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

[Lek]

ummm....we are seriously having a conversation about Beau and Gauthier?

Sheeeeeesh.....

 

[Isles72]

exactly - Gauthier brought speed; but not much more. I think Beau is an improvement on Gauthier, so if the competition is between those two for the fourth line, sure bring back Beau - as long as it's cheap

I dont think Beau will come cheap though . Will he ever see 4+ mill AAV again , likely not but he will see offers in the 3.5 aav range .

 

[iggy]

I dont think Beau will come cheap though . Will he ever see 4+ mill AAV again , likely not but he will see offers in the 3.5 aav range .

Lol. Sure he will

 

[periferal]

Opposite view: Nelson wants to stay and remain an Islander his entire career. From draft to retirement.

So....?

Wayne Gretzky was traded so anyone can be. I'm as loyal as the next guy, but are we trying to win here or hand out friendship bracelets?

No one is above the team. The names on the back of the jersey change all the time, but the logo on the front stays the same. You protect that over everything and thus if Nelson has to be traded because it's in the best interest of the team...Then he needs to go.

Because of some bad signings/cap management and totally draining and not replacing the prospect pool, Lou has put us in this position of needing to make hard choices - Like whether or not to trade Nelson.

My take is even if you trade Nelson for multiple assets you're probably not getting this team back to Cup contention with this core. However if you don't trade him then it's impossible.

Why do I say that? Because well #1 is - Lou is GM. Even if he could trade Pulock or Pelech, he won't. I mean if you're that loyal to Pierre freaking Engvall then that also means he won't trade Nelson. So I think those of us who see that it's probably the best move are just shouting at the wind.

It's a shite state of affairs around here and the person who made it this way is going to be at the controls for the foreseeable future.

 

[Throttle]

Wayne Gretzky was traded for $$$$$ (and some players second).

Plenty of teams/franchises no matter the GM have retained players from draft to retirement. Plenty have cut loose long time impactful players too.

The Isles still need to make up for his 30Gs a season, if he goes.

Don’t care whether he stays or not. He’s a pretty unremarkable player.

 

[leeroggy]

I dont think Beau will come cheap though . Will he ever see 4+ mill AAV again , likely not but he will see offers in the 3.5 aav range .

In 60 games, he had 5G/12A the last season, and how many healthy scratches?

He's getting a million and MAYBE incentives. Come on.

 

[saintunspecified]

I dont think Beau will come cheap though . Will he ever see 4+ mill AAV again , likely not but he will see offers in the 3.5 aav range .

Barry Trotz, his former coach, brought him to Nashville. That's got to mean something to Tito. I would think if Nashville wants him relatively cheaply, he's there. He's not going to get a multi year deal he'll want after a really rough season from anyone.

 

[periferal]

Wayne Gretzky was traded for $$$$$ (and some players second).

Plenty of teams/franchises no matter the GM have retained players from draft to retirement. Plenty have cut loose long time impactful players too.

The Isles still need to make up for his 30Gs a season, if he goes.

Don’t care whether he stays or not. He’s a pretty unremarkable player.

30 goals a year is "pretty unremarkable" eh? Do you actually like anyone on the Isles?

Would love to know who you'd actually want on the Isles from the entire NHL. I mean Connor McDavid hasn't "led" his team to a Cup after 8 years in the league so not sure he would meet your standards.

 

[seafoam]

Nelson had a career high in shots on goal last season and shot a tad below his career average (makes sense from a logical standpoint).

I’m okay with him being re-signed if his AAV comes down from his current 6M per. I really didn’t think he looked bad on the wing either? So there’s the option to slide him over to wing as he continues to age.

With that said, I’m also okay with him being traded for someone like Marco Rossi out of Minnesota (no clue if he’d be available or the value), but NYI would get younger and sacrifice probably 10-15 goals in the short term that I think they can make up internally.

Hopefully Lee has a bounce back year and restores his value so NYI can more easily move him in that final year of his deal.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

For the Islanders to become relevant again, it's going to require a drastic overhaul.
They only have $5 million in cap space going into next season and the prospect pool is completely bare. The current roster is nothing more then a peripheral playoff team. If they stay pat with the current roster you can expect a team that just makes the playoffs and gets knocked out in the first round, or a team that just misses the playoffs. With Buffalo and Detroit on the upward swing, things could be even worse.

Lou should move anyone with value (other than Barzal, Sorokin and Dobson because of there age) for draft picks and prospects from other organizations. Islander fans need patient and be prepared for some painful years ahead. I think they need at least 3 good drafts including this years draft and they need to land in the top 10 as well at some point. I don't see anyway of breaking out of mediocrity without going all in for a rebuild.

 

[doublechili]

For the Islanders to become relevant again, it's going to require a drastic overhaul.
They only have $5 million in cap space going into next season and the prospect pool is completely bare. The current roster is nothing more then a peripheral playoff team. If they stay pat with the current roster you can expect a team that just makes the playoffs and gets knocked out in the first round, or a team that just misses the playoffs. With Buffalo and Detroit on the upward swing, things could be even worse.

Lou should move anyone with value (other than Barzal, Sorokin and Dobson because of there age) for draft picks and prospects from other organizations. Islander fans need patient and be prepared for some painful years ahead. I think they need at least 3 good drafts including this years draft and they need to land in the top 10 as well at some point. I don't see anyway of breaking out of mediocrity without going all in for a rebuild.

If they do a full rebuild, then I don't see the reason to keep Barzal and Sorokin at their ages. They'd bring back a ton of assets in a deal, if that's what you're looking for, and they might help keep the team out of the top 5 in the draft if you keep them. And do you keep Dobson (and Romanov)? IDK. I do know that if I'm them, no way do I sign an 8 year contract with a rebuilding team. Maybe 4 years tops. At which point, again, is it better to deal them?

 

[The Real JT]

For the Islanders to become relevant again, it's going to require a drastic overhaul.
They only have $5 million in cap space going into next season and the prospect pool is completely bare. The current roster is nothing more then a peripheral playoff team. If they stay pat with the current roster you can expect a team that just makes the playoffs and gets knocked out in the first round, or a team that just misses the playoffs. With Buffalo and Detroit on the upward swing, things could be even worse.

Lou should move anyone with value (other than Barzal, Sorokin and Dobson because of there age) for draft picks and prospects from other organizations. Islander fans need patient and be prepared for some painful years ahead. I think they need at least 3 good drafts including this years draft and they need to land in the top 10 as well at some point. I don't see anyway of breaking out of mediocrity without going all in for a rebuild.

I somewhat agree with your perspective though I’m not quite ready to burn it all down. I also want to go on record as predicting your take will not be received well by the masses.

Thoughts and prayers to you.

 

[NYI365]

 

[periferal]

For the Islanders to become relevant again, it's going to require a drastic overhaul.
They only have $5 million in cap space going into next season and the prospect pool is completely bare. The current roster is nothing more then a peripheral playoff team. If they stay pat with the current roster you can expect a team that just makes the playoffs and gets knocked out in the first round, or a team that just misses the playoffs. With Buffalo and Detroit on the upward swing, things could be even worse.

Lou should move anyone with value (other than Barzal, Sorokin and Dobson because of there age) for draft picks and prospects from other organizations. Islander fans need patient and be prepared for some painful years ahead. I think they need at least 3 good drafts including this years draft and they need to land in the top 10 as well at some point. I don't see anyway of breaking out of mediocrity without going all in for a rebuild.

Agree with most everything here, but are you sure they're not a "periferal playoff team..."?

 

[Skip To My Lou]

If you watched any Jets games this year, you'd be all in on this.

I'm against trading our first again, but Ehlers is the only exception. Hell of a player, and is elite at driving play.

 

[Throttle]

30 goals a year is "pretty unremarkable" eh? Do you actually like anyone on the Isles?

Would love to know who you'd actually want on the Isles from the entire NHL. I mean Connor McDavid hasn't "led" his team to a Cup after 8 years in the league so not sure he would meet your standards.

He disappears a fair amount. He’s also pretty vanilla. Does he get the job done and
Score 30Gs? Of course. That’s a great accomplishment.

Does he really impact games? I don’t know about that beyond scoring (or not), there’s not much there to get excited about.

 

[Lek]

He disappears a fair amount. He’s also pretty vanilla. Does he get the job done and
Score 30Gs? Of course. That’s a great accomplishment.

Does he really impact games? I don’t know about that beyond scoring (or not), there’s not much there to get excited about.

are we talking about Nelson?...or Ehlers....

 

[islesfan3913]

I admittedly haven’t watched much of the Jets over the last few years. Can someone give a bit of a rundown on Ehlers’ game outside of his offense? I always felt that he left a bit to be desired offensively and that he’s been inconsistent, and at his normal play he puts up fairly similar numbers to what Eberle used to do. He has had stretches where he plays well beyond that, but I just would be very hesitant to pull the trigger on a trade where we give a lot AND have to sign him to a large extension if he’s going to be an Eberle clone. He also has a bit of an extensive injury history as well. I know he’s a good skater, is still young, and does have the upside of someone who could score 30+, but if he has other tools as well then that would make a trade for him easier to be into.

 

[periferal]

He disappears a fair amount. He’s also pretty vanilla. Does he get the job done and
Score 30Gs? Of course. That’s a great accomplishment.

Does he really impact games? I don’t know about that beyond scoring (or not), there’s not much there to get excited about.

Again - No player is perfect and the question is...Are they overall net positive/worth their salary? With that said, do you like any current Islanders?

And who do you think is a "remarkable" player in the NHL. Taking into account the cap, could you put together a 20-man roster given your standards?

 

[Throttle]

Again - No player is perfect and the question is...Are they overall net positive/worth their salary? With that said, do you like any current Islanders?

And who do you think is a "remarkable" player in the NHL. Taking into account the cap, could you put together a 20-man roster given your standards?

I mean Jonathan Marchesault made $5M, scores and scores big goals, wins fancy trophies. Chris Kreider is pretty damn good.

Putting together a 20-man roster is fantasy since you omit all the life factors that go into it.

 

[YearlyLottery]

So....?

Wayne Gretzky was traded so anyone can be. I'm as loyal as the next guy, but are we trying to win here or hand out friendship bracelets?

No one is above the team. The names on the back of the jersey change all the time, but the logo on the front stays the same. You protect that over everything and thus if Nelson has to be traded because it's in the best interest of the team...Then he needs to go.

Because of some bad signings/cap management and totally draining and not replacing the prospect pool, Lou has put us in this position of needing to make hard choices - Like whether or not to trade Nelson.

My take is even if you trade Nelson for multiple assets you're probably not getting this team back to Cup contention with this core. However if you don't trade him then it's impossible.

Why do I say that? Because well #1 is - Lou is GM. Even if he could trade Pulock or Pelech, he won't. I mean if you're that loyal to Pierre freaking Engvall then that also means he won't trade Nelson. So I think those of us who see that it's probably the best move are just shouting at the wind.

It's a shite state of affairs around here and the person who made it this way is going to be at the controls for the foreseeable future.

I think the question Lou and Roy must answer is how to compete with Barzal, Dobson, Sorokin, Dobson, and Romanov for a Cup. This list should not include anyone else.

 

[periferal]

I mean Jonathan Marchesault made $5M, scores and scores big goals, wins fancy trophies. Chris Kreider is pretty damn good.

Putting together a 20-man roster is fantasy since you omit all the life factors that go into it.

Regardless if it's a fantasy or not, the point of the exercise was to see if you'd actually be happy with any 20 man roster - Even if you were a god in this equation and could make one up from the hundreds that play each season.

As far as I know now...You like just two.

I think the question Lou and Roy must answer is how to compete with Barzal, Dobson, Sorokin, Dobson, and Romanov for a Cup. This list should not include anyone else.

I assume you mean that is the "core" as you see it? I don't see anything special about Romanov that he needs to be included. If we could trade him with other assets to get a much better defenseman that should be an auto-move. And until Sorokin gets back on track there is no hope.

That said it's the players you didn't name that are the problem given that most all of them could not be traded given the contracts they have. And when Lou resigns Nelson this summer then his value will go out the window as well.

With each passing move Lou backs this roster into a corner more and more. Maybe if Roy was named GM he'd have some answers, but the current GM doesn't.

 

[mm11]

I admittedly haven’t watched much of the Jets over the last few years. Can someone give a bit of a rundown on Ehlers’ game outside of his offense? I always felt that he left a bit to be desired offensively and that he’s been inconsistent, and at his normal play he puts up fairly similar numbers to what Eberle used to do. He has had stretches where he plays well beyond that, but I just would be very hesitant to pull the trigger on a trade where we give a lot AND have to sign him to a large extension if he’s going to be an Eberle clone. He also has a bit of an extensive injury history as well. I know he’s a good skater, is still young, and does have the upside of someone who could score 30+, but if he has other tools as well then that would make a trade for him easier to be into.

Always been an ehlers fan. Great speed, can transport puck and can shoot. Would definitely help our skill dept

 

[YearlyLottery]

Regardless if it's a fantasy or not, the point of the exercise was to see if you'd actually be happy with any 20 man roster - Even if you were a god in this equation and could make one up from the hundreds that play each season.

As far as I know now...You like just two.





I assume you mean that is the "core" as you see it? I don't see anything special about Romanov that he needs to be included. If we could trade him with other assets to get a much better defenseman that should be an auto-move. And until Sorokin gets back on track there is no hope.

That said it's the players you didn't name that are the problem given that most all of them could not be traded given the contracts they have. And when Lou resigns Nelson this summer then his value will go out the window as well.

With each passing move Lou backs this roster into a corner more and more. Maybe if Roy was named GM he'd have some answers, but the current GM doesn't.

The "core" can change as the season goes along. Players have career years and down years which can change this big time. In my mind there needs to be a minimum of one of the following gone: Pageau, Lee, Palamieri, and Nelson. Realistically two of them need to go. I am fine keeping Nelson depending on the contract if they decide to trade Palmieri for assets. I am fine keeping Nelson if they decide to move Pageau and use the cap to sign Stamkos for example. I would not be okay with just keeping all four of these guys and then signing Nelson to a long term deal though.

I do not think we will ever agree on Romanov and that is fine. In my opinion he was our second best defenseman this season and will continue to grow and develop.

 

[periferal]

The "core" can change as the season goes along. Players have career years and down years which can change this big time. In my mind there needs to be a minimum of one of the following gone: Pageau, Lee, Palamieri, and Nelson. Realistically two of them need to go. I am fine keeping Nelson depending on the contract if they decide to trade Palmieri for assets. I am fine keeping Nelson if they decide to move Pageau and use the cap to sign Stamkos for example. I would not be okay with just keeping all four of these guys and then signing Nelson to a long term deal though.

Agree with most all of this. I'm almost just dying for Lou to trade any notable roster player since he just doesn't so it. Other than being forced because of cap restraints or an expansion draft he hasn't traded any notable player. I'm just looking for something/anything new.

I do not think we will ever agree on Romanov and that is fine. In my opinion he was our second best defenseman this season and will continue to grow and develop.

Actually I agree with you...But that's a much bigger statement about Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield, and the rest of the "defense" Lou put together.