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

[IslesNorway]

If he came very cheaply, I'd be willing to give Puljujarvi a shot, but only on a short term deal. One year to see if there's anything there, but that's it.

 

[doublechili]

Right on. The teams that do this end up in mediocrity. Find an identity, doesn't matter what it is, and build around that.

Correct - it's not like the Isles are doomed because they don't have a Makar or McKinnon. StL was pretty close to a Cup team this year (until they ran out of goalies), and they did it with balanced scoring and team defense (and no high draft picks). Their identity is actually pretty similar to the Isles'. Lou has already indicated he knows the team needs a certain kind of player. The coaching change, add a puck-moving LHD (or two) and do something up front and then see what you have.

 

[Satan'sIsland81]

It's a very different thing for Russia to detain an established player than a non-established player.

My worry is that even established Russian players may not be given visas by Canada or the US. How the Griner detention ultimately goes definitely could result in a cycle of retaliation. I don't know what will happen, but I do think it's a real worry.

But if there are issues with the visas of Russian players, it's going to be as bad or worse for the cross-town rivals.

No it wont because Shesterkin remained in the US, which was the smart decision rather than going back to a country that invaded another country resulting in a war that the entire rest of the world is against.

 

[doublechili]

With the draft tomorrow night let's not forget that there is usually a trade or two the day before and/or the day of the draft. And Lou in the past has made deals ahead of, for example, the TDL.

On the lists of potential moves we make here I never see Pulock's name (except a couple of times from me!). It's unlikely, however it could solve a couple of problems. And now that the Manitoba coach is gone it may be possible. For example, trade Pulock for a legit top 4 LHD and move Mayfield up to the 2nd pairing and extend him. Then sign/trade for a vet 3rd pairing guy or two to supplement Salo and Hutton. Just making it up, but:

Pelech - Dobson
Provorov - Mayfield

 

[19 Straight]

It's a very different thing for Russia to detain an established player than a non-established player.

My worry is that even established Russian players may not be given visas by Canada or the US. How the Griner detention ultimately goes definitely could result in a cycle of retaliation. I don't know what will happen, but I do think it's a real worry.

But if there are issues with the visas of Russian players, it's going to be as bad or worse for the cross-town rivals.

I don't think there is any chance that the US or Canada denies the Russian players visas. The concern is that Russia does not give the players permission to leave, either because they are pressed into military service or because Putin does not want/permit them to earn a living in the West. The Griner case is not relevant. Instead, we could just see Putin closing the door to Russian players playing outside of Russia in retaliation for the sanctions and opposition to the Ukraine invasion. Either way, it was stupid for the Islanders to permit Sorokin to go to Russia under the circumstances (for whatever reason). I understand people miss family, but these are far from ordinary times. Sorokin makes enough money to have his family visit him here and that is what he and the Islanders should have agreed to do.

 

[MJF]

if we lose sorokin to russia we are back in the dark ages and back to being little brother with zero relevance. i hate it here. we get TWO good years and we squander them. its been a downward spiral ever since. But hey, at least we have a new building so we can have overpriced merchandise no real fan can afford. give me a break. this fanbase is the worst. we bang our chests over stupid shit every time. im going into year #8 for the isles, and I have never felt more pessimistic towards a team. I don't even expect them to sign Mikeheyev btw, I just expect the same roster and a retread of Zdeno Chara's rotting corpse on ice who can't get out of any zone. Lou Lamoriello can talk all he wants, but this team is hopeless. should've canned him after trading for Palmieri, because its only getting worse from here. you wanna end up like NJ? keep preaching Lamoriello's lies.

View attachment 564919

Oh for f***s sake.

 

[beach]

I don't think there is any chance that the US or Canada denies the Russian players visas. The concern is that Russia does not give the players permission to leave, either because they are pressed into military service or because Putin does not want/permit them to earn a living in the West. The Griner case is not relevant. Instead, we could just see Putin closing the door to Russian players playing outside of Russia in retaliation for the sanctions and opposition to the Ukraine invasion. Either way, it was stupid for the Islanders to permit Sorokin to go to Russia under the circumstances (for whatever reason). I understand people miss family, but these are far from ordinary times. Sorokin makes enough money to have his family visit him here and that is what he and the Islanders should have agreed to do.

Ilya didn't need permission to go home for the summer, as poor a decision as it might be.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

With the draft tomorrow night let's not forget that there is usually a trade or two the day before and/or the day of the draft. And Lou in the past has made deals ahead of, for example, the TDL.

On the lists of potential moves we make here I never see Pulock's name (except a couple of times from me!). It's unlikely, however it could solve a couple of problems. And now that the Manitoba coach is gone it may be possible. For example, trade Pulock for a legit top 4 LHD and move Mayfield up to the 2nd pairing and extend him. Then sign/trade for a vet 3rd pairing guy or two to supplement Salo and Hutton. Just making it up, but:

Pelech - Dobson
Provorov - Mayfield

Philly fans would never, Isles D corp couldn't hold a candle to theirs, remember?

I'm with it. We all know the 'outside of the box' proposals here have more of a chance of actually being correct than the ones that seem like a lay-up.

 

[IslesNorway]

I don't think there is any chance that the US or Canada denies the Russian players visas. The concern is that Russia does not give the players permission to leave, either because they are pressed into military service or because Putin does not want/permit them to earn a living in the West. The Griner case is not relevant. Instead, we could just see Putin closing the door to Russian players playing outside of Russia in retaliation for the sanctions and opposition to the Ukraine invasion. Either way, it was stupid for the Islanders to permit Sorokin to go to Russia under the circumstances (for whatever reason). I understand people miss family, but these are far from ordinary times. Sorokin makes enough money to have his family visit him here and that is what he and the Islanders should have agreed to do.

The team doesn't own the players. There was no way they could have forbidden him to return, as it would be a breach of basic human rights. Russia is a dump but it's their dump and they are free to move as they please, as can any person outside North Korea.
Obviously he should have stayed, but they can't force him to stay.

 

[beach]

5+ million...How much do you think guys like Perry and Parise make?

Puljujarvi is going to cost 3M+ to have under contract, but most importantly let's be honest...He's a bust. I'd much rather have those vet leaders teaching someone like Wahlstrom (who might be a bust himself), then adding another guy who, despite all his raw talent, has barely shown anything in his career and he actually gets worse during playoff time.

He actually may be a better player than everyone is saying. See this article:

Is Jesse Puljujärvi the Next Nichushkin or an Expendable Middle Sixer?

The Oilers are ready to move on from the Finnish forechecker - is that a disaster waiting to happen?

jfresh.substack.com

"Puljujarvi’s impact on scoring chances at both ends of the ice is remarkable. Adjusted for teammates, competition, zone starts, etc., the Oilers create a lot more chances and prevent a lot more chances against when he’s on the ice, and those results have been consistent across his past two seasons. "

" For example, this season, the combo of McDavid and Puljujarvi outscored opponents 34 to 15 when they were on the ice together, but McDavid without Puljujärvi only outscored them 39 to 35. Scoring chance and shot metrics told a similar story; while Puljujärvi obviously isn’t the driver on these lines it seems undeniable that something in his game helps Connor be his best self."

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

Completely disagree. Beau has actually had some huge moments in the playoffs, whereas this guy as you even admitted was terrible in the playoffs. Furthermore, I have no idea where you got this idea that his defensive game is so good and who cares about his freaking height. If anything, I remember reading stories out of Edmonton after their elimination that said Oilers brass felt Puljujarvi's defensive games we nowhere near good enough to justify him continuing to offensively drag down McDavid's line. I think you are just imagining a different player that what this guy is or for some reason you just really like him. How anybody could be so hyped up over a guy who has never shown anything even close to proof that he is more than a 15 goal 30 point player is really odd to me.

There is no big hype from me (LOL), and no the consensus when writing about him does in fact praise his defensive game, it was his offensive game that was failing to catch up. And yes by almost every metric his defense has been pretty solid. I have heard the playoff thing thrice now (dude barely got 10 minutes a game) on two different sites and AB wasn't so great in his first real postseason look either. The kid wasn't ready- clearly, but is still a nice "change of scenery" option that is only 24 years old.

Chill, no one is saying he is a sure fire hit; they are saying for the right price (and it looks like Edmonton will have to settle on a 2nd or 3rd round pick) he is worth the gamble IMO...

If he came very cheaply, I'd be willing to give Puljujarvi a shot, but only on a short term deal. One year to see if there's anything there, but that's it.

yep, I am not advocating for anything more than that...

 

[seafoam]

Varlamov for one of Martinez/Hague/Pacioretty/Marchessault??

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

Well lots of us are looking to get rid of Beauvillier so that is notable.

But your philosophy is also telling. There's nothing wrong with it, and even has merit, if....We are NOT trying to win the Cup this year (or maybe in the near future).

We have a bunch of serious holes to fill if we're going to try and make a Cup run again this year. I have serious doubts given our lack of assets and cap space whether they can be fixed, but if we're even going to try then you need to go after guys like Forsberg, Chychryn, etc - Top talents who you know what you're getting.

If you target someone like Puljujarvi, who will cost a valuable asset and will take up about 3M+ of valuable cap, based on a "let's see if a change of scenery helps," then you aren't maximizing your assets/cap space to go for a Cup - You're "trying to cheat" the system and hopefully find a gem because you didn't draft well, don't have a ton of cap, and as a result don't have a lot of options to add talent now as a result.

So I'm not totally against the philosophy of trading for someone like "Puljujarvi" (although I really do think he's a bust), but if we do something like that I think we've officially shut the Cup window and have evolved into the "retooling" or maybe even "rebuilding" phase.

I can see your point for sure, just make sure you take what I said in its totality. Puljujarvi is not my first target by any stretch of the imagination.

I said "if" we can't get a difference making forward, I would rather just keep the ones we got and/or would much rather roll the dice on a single year with this kid (or add similar young possible upside players) than spend multi-years and 5 million plus again on someone who is similar with what we already have...which is in fact a roster full of 40/50-pt producers

 

[xECK29x]

Varlamov for one of Martinez/Hague/Pacioretty/Marchessault??

I'm very hesitant to trade Varlamov until Sorokin is back in the US.

 

[leeroggy]

No it wont because Shesterkin remained in the US, which was the smart decision rather than going back to a country that invaded another country resulting in a war that the entire rest of the world is against.

The entire rest of the world? Pay attention to what is going on with the BRICs and their evolution into a world bloc. China is paying lip service, so is Iran and Brazil is being set up to be the South American bulwark. India is buying all the 'restricted' oil from Russia and re-selling it. If you think the 'rest of the world' is against this, you haven't read up on the 20th century enough, they're just reshuffling alliances now.

As far as Sorokin's ability to come back, it would be sheer stupidity for the U.S. to retaliate like you indicate, it would be a propaganda win for the Russians; if Griner actually did try to bring a narcotic into the country, she is as dumb as a rock if she didn't work the channels to get a medical exemption. I think Paul McCartney is STILL on a watchlist in Japan, right? For pot.

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

Puljujarvi for Bellows

Change of scenery trade

I'm very hesitant to trade Varlamov until Sorokin is back in the US.

I mean we're not going anywhere without Sorokin anyway. So if he's stuck in Russia, next season is toast. Might as well tank with a blackhole in net and add a top 5 pick to our putrid farm in that scenario.

 

[IslandersFan17]

I get the asking price, but dude is going to also want to get paid…

 

[JJ18Sniper]

Torrey Krug got added to Frank Seravalli's list today. He's 31 with 5 more years at 6.5AAV.
He's a small physical puck-mover, but I remember he had a brass pair on the Bruins.

J.T. Miller climbs to No. 2 on Trade Targets board, Canucks still far apart on extension

The Canucks and Miller’s camp are not close on a potential contract extension, fueling trade talk ahead of Thursday night’s...

www.dailyfaceoff.com

 

[seafoam]

Krug would be a really great fit, the contract is a bit rich but he’s exactly what the team needs. Maybe Boychuk can talk him into waiving here.

My bet is on Detroit he is from Michigan and DET could pair him with Seider.

 

[beach]

Proposal - I'm reading CHI really wants to shed Seth Jones' contract. So:

From CHI:
Seth Jones (3 mil/yr retained by CHI)
Alex DeBrincat (extension agreement required)

From Isles:
2022 1st
2023 2nd
Wally
Beau
Bellows

 

[MJF]

Varlamov for one of Martinez/Hague/Pacioretty/Marchessault??

Not until Sorokin is back on US soil. Even then I don't think VGK is looking for a goalie at $5 million. Try Beauvillier and I think VGK goes for it.

Proposal - I'm reading CHI really wants to shed Seth Jones' contract. So:

From CHI:
Seth Jones (3 mil/yr retained by CHI)
Alex DeBrincat (extension agreement required)

From Isles:
2022 1st
2023 2nd
Wally
Beau
Bellows

Then what the hell was Stan Bowman thinking when he signed him last summer???

 

[The Wahligator]

I think Lou is gonna swing a deal for Krug.

 

[BrockLobster]

Proposal - I'm reading CHI really wants to shed Seth Jones' contract. So:

From CHI:
Seth Jones (3 mil/yr retained by CHI)
Alex DeBrincat (extension agreement required)

From Isles:
2022 1st
2023 2nd
Wally
Beau
Bellows

Idk if thats enough.

 

[CupHolders]

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Proposal - I'm reading CHI really wants to shed Seth Jones' contract. So:

From CHI:
Seth Jones (3 mil/yr retained by CHI)
Alex DeBrincat (extension agreement required)

From Isles:
2022 1st
2023 2nd
Wally
Beau
Bellows

Can't imagine that would be enough from NYI