moves you'd want him to make this summer, does he still need to be fired?

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

If he makes all of the moves you'd want him to make

Not possible when starting from conclusion.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Maybe it's to let the rest of the NHL know "We are open for business"

A good thought from the vantage point of them knowing he's still the guy to contact.

Sure hope his continuation in this position is with the strict owner instruction that he's got to get aggressive in sculpting this product differently.

 

[MJF]

I don't think this answers my question.

If he makes all of the moves you'd want him to make this summer, does he still need to be fired?

I can't conceive of that happening since the contracts he gave out last year will still be on the books. For me the tree is already bearing poisonous fruit.

 

[Throttle]

I don't think this answers my question.

If he makes all of the moves you'd want him to make this summer, does he still need to be fired?

Yes, because he must be replaced by someone younger, faster, smarter like Blake, Fitzgerald, Dubas, Kukulukein, etc. that are all hanging out in the winners circle…

 

[periferal]

x.com

x.com

Trying to post the video on the link - but when u click on the link - Nylander just unacceptable.

Took me a while to figure out the problem, but the issue is that why HFBoards recognizes Twitter links in media posts it only does so when it says, "Twitter.com/link" and not "X.com/link." So if you want the media post to work you have to replcace "X" with "twitter" and you're good to go.

Not sure why HFBoards can't just make this small tweak to include "X.com" links, but alas there is a workaround.

Yes, because he must be replaced by someone younger, faster, smarter like Blake, Fitzgerald, Dubas, Kukulukein, etc. that are all hanging out in the winners circle…

Solid argument. Other GMs suck....So we shouldn't improve on ours.

Also it's "Kekalainen," and he was fired back in February.

 

[Lek]

So......Lou has to go (or so say the majority).

With?

No dreams or wishes, something/someone who could actually be a replacement for Lou - done by the end of June.

And....Why will this person can or will solve the issues with this team.

Wow me.

 

[Throttle]

Took me a while to figure out the problem, but the issue is that why HFBoards recognizes Twitter links in media posts it only does so when it says, "Twitter.com/link" and not "X.com/link." So if you want the media post to work you have to replcace "X" with "twitter" and you're good to go.

Not sure why HFBoards can't just make this small tweak to include "X.com" links, but alas there is a workaround.





Solid argument. Other GMs suck....So we shouldn't improve on ours.

Also it's "Kekalainen," and he was fired back in February.

No, the answer to replace is with someone younger and smarter that understands the ‘new’ game. People were envious of the Kings and Devils for skating fast and being skilled. That hasn’t worked out so great and their younger/smarter GMs just made big moves to eat up cap space they didn’t need to.

So, in essence, they look good in the rebuild phase, not so good in the ‘next level’ phase.

And good for kukulukian, he does suck as a GM. He got a long leash bc CLB ownership and management are ambivalent.

 

[SI]

Honest questions

How many moves is too much?
How much is not enough?
Is letting Cal and Martin go a MUST?
Do we need to sign a Key signing?
And a major trade?

 

[MJF]

Yes, because he must be replaced by someone younger, faster, smarter like Blake, Fitzgerald, Dubas, Kukulukein, etc. that are all hanging out in the winners circle…

So......Lou has to go (or so say the majority).

With?

No dreams or wishes, something/someone who could actually be a replacement for Lou - done by the end of June.

And....Why will this person can or will solve the issues with this team.

Wow me.

It doesn’t have to be someone younger. Maybe the Isles could hire Jim Devellano. He has a winning pedigree. Would that satisfy you? I’m sure he’d fly up from Sarasota to take the job.

why should Lou keep his job?

If you got a negative job performance rating 3 years in a row would you expect to keep your job?

 

[MarsTBOW]

Probably more to just eliminate any speculation and come out with a united front with Roy.

Could very well be just that....

 

[Lek]

It doesn’t have to be someone younger. Maybe the Isles could hire Jim Devellano. He has a winning pedigree. Would that satisfy you? I’m sure he’d fly up from Sarasota to take the job.

why should Lou keep his job?

If you got a negative job performance rating 3 years in a row would you expect to keep your job?

not a matter if he needs to be replaced or not but if you wanted to do so it does matter by who and if you believe the replacement will succeed where we think Lou has failed. If not, why bother.

nor to satisfy me....just see so much about replacing him yet never see with whom...or is it who....

...and if HF boards gave me a negative job performance rating for the last three years (which is pretty much where this is coming from as i am not hearing it from his bosses), honestly...i would chuckle

 

[Chockey22]

Not sure what u are highlighting of Marner - It is a set play and Pasta is off to races as soon as Lindholm rifles it in and he timed that perfectly
It's 88 not moving at all.

But agree that it is not happening - Mitch has a NMC - he ain’t going.

This may not be the popular opinion but I don’t think he leaves Toronto - what should happen is Shanahan, Keefe. and GM should all be fired and an entire new leadership team should be brought in.

Get a goalie and let Tavares walk next year

this goal is certainly not on Marner - first, it's an incredible play by Lindholm and Pasta - hard for anyone to defend, but Samsonov and Reilly probably could have played it better

It doesn’t have to be someone younger. Maybe the Isles could hire Jim Devellano. He has a winning pedigree. Would that satisfy you? I’m sure he’d fly up from Sarasota to take the job.

why should Lou keep his job?

If you got a negative job performance rating 3 years in a row would you expect to keep your job?

I'm of the view that it's probably time for Lou to go; but we should all keep in mind that it can always be worse. As long as the owners do their due diligence to find a replacement, and not another retread with a poor track record

 

[seafoam]

Honest questions

How many moves is too much?
How much is not enough?
Is letting Cal and Martin go a MUST?
Do we need to sign a Key signing?
And a major trade?

I don't see the need to bring back Clutterbuck or Martin.

Clutterbuck had a nice regular season, but saw only 9 mins/game in the Carolina series (down 3-4 minutes from previous postseasons), recorded no points, and one shot. The key to having success in the playoffs is being able to have all four lines contribute and Clutterbuck and Martin unfortunately did nothing.

Here as the current forwards under contract. The bolded need to go, and I italicized Nelson because I think he's the most logical trade chip based on performance, age, contract, etc.

Top six forwards:
Barzal
Horvat
Nelson
Palmieri

Bottom six forwards:
Cizikas
Engvall
Holmstrom (RFA)
Lee
MacLean (RFA)
Pageau

Depth forwards:
Fasching
Gauthier
Wahlstrom

Basically this team needs 2-3 top six forwards and 1-2 bottom six forwards to fill out up front (one must be an everyday winger who is a right shot),

 

[MJF]

not a matter if he needs to be replaced or not but if you wanted to do so it does matter by who and if you believe the replacement will succeed where we think Lou has failed. If not, why bother.

nor to satisfy me....just see so much about replacing him yet never see with whom...or is it who....

...and if HF boards gave me a negative job performance rating for the last three years (which is pretty much where this is coming from as i am not hearing it from his bosses), honestly...i would chuckle

Just because I don’t know which GM candidates are available doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be an effort made to find one.

Since I didn’t start playing armchair owner yet means I can’t advocate for Lou to move on? That’s silly. The last 3 years Lou Lamoriello has failed to accomplish objectives and goals. If that was one of my employees, he would not be working for me anymore.

 

[MJF]

I'm of the view that it's probably time for Lou to go; but we should all keep in mind that it can always be worse. As long as the owners do their due diligence to find a replacement, and not another retread with a poor track record

It was worse. We had 3 straight incompetent GMs before Lou was hired. But that doesn’t mean anyone should be afraid of firing Lou…because his replacement could be worse.

 

[duster19]

Honest questions

How many moves is too much?
How much is not enough?
Is letting Cal and Martin go a MUST?
Do we need to sign a Key signing?
And a major trade?

I don’t expect much change. I think Martin will be back. Cal I am not sure if. Would not surprise me to see them both back. Lou likes the roster. Has said it on a number of occasions. I think he can convince himself that a full year with Roy will help solve some of the issues. Looking at the contracts we have I don’t see much room to move people. They are mostly med/long term with protection of some sort. I would expect pretty much the same team back next year with a couple adjustments. I’d be shocked if we trade Nelson.

 

[YearlyLottery]

So......Lou has to go (or so say the majority).

With?

No dreams or wishes, something/someone who could actually be a replacement for Lou - done by the end of June.

And....Why will this person can or will solve the issues with this team.

Wow me.

I do think that if there are not massive changes to the roster Lou f***ed up this offseason. I want to see one of two things happen (and would prefer both to be honest)

1.) Roy is involved in roster decisions working aside Lou.

2.) There is an additional person brought in that will assume the GM role in the coming years.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Try and swap Nelson for Marco Rossi out of Minnesota.

Lou is Guerin's protogé.

It's time we finally profit from that.

And if it's not Minnesota, gotta wonder if Trotz wouldn't be front and center in looking to acquire Nelson, should the hockey world hear/sense that he's available?

Tbh I’d leave the defense alone, sign Reilly and use whatever bullets you have to address forward issues. On D I’m personally a big George guy he is going to be an Andy Greene clone IMO, Warren was a good get he also will play in league and you have Odelius who some believe is our best prospect or at least guy with highest upside. The left side of D has some future I think.

Gonna keep this in mind and hold you to it.

There are some considerable skating deficiencies to be seen in this young man.

 

[YearlyLottery]

For those out there even suggesting 11M/year Marner should be a trade target (not that it would ever happen for lots of reasons)...

This is a large part of my issue with your thought process at times. Every star player that becomes available you poke holes in their game. Marner would become the best forward on this team the second he puts on the blue and orange.

 

[periferal]

This is a large part of my issue with your thought process at times. Every star player that becomes available you poke holes in their game. Marner would become the best forward on this team the second he puts on the blue and orange.

Stop oversimplifying everything. Want to have a real conversation - Be accurate and more nuanced.

First - Marner might be "available" because he's a UFA after next season and a good portion of the Leafs fan base wants him gone, but he has a FULL NO MOVEMENT CLAUSE. He'd have to waive that to come here (and as of now they they'd have to retain 50% of his salary with Lou shipping out more)and what are the chances of that?

And why is it all or nothing in terms of critiquing a player? Every player is perfect in the world and we're allowed to have a detailed conversation about any deficiencies? Both Barzal and Horvat are far from perfect players, but they both net out positive and are part of the solution around here.

To me when you take everything into account Marner nets out negative regardless if he'd be the most talented player on the roster. You want to see a much better use of cap space (while not giving up any assets) that I'd be head over heels for? Go get Stamkos or Marchessault this summer as a UFA. They both have "holes" in their game, but I'd be 100% thrilled if we could sign either.

 

[MJF]

I don't think this answers my question.

If he makes all of the moves you'd want him to make this summer, does he still need to be fired?

So to circle back to you and give you a better answer, yes I would still want Lou fired even if he makes all the moves I want him to make.

You can’t unwind the last 3 years of mistakes Lou made. Since not being a seller at the 2022 trade deadline ahead of the Isles missing the playoffs, he then compounded mistakes by doubling down on that roster for the following year, didn’t find a way to keep Barry Trotz in this organization, then made the mistake of hiring Lane Lambert without searching for other coaches first. It also took Lou too long to admit to himself that the game has changed, that the roster he built could no longer compete in today’s NHL. His hiring of Patrick Roy says that part out loud and the course correction took way too long.

How do we get these last 3 years back? And almost every move Lou made, contract he signed players to, furthered to box us in a corner that he will keep him from making that elusive “hockey trade” he talks about every year.

I doubt Lou can make the moves I wanted to see in one summer. And even if he did, that’s 3 years wasted to get us back to where we should have been in 2022, with a core that was 3 years younger.

 

[periferal]

No, the answer to replace is with someone younger and smarter that understands the ‘new’ game. People were envious of the Kings and Devils for skating fast and being skilled. That hasn’t worked out so great and their younger/smarter GMs just made big moves to eat up cap space they didn’t need to.

So, in essence, they look good in the rebuild phase, not so good in the ‘next level’ phase.

What "phase" would you say the Islanders are in currently? The "contending window is shut as they are about to be over the hill with zero young talent coming up through the system" phase?