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

[Chardo]

Do they know? He's a 35'er, at most he gets a Fleury deal of $3.5M p/yr 2 yrs. That's digestable for the Isles and him.

Also, I'm asking this board that so easily wants to toss Varly over the fence to weaken one critical strength of this team who would be the backup or 1b to Sorokin?

In a perfect world, you want to keep Varly. But dealing him away allows them to fill other critical needs, making the team better off overall.

 

[19 in a row]

This would be a coup, but if I’m Vegas there’s no way I’m considering that for one year of an aging goalie

Except they want to contend for a cup still and have no legit goalie..Their need is way more pressing than ours. We only need to clear cap space if we sign or trade for a big ticket player such a Kadri. We don't have any cap issues until we do, so maybe Lou is not so crazy for playing it so close to the vest and keeping everyone in the dark. It was said he doesn't want to trade Varly and I can see why but if Vegas is desperate, Lou may be the one who receives an offer that he can't refuse..

 

[seafoam]

Do they know? He's a 35'er, at most he gets a Fleury deal of $3.5M p/yr 2 yrs. That's digestable for the Isles and him.

Also, I'm asking this board that so easily wants to toss Varly over the fence to weaken one critical strength of this team who would be the backup or 1b to Sorokin?

Varlamov to VGK, Reimer to NYI, picks/prospects to SJS

That is assuming VGK wants Varlamov over Reimer and that NYI is willing to trade Varlamov and can acquire (and are comfortable with Reimer as the 1B). Would have to think Grier is open to moving Reimer for a nice sweetener and running with Hill/Kahkonen next season.

 

[Throttle]

In a perfect world, you want to keep Varly. But dealing him away allows them to fill other critical needs, making the team better off overall.

You are still not solving for who the backup is. Easy to trade the guy, but the Isles do need a more than competent backup that can play (and win some) 30Gs. Who is that?

 

[seafoam]

You are still not solving for who the backup is. Easy to trade the guy, but the Isles do need a more than competent backup that can play (and win some) 30Gs. Who is that?

San Jose has three NHL goaltenders currently under contract.

 

[Throttle]

Varlamov to VGK, Reimer to NYI, picks/prospects to SJS

That is assuming VGK wants Varlamov over Reimer and that NYI is willing to trade Varlamov and can acquire (and are comfortable with Reimer as the 1B). Would have to think Grier is open to moving Reimer for a nice sweetener and running with Hill/Kahkonen next season.

Lou had Reimer in TML, traded him to SJ, never brought him back as a UFA, and traded a 1st for Freddy that summer. Doubtful he's the guy Lou would look to.

 

[impaaaaaact]

Except they want to contend for a cup still and have no legit goalie..Their need is way more pressing than ours. We only need to clear cap space if we sign or trade for a big ticket player such a Kadri. We don't have any cap issues until we do, so maybe Lou is not so crazy for playing it so close to the vest and keeping everyone in the dark. It was said he doesn't want to trade Varly and I can see why but if Vegas is desperate, Lou may be the one who receives an offer that he can't refuse..

A couple of insiders are reporting that the Kadri deal is done. If they know, NHL GMs know. What they don't definitively know is what kind of RFA deals went out.... but it's widely known that we need to shed a contract to announce the Kadri signing at this point. We're dealing from a position of power, but we still have a need and aren't the only fish in the sea.

 

[Lek]

Varly is not going anywhere for anything less than a king's ransom and then some....and i have my doubt's about that.

 

[impaaaaaact]

Lou had Reimer in TML, traded him to SJ, never brought him back as a UFA, and traded a 1st for Freddy that summer. Doubtful he's the guy Lou would look to.

More likely that Reimer goes to VGK imo. Play him and Thompson about equally and see how it goes

 

[doublechili]

OK, Isles trade Varly, who is the backup or 1b for NYI?

 

[19 in a row]

A couple of insiders are reporting that the Kadri deal is done. If they know, NHL GMs know. What they don't definitively know is what kind of RFA deals went out.... but it's widely known that we need to shed a contract to announce the Kadri signing at this point. We're dealing from a position of power, but we still have a need and aren't the only fish in the sea.

The uncertainty works to our favor. Even if we assume they know Kadri is done, we have other options other than trading Varly to get it done and I doubt Vegas knows what all of those are or how they have progressed. I believe their options to get a good goalie are fewer than ours to shed an unknown amount of cap space. I am not saying I am an expert in this genre but from where I sit as a fan on the sidelines as someone who negotiates contracts on a daily basis in my field, I would like the position much better from the Isles side of the table in this instance. Both may still walk away but Vegas will be much more in desperation mode than we are. We have had over a month to work on our situation, so believe that there are multiple options available to Lou depending on how things break While this news was bad for Lehner it may be a gift for us or at least improve our situation (it could also help our leverage on other deals if they think we might get our space from a Varly/Vegas trade, maybe we get better terms on a beau or Bailey deal)

 

[TeamKidd]

and they don’t have to get one from us….

name another goalie of varly's caliber who even might be available?

 

[Mike C]

View attachment 576424

why Cory Sccneider of course!!

 

[impaaaaaact]

name another goalie of varly's caliber who even might be available?

***Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme****

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

The time to have considered trading Varly is likely gone. I am not even sure a 2023 1st round pick from VKG would entice Lou enough to pull the trigger.

No, this should have been a consideration a month ago when the market was hot and heavy on netminders, Lou would have gotten a good deal as well as cap space and there were a few backups still available. Now, most teams are cap-strapped and set at the position and there is absolutely nothing on the FA market....

As enticing as this option is, I don't see it happening

 

[PK Cronin]

View attachment 576430View attachment 576431

***Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme****

Why wouldn't Vegas just deal for Reimer then?

 

[impaaaaaact]

Why wouldn't Vegas just deal for Reimer then?

So this comparison was a a little tongue in cheek - just thought it was funny that their stats last year and age are nearly identical. Varly obviously has more of a track record as a number 1 and has won a bunch of playoff rounds... I don't think Reimer ever has.

That being said, I think it's something you need to consider if you're VGK. Reimer's cap hit is about half of Varly's. Placing Lehner on LTIR and bringing in a goalie at half the cap hit could alleviate the rest of their cap crunch this season. It's not and optimal goalie situation for them, but neither is potentially losing a young talented player like Hague. They're really in a pick-your-poison situation here

 

[19 in a row]

The time to have considered trading Varly is likely gone. I am not even sure a 2023 1st round pick from VKG would entice Lou enough to pull the trigger.

No, this should have been a consideration a month ago when the market was hot and heavy on netminders, Lou would have gotten a good deal as well as cap space and there were a few backups still available. Now, most teams are cap-strapped and set at the position and there is absolutely nothing on the FA market....

As enticing as this option is, I don't see it happening

I would have agreed with you 6 hours ago but the market just got hot, even if temporarily until Vegas gets a goalie, which it seems they must now.

 

[19 in a row]

View attachment 576430View attachment 576431

***Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme****

good one, didnt think of him, but overall career I would still take Varly.. Last year was the first time Reimer ever played more than 44 games. Varly has done it 7 times and 5 times over 50 to carry the load. You may be right, and who knows what happens but Reimer is also in the same division so would they do that? Reimer has a 5 team M-NTC but would assume Vegas would not be one of the 5 he coudln't be traded to so likely not an issue.

 

[impaaaaaact]

good one, didnt think of him, but overall career I would still take Varly.. Last year was the first time Reimer ever played more than 44 games. Varly has done it 7 times and 5 times over 50 to carry the load. You may be right, and who knows what happens but Reimer is also in the same division so would they do that? Reimer has a 5 team M-NTC but would assume Vegas would not be one of the 5 he coudln't be traded to so likely not an issue.

Yeah, I posted above that that's mostly tongue in cheek - just funny that their SV% and GAA are nearly identical. Varly is obviously the better bet, even coming off a sub-par season. He's also twice as expensive and the Knights literally just gave away a star player because their cap situation is so bad. I don't think they have a great option here, but the point is that we are not their only one.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

I would have agreed with you 6 hours ago but the market just got hot, even if temporarily until Vegas gets a goalie, which it seems they must now.

That only solves half the equation. Trading Varlamov would mean we would need a goalie too

As for the Reimer swap, I don't even know why you would do that for what would cost assets and get you less than 3 million in cap space...

Islanders would still likely have to make another move to fit in Kadri and sign our RFA's

 

[19 in a row]

That only solves half the equation. Trading Varlamov would mean we would need a goalie too

absolutely but back up goaltenders can be had. I did mention in my earlier posts I would only do it if we could get a serviceable backup.. I would be ok with downgrading from Varly if it meant getting a return/cap space to sign Kadri or even better trade for Kane at 50%/and get a vet to play 25 games. I don't think any of these are out of the question/unreasonable if we can get a return for Varly from Vegas.

 

[Throttle]

The time to have considered trading Varly is likely gone. I am not even sure a 2023 1st round pick from VKG would entice Lou enough to pull the trigger.

No, this should have been a consideration a month ago when the market was hot and heavy on netminders, Lou would have gotten a good deal as well as cap space and there were a few backups still available. Now, most teams are cap-strapped and set at the position and there is absolutely nothing on the FA market....

As enticing as this option is, I don't see it happening

The Isles are trying to win - acquiring 1st round picks for players is kinda opposite of that strategy...

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

absolutely but back up goaltenders can be had. I did mention in my earlier posts I would only do it if we could get a serviceable backup.. I would be ok with downgrading from Varly if it meant getting a return/cap space to sign Kadri or even better trade for Kane at 50%/and get a vet to play 25 games. I don't think any of these are out of the question/unreasonable if we can get a return for Varly from Vegas.

Maybe. I scrounged teams on CapFriendly and found realistic options slim. Ideally it would be one making the minimum or why even bother subtracting from your strength for minimal cap space?

Personally, I would have signed Greiss (he took 1,25 million in SL) and offered up Varly a month ago when the market was more than just a single team...

Reimer saves you only 2.75 million and you are having to trade an asset for him; so unless you are getting a real good asset from Vegas (1st or 2nd round pick or someone like Hogue), why even bother??

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

The Isles are trying to win - acquiring 1st round picks for players is kinda opposite of that strategy...

you know it wasn't limited to that but also the cap space to improve the forward group...

why you decided to focus on only the 1st round pick is dumbfounding...