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

[PK Cronin]

Well if you get him, you are moving Barzal to RW, but I don't see Kadri as a fit. Nelson is a 3 zone stud center. Pageau is a middle of the ice guy. Parise/Barzal/Kadri as top line which means Beau could be dealt to make room for Kadri... so Kadri big upgrade over a much younger Beau? Not liking it. I think it is more imperative to get a 6th dman than either trusting old duded of Salo/Aho/Hutton.

Kadri is a big upgrade over Beauvillier, yes, at least in the short term. He's a more well rounded player that can play in all situations. He's a 50 point guy though, and that's reason to hesitate since this is a roster with a lot of those types. I think he'd be an improvement but the term is going to be a killer. If Lamoriello doesn't care about the future he'll get him if he can.

 

[seafoam]

I wonder if they are entertaining trading Nelson and signing Kadri? With the season Nelson is coming off of, is it unreasonable to think that he could return something like 1st round pick, Compher, and Newhook from Colorado?

 

[doublechili]

I looked at Kadri's stats and boy he is Josh Bailey on paper.

I think Kadri is much better than Bailey not even factoring in the grit difference. And that's huge. Bailey is a nice enough player, but he doesn't mesh with Barzal and he's redundant with Beau. Kadri is a different kind of player entirely. He shoots more and has a physical edge that Bailey lacks. If the Isles signed Kadri and send either Bailey or Beau elsewhere they'll have much better balance up front and it suddenly becomes easier to form lines. Kadri-Barzal-Wahlstrom would be something I think they'd try in camp.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

He’s a really good 2way #2 center. Can play in all situations. I definitely don’t expect him to start scoring 80+Pts a year now. Unless he keeps playing with all world players. I don’t think people understand how talented COL is offensively. Playing with those guys will inflate point totals.

Like I said Kadri would help this team but not at the likely contract he would command. Also, one thing we have is 4 centers. Who moves to wing? My vote would be Nelson. I see everyone saying Barzal but I think he’s best suited at center.

It sounds like the team already has that in Nelson. Why would you move him to wing to make room for a clone when he's thrived in the role he's in?

I wonder if they are entertaining trading Nelson and signing Kadri?

That would be crazy.

 

[PK Cronin]

I think Kadri is much better than Bailey not even factoring in the grit difference. And that's huge. Bailey is a nice enough player, but he doesn't mesh with Barzal and he's redundant with Beau. Kadri is a different kind of player entirely. He shoots more and has a physical edge that Bailey lacks. If the Isles signed Kadri and send either Bailey or Beau elsewhere they'll have much better balance up front and it suddenly becomes easier to form lines. Kadri-Barzal-Wahlstrom would be something I think they'd try in camp.

Kadri would become the third or fourth best forward on the team behind Barzal, Nelson, and maybe Lee. He brings a very different element than they do though with his physicality and ability to stickhandle. He's way more well rounded than Lee is but doesn't score goals as much as him or Nelson. The more I think about it the more he's probably on par with Nelson but is a lesser goal scorer and a more physical player.

 

[Tres Peleches]

The way I look at a Kadri contract is that he will help in the near term if he signs here. The next 2-3 years would be good, anything after not so much

But you know what, f*** it. Our window is the next 2-3 years

So I’m all about it

 

[seafoam]

It sounds like the team already has that in Nelson. Why would you move him to wing to make room for a clone when he's thrived in the role he's in?


That would be crazy.

Lou is crazy, hence why I said I wonder if he’s wondering it.

 

[CupHolders]

The way I look at a Kadri contract is that he will help in the near term if he signs here. The next 2-3 years would be good, anything after not so much

But you know what, f*** it. Our window is the next 2-3 years

So I’m all about it

In over the next three years, Palmieri, Nelson, Bailey, Varlamov Clutterbuck and Martin will all be off the Isles.

Sorokin will be a 30 year old goalie, Barzal 28 and Dobson 25.

I’m not sure what the overall state of the Isles will be. But I don’t buy into the notion that the Islanders’ window will definitively be closed.

That’s a misguided assumption mostly provided by our Rangersplaining friends on the mainboards

 

[CupHolders]

How about, Islanders role three lines evenly and the fourth as usual. But move Pageau to the wing. Maybe go with this set up…

Beau- Barzal- Pageau
Lee- Nelson- Wahlstrom
Parise- Kadri- Palmieri

Got to be honest, I don’t really like any setup with Kadri… Unless he’s willing to do a Taylor Hall to Buffalo styled signing.

 

[PK Cronin]

How about, Islanders role three lines evenly and the fourth as usual. But move Pageau to the wing. Maybe go with this set up…

Beau- Barzal- Pageau
Lee- Nelson- Wahlstrom
Parise- Kadri- Palmieri

Got to be honest, I don’t really like any setup with Kadri… Unless he’s willing to do a Taylor Hall to Buffalo styled signing.

I think Kadri and Palmieri need to be in the top 6.

 

[CupHolders]

I think Kadri and Palmieri need to be in the top 6.

As I mentioned, I see the top nine getting similar minutes and are interchangeably used. That seems to be the model Trotz/Lou have wanted to really follow.

I’m not necessarily saying I agree with that model. Just trying different takes on what management and coaching may be projecting.

One immediate problem with that players get squeezed out of PP time. So it’s difficult to ensure the equity of scoring minutes.

 

[seafoam]

How about, Islanders role three lines evenly and the fourth as usual. But move Pageau to the wing. Maybe go with this set up…

Beau- Barzal- Pageau
Lee- Nelson- Wahlstrom
Parise- Kadri- Palmieri

Got to be honest, I don’t really like any setup with Kadri… Unless he’s willing to do a Taylor Hall to Buffalo styled signing.

That's been the issue I've been having as well.

I like Kadri and think he would improve the team, I'm just having a hard time seeing where he fits.

Five true centers (four of which would make more than 5M per) just makes for a really difficult time projecting the lineup outlook. You can't really justify moving Nelson to the wing after posting a career year, Barzal needs to be in the center of the ice in order to create, which basically leaves Kadri and Pageau.

Is Kadri really going to sign here to play wing? Pageau is one of the most technically sound centers in the division so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.

 

[SI]

That's been the issue I've been having as well.

I like Kadri and think he would improve the team, I'm just having a hard time seeing where he fits.

Five true centers (four of which would make more than 5M per) just makes for a really difficult time projecting the lineup outlook. You can't really justify moving Nelson to the wing after posting a career year, Barzal needs to be in the center of the ice in order to create, which basically leaves Kadri and Pageau.

Is Kadri really going to sign here to play wing? Pageau is one of the most technically sound centers in the division so that doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.

Not sure of the issue - Kadri spent time on the W last season in Colorado.

 

[majormet]

I think Kadri is much better than Bailey not even factoring in the grit difference. And that's huge. Bailey is a nice enough player, but he doesn't mesh with Barzal and he's redundant with Beau. Kadri is a different kind of player entirely. He shoots more and has a physical edge that Bailey lacks. If the Isles signed Kadri and send either Bailey or Beau elsewhere they'll have much better balance up front and it suddenly becomes easier to form lines. Kadri-Barzal-Wahlstrom would be something I think they'd try in camp.

I don't know... just feels like we will do exercises that get us back to where we started. Bailey is a smart player and a locker room guy, Kadri is not that kind of guy. Beau has some upside still being 7 years younger than Kadri.

 

[denis5]

Not sure of the issue - Kadri spent time on the W last season in Colorado.

It really isn't an issue. Nelson, who is more of a shooter/scorer than a playmaker, spent the first part of his career on wing as well, including some time on the top line with JT, and it fixes the abysmal center depth in the organization. Anything that improves the team's talent level is a net plus.

 

[Mike C]

I don't know... just feels like we will do exercises that get us back to where we started. Bailey is a smart player and a locker room guy, Kadri is not that kind of guy. Beau has some upside still being 7 years younger than Kadri.

I've read Kadri is a good teammate also. I feel he is a savvy player on ice, maybe not as cerebral as some but not a liability. I wouldn't mind him here

 

[periferal]

We are 14 days into the offseason, but please continue to go off.

You see it as 14 days. I see it as a year and 14 days.

9 months ago we were 2 months into the regular season with Chara/Salo/Aho/etc costing us games, but please continue to tell us that because a problem isn't solved we shouldn't say anything and just continue to wait.

There is nothing Isles fans on this forum like to obsess more about then the bottom pair and the 4th line.

Mostly true. I remember when the Isles couldn't even make the playoffs, but many around here were like, "But we have the best 4th line in hockey."

 

[periferal]

Your game one lineup doesn't have to be your game 83 lineup.

Finding bottom pairing defenseman at the deadline is a lot easier than trying to make a trade to improve the top of your lineup but not having the cap space to do so because you're overpaying for depth players.

I do think Mayfield is good and would be interested in re-signing him if I was the GM of the New York Islanders (which I'm not but should be), but there are also scenarios where I can see it not coming to fruition as well.

Also, there's no harm in discussing who would be the internal options if Mayfield departed The Island next summer, especially at this (boring) juncture of the offseason, and honestly we should all want Hutton to be a potential solution...NYI got him for free and he's locked up for three years on the cheap. This is how you develop cap flexibility to improve the top of your lineup, it's what everyone is clamoring for and it's what a team like Tampa has been able to do for years.

This is a great post and i agree in theory.

The problem is that Tampa has been drafting WAY better than us for over a decade now. Thus their core is of much higher quality and it covers up the bottom level of their roster.

We're talking about guys like Hutton because we're grasping at straws with a guy who's 27 already and has only played a total 16 NHL games (and only because of Covid emergency call ups). He's not the answer no matter what shoehorned argument you might see here.

So while we were taking guys like Strome, Dal Colle, Reinhart, and Neiderreiter with top 5 overall picks...Tampa was drafting guys like Kucherov, Point, Palat, Cirelli, etc after the 1st round.

Improve the scouting department and I'll start being able to take the "Hutton's" of the world more seriously.

 

[YearlyLottery]

This is a great post and i agree in theory.

The problem is that Tampa has been drafting WAY better than us for over a decade now. Thus their core is of much higher quality and it covers up the bottom level of their roster.

We're talking about guys like Hutton because we're grasping at straws with a guy who's 27 already and has only played a total 16 NHL games (and only because of Covid emergency call ups). He's not the answer no matter what shoehorned argument you might see here.

So while we were taking guys like Strome, Dal Colle, Reinhart, and Neiderreiter with top 5 overall picks...Tampa was drafting guys like Kucherov, Point, Palat, Cirelli, etc after the 1st round.

Improve the scouting department and I'll start being able to take the "Hutton's" of the world more seriously.

I think the main point here is Tampa has been finding gems like Kucherov, Point, etc right? Main pieces of a team. Superstars. And while Hutton is some nice cap flexibility to have on the third pairing the Isles need cap flexibility to have on the top line.

Granted Dobson may provide us this on the defensive end. Barzal did provide us this at one point. Wahlstrom is not providing this and Raty has not shown this at the NHL level just yet.

 

[Throttle]

Josh Bailey would have those same 87 points if he was on that team last year, it just speaks volumes on how good their players are, prior to that he was tracking less than Bailey. I don't see Kadri cracking 50 points on the Island.

The stats show both teams have high power offenses, yet one has clearly struggled in the playoffs since he was traded (another dubas pointing to a Lou player as a reason for playoff failure that he was gonna cure) and the other struggled, but went deeper and deeper, and actually won with him.

Kadri is kinda like a Claude Lemieux. You think that's not a difference maker? And Lou wouldn't want that type of guy on his team?

 

[periferal]

Trade for and extend Huberdeau >>>>>> Kadri signed as a free agent

 

[Mike C]

Your game one lineup doesn't have to be your game 83 lineup.

Finding bottom pairing defenseman at the deadline is a lot easier than trying to make a trade to improve the top of your lineup but not having the cap space to do so because you're overpaying for depth players.

I do think Mayfield is good and would be interested in re-signing him if I was the GM of the New York Islanders (which I'm not but should be), but there are also scenarios where I can see it not coming to fruition as well.

Also, there's no harm in discussing who would be the internal options if Mayfield departed The Island next summer, especially at this (boring) juncture of the offseason, and honestly we should all want Hutton to be a potential solution...NYI got him for free and he's locked up for three years on the cheap. This is how you develop cap flexibility to improve the top of your lineup, it's what everyone is clamoring for and it's what a team like Tampa has been able to do for years.

"Which I'm not, but should be"

Funny one

 

[MJF]

Hutton is 27 years old. Hutton was also an undrafted college graduate who we signed to a contract when he was 24 years old, towards the of the 2019 AHL season. Let's not make it sound like Hutton was languishing in the minors for 8 years and was a desperation call up.

Again, nuance.

 

[JKP]

Hutton is 27 years old. Hutton was also an undrafted college graduate who we signed to a contract when he was 24 years old, towards the of the 2019 AHL season. Let's not make it sound like Hutton was languishing in the minors for 8 years and was a desperation call up.

Again, nuance.

Nuance... on the Internet...

 

[WangMustGo]

Id love to see Lou go out and get Sandin, not sure what the cost would he, but id imagine not too expensive.

Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Dobson
Sandin-Mayfield

That defense wouls be young, very well balanced, and have no glaring weakness. Probably a top 3 defense in the league.