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

[Chapin Landvogt]

All of these are pretty fair points. However they don't take into account 2 very important things:

1. What if Trotz wanted to leave and he wasn't fired?​

2. Whatever the summation of reasons that culminated with Lambert being head coach, the ultimate decision was 100% made by Lou. So if Lambert was the wrong hire then Lou should suffer the consequences.​

Regardless of Lou, I just don't see how removing/replacing Lambert now would be understood as a serious and professional move in light of what took place here on the path to him being named head coach in the first place. Feels very knee-jerky.

If another franchise in any sport did it, I'd likely be thinking something like What a Mickey Mouse organization.

The only way I could see it being viable is if the GM were removed first and a new GM immediately started cleaning house a bit.

I'm assuming that's basically what you're calling for here.

Well yes - Exactly. The team Lou assembled (or failed to assemble) is failing, and he should pay the price.

"Should".

I think we can all agree that it's very possible that Malkin and Ledecky will choose differently, for any number of reasons.

So we can't fire Lou because...No matter who the Isles hire won't measure up?

The point is that ownership could very well think "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't". There's a risk there and I just don't see candidates at the moment who jump out at me as clear-cut guys to go with. There certainly were when Snow was finally dismissed.

I think things we've seen this month are pretty doggone bad. Perhaps even hapless.

But I don't think we've come close to the "It can't get worse" point where you need to make the move to make the move - 'fer the luv of gawd'.

Now who would be qualified...? That's for Malkin and Ledecky to determine - Like they (rightly) determined that garth snow needed to be fired.

Agreed.

So Lou's recent work has been average at best, and quite bad at worst, but...We should "hope to be surprised" as opposed to holding him accountable? His non-stop banter about "believing in this group," and yet to only add Romanov in the offseason isn't nearly good enough on any level (and it's very bad that Romanov is bad and he gave up yet another 1st for him).

I truly appreciate the calm/diplomatic approach you have in all your posts, but sometimes it's plainly clear that things cannot continue as they have been. Maybe Lou just needs to stop with the veil of secrecy and share more. Maybe he needs to hire outside voices and take them into account. Or maybe Lou deserves to be fired.

I think this reply by Scott below really touches a nerve about what's going on...

I guess if I could best summarize what I think will happen, it's that no decisions will be made on Lou and Lambert until the summer.

As for the team, I don't think it's going to continue its disappearing act displayed in January, even if there's currently little reason to see this team being much of a playoff team (still, think about St. Louis being dead last in January before winning the Cup).

I've felt since last summer that the trade deadline will see us move futures for one of the available guns. Yes, this is something I'm sure much of the fanbase is deathly afraid of because, well, yes, it could very well be something like 23 and 24 firsts and a 2nd, if not also a Raty and/or Bolduc for Timo Meier, although I do believe that kind of thing is only happening with a concrete plan of Meier being kept around with a re-signing á la Pageau.

I've come to terms with that likely being the case before Lou's job future is determined. I dunno, I see the owners giving him that much of a leash.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Re: Mayfield I completely agree. It comes down to the contract.

His position even as a #3RHD is not easily replaceable. We’re far worse without him. So why trade him? The answer is because we’re not serious Cup contenders in the next 1-2 years even with him. We need to take one step back to move 2 steps forward.

I’d be ok with a hometown discount deal but for a guy that hasn’t cashed in yet why should he do it? I’d also be ok with him being traded for a good haul. I’m less enthusiastic about a Cizikas like deal. On a final note, I’d hate signing him for 4+ years at somewhere near $5M/year.

And Mayfield can command that contract and will have suitors for it, I did post a NYPost article that said he has a house here so maybe he'd be fine taking another below market deal. Or Lou tacks on an extra year like Cizikas.

 

[Mike C]

All of these are pretty fair points. However they don't take into account 2 very important things:

1. What if Trotz wanted to leave and he wasn't fired?​

2. Whatever the summation of reasons that culminated with Lambert being head coach, the ultimate decision was 100% made by Lou. So if Lambert was the wrong hire then Lou should suffer the consequences.​

And honestly...Who gives a rat's ass what anyone else "in the business" thinks? The owners/GM of the Islanders have a job to protect the franchise no matter what. Sure...Lambert could be the victim of injuries and any number of things beyond his control, but given how lifeless the players that are healthy are, that sure feels more like playing Devil's Advocate than looking at the evidence right in front of us.

I mean what if right now, both Lou and Ledecky/Malkin know that he's Lambert isn't going to work out. They should just keep him on because they should be more concerned with public perception than doing what's best for the Islanders? If any party did that then I wouldn't want them affiliated with the New York Islanders.

And if someone wants to make the argument that well maybe future coaches/players might not decide to come here because a long time assist coach was fired after only half a season into his first ever gig...I'd say, "Please." The Panthers literally left Gerard Gallant at the airport when they fired him (which was panned by basically the entire NHL community). Yet somehow after that they were to land Joel Quenneville.

The world of sports is littered with stories of nice guys being removed for more competent ones, and the more competent ones won more because no one cared. Mostly just chase the money.

If anyone has hesitations about coming to the Islanders, or dealing with them, you can be sure it wouldn't be because he fired Lambert - It would be because of the reputation Lou already has as being a franchise dictator for the last 30+ years.




Well yes - Exactly. The team Lou assembled (or failed to assemble) is failing, and he should pay the price.




So we can't fire Lou because...No matter who the Isles hire won't measure up? Maybe Malkin should take after wang and give Lou a "garth snow" lifetime contract. Then after Lou dies we won't officially replace him but rather we'll rehire Neil Smith and let him be co-GM with wang's ghost.

Being a GM in the NHL is both an honor and a rarity. There are only 32 of those positions in the world and I guarantee that many would be lining up to take the position if offer.

Now who would be qualified...? That's for Malkin and Ledecky to determine - Like they (rightly) determined that garth snow needed to be fired.




So Lou's recent work has been average at best, and quite bad at worst, but...We should "hope to be surprised" as opposed to holding him accountable? His non-stop banter about "believing in this group," and yet to only add Romanov in the offseason isn't nearly good enough on any level (and it's very bad that Romanov is bad and he gave up yet another 1st for him).

I truly appreciate the calm/diplomatic approach you have in all your posts, but sometimes it's plainly clear that things cannot continue as they have been. Maybe Lou just needs to stop with the veil of secrecy and share more. Maybe he needs to hire outside voices and take them into account. Or maybe Lou deserves to be fired.

I think this reply by Scott below really touches a nerve about what's going on...

i'll never believe that Trotz wanted to leave and was allowed to do so at the expense of paying another coach. if it was Arbour-- who built a legacy with the team, i might give that concept some credence. trotz had a 4 year run not 14 and truth be told didn't even get to the finals despite what he did do.....and got no vote of confidence from Lou at last year's TDL "barry is under contract to coach us" or some such trite BS

maybe Lou is shrewder than we give him credit for....he showed the owners that he made a decision vaguely blaming Barry " we need a new voice" thus taking the heat off himself at least for a short term "in Lou Lamoriello we trust"


with the 2 W before the break and the Caps and Pens both losing their games and both being very catchable, i don't see Lou doing any type of selling unless the team totally craters before the deadline which i really don't see.....i think they'll hover close enough to give them the jusification in their minds to make moves to make a push

just my 2 cents and sense....obviously time will tell!

 

[The Real JT]

i'll never believe that Trotz wanted to leave and was allowed to do so at the expense of paying another coach. if it was Arbour-- who built a legacy with the team, i might give that concept some credence. trotz had a 4 year run not 14 and truth be told didn't even get to the finals despite what he did do.....and got no vote of confidence from Lou at last year's TDL "barry is under contract to coach us" or some such trite BS

maybe Lou is shrewder than we give him credit for....he showed the owners that he made a decision vaguely blaming Barry " we need a new voice" thus taking the heat off himself at least for a short term "in Lou Lamoriello we trust"


with the 2 W before the break and the Caps and Pens both losing their games and both being very catchable, i don't see Lou doing any type of selling unless the team totally craters before the deadline which i really don't see.....i think they'll hover close enough to give them the jusification in their minds to make moves to make a push

just my 2 cents and sense....obviously time will tell!

I think that’s spot on Mike but I don’t like it.

My preference regarding the run up to the TDL is for the Isles to put together a legit streak. By that I mean getting solid contributions from laggards like Palmieri and Beau, better D and a resurgence of offense from Dobson and more upside from Holmstrom and Raty. Tbh I’d like to see one or two of those things. That would be refreshing.

The one thing I don’t want is mediocre play or worse that gets us into the playoff conversation at the TDL all the while prompting Lou to sabotage the next few years. I’d rather win with conviction or lose without trading away our future.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Well yes - Exactly. The team Lou assembled (or failed to assemble) is failing, and he should pay the price.

Team playing well, it's Snow's team. Team playing poorly, it's Lou's team.

 

[Tres Peleches]

 

[MJF]

 

[Mike C]

I think that’s spot on Mike but I don’t like it.

My preference regarding the run up to the TDL is for the Isles to put together a legit streak. By that I mean getting solid contributions from laggards like Palmieri and Beau, better D and a resurgence of offense from Dobson and more upside from Holmstrom and Raty. Tbh I’d like to see one or two of those things. That would be refreshing.

The one thing I don’t want is mediocre play or worse that gets us into the playoff conversation at the TDL all the while prompting Lou to sabotage the next few years. I’d rather win with conviction or lose without trading away our future.

I really like how Palms looks. Big if but IF he can stay healthy, coming back with fresh legs after missing so much time, and a quick return of Dobson, all may not be lost.

My son " Oh wow. That's good. Great. Crazy. Lou actually did something "

 

[Taswell]

Well alright...we're buyers. Cap retention on Horvat was for a reason, let's wildly speculate on who is next.

 

[seafoam]

Players I expect to be on Lamoriello’s radar (in alphabetical order)…

Acciari
Barabshev
Boeser
Bonino
Chychrun
Henrique
Kane
Kulikov
Sundqvist
Tarasenko

 

[Mike C]

Players I expect to be on Lamoriello’s radar (in alphabetical order)…

Acciari
Barabshev
Boeser
Bonino
Chychrun
Henrique
Kane
Kulikov
Sundqvist
Tarasenko

I see Kane going to NYR with Buffalo as dark horse

 

[Taswell]

Players I expect to be on Lamoriello’s radar (in alphabetical order)…

Acciari
Barabshev
Boeser
Bonino
Chychrun
Henrique
Kane
Kulikov
Sundqvist
Tarasenko

Always had a soft spot for Barbashev, don't know he really fills a need here though other than depth that can slot up in an injury situation in the top 6.

Not sure we have enough pieces for someone of Kane, Chychurn or Tarasenko's Ilk.

Henrique is most intriguing to me from a asset cost/production ratio. Seems he gets injured fairly often though.

 

[BrockLobster]

Friedman just casually tossing us into the Horvat rumors on today's pod.

Did he casually toss us into any other rumors?

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Players I expect to be on Lamoriello’s radar (in alphabetical order)…

Acciari
Barabshev
Boeser
Bonino
Chychrun
Henrique
Kane
Kulikov
Sundqvist
Tarasenko

Fischer in Arizona also maybe, maybe good RW for Pageau and Parise

 

[Chardo]

Always had a soft spot for Barbashev, don't know he really fills a need here though other than depth that can slot up in an injury situation in the top 6.

Not sure we have enough pieces for someone of Kane, Chychurn or Tarasenko's Ilk.

Henrique is most intriguing to me from a asset cost/production ratio. Seems he gets injured fairly often though.

I love a good barbashev with the hot towel.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Always had a soft spot for Barbashev, don't know he really fills a need here though other than depth that can slot up in an injury situation in the top 6.

Not sure we have enough pieces for someone of Kane, Chychurn or Tarasenko's Ilk.

Henrique is most intriguing to me from a asset cost/production ratio. Seems he gets injured fairly often though.

Bertuzzi is interesting but seemingly has issues staying healthy. There are a lot of UFA forwards who fit here.

 

[Mike C]

Bertuzzi is interesting but seemingly has issues staying healthy. There are a lot of UFA forwards who fit here.

Not to get political at all but if Lou is still against having unvaccinated players, I think Bertuzzi falls into that category unless either one has changed their stance

 

[periferal]

Horvat will move the needle a little bit, but the needle is limited on how it can move until Lambert is replaced.

 

[Mike C]

I love a good barbashev with the hot towel.

I know what you mean!

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Not to get political at all but if Lou is still against having unvaccinated players, I think Bertuzzi falls into that category unless either one has changed their stance

I think that’s mostly past news now, Wilde if he was good enough probably be in better graces but he’s not good enough to be a prospect. I think Bertuzzi‘s flaw is the injures more than anything. I’d like one of Domi,Nyquist and one of Fischer, Accari and see where we land at year end. If they play well and like it here maybe you look at keeping them otherwise they are rentals. Middle round picks, lower level project prospects should be able to get these types of players.

 

[Mike C]

Horvat will move the needle a little bit, but the needle is limited on how it can move until Lambert is replaced.

Curious to see what kind of line combos Handsome Lane will concoct and more importantly, how quickly he'll panic if something doesn't work for a shift or two

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

Curious to see what kind of line combos Handsome Lane will concoct and more importantly, how quickly he'll panic if something doesn't work for a shift or two

Well assuming another deal isn’t coming before they return which maybe it is who knows. I guess someone is coming back, Fasching maybe cause Beau and Raty played other night so they need another forward.

 

[Mike C]

Well assuming another deal isn’t coming before they return which maybe it is who knows. I guess someone is coming back, Fasching maybe cause Beau and Raty played other night so they need another forward.

Yeah man. I was thinking Fasching also. Gives us flexibility especially if Matty B is gonna play wing. Nice to have some interchangeable parts for a change. That was an under appreciated trait of the dynasty teams

 

[ALEXIVICH CHULKATURI]

Curious to see what kind of line combos Handsome Lane will concoct and more importantly, how quickly he'll panic if something doesn't work for a shift or two

It really is a Jackson Pollock painting in a Frank Lloyd Wright home. I mean the lineup possibilities could be endless.

HORVAT
BARZAL
WAHLSTROM
LEE
NELSON
PALMERIE
PAGEAU
HOLMSTROM
PARISE
BAILEY
CIZIKAS
MARTIN
CLUTTERBUCK
FASCHING
JOHNSTON

 

[Mike C]

It really is a Jackson Pollock painting in a Frank Lloyd Wright home. I mean the lineup possibilities could be endless.

HORVAT
BARZAL
WAHLSTROM
LEE
NELSON
PALMERIE
PAGEAU
HOLMSTROM
PARISE
BAILEY
CIZIKAS
MARTIN
CLUTTERBUCK
FASCHING
JOHNSTON

I'm sure Lane has the names in the Scrabble container as we speak