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

[miscs75]

Correct. You can easily draft a Wahlstrom, Ho Sang, MDC, or Reinhart as well though. I would like to see the organization not have to trade EVERY pick in the top 60 and keep every vet they trade for though. I know many are not fans of Bolduc but to me he will be a NHLer with his size and skating ability when he is at the 300 game mark.

Watch him turn into a very good defender once Lane realizes he can’t mesh with Scott Mayfield. Put him with Bortuzzo until the end of eternity.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Note that "used correctly" is inexorably tethered to a strict personal perspective. In other words, there's not more than one way to use it "correctly" and there's no variance with "correctly."

Ugh can't get the gif to work

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Ugh can't get the gif to work

Ok Boomer.

 

[Riseonfire]

Ok Boomer.

Let's get him back inside.

 

[saintunspecified]

Bolduc will probably look a lot better after a break when one of Mayfield, P & P come back. This has been a nice stint for him to get legitimate consistent playing time.

Maybe, but he's very frustrating to watch sometimes, especially with the puck. I find myself screaming at him to move his feet, because he's got some zip. There's no reason he has to coast, and try to slip the puck up the boards to a scrum, when he could take two strides up the middle and make a decent pass.

 

[doublechili]

I've noticed Bolduc getting knocked off balance at times. He's still young. I think if he fills out and works on leg strength it will really improve his overall game. A lot. It did with Dobson.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

Let's get him back inside.

 

[Riseonfire]

View attachment 787946

At least you can still meme!

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

I find myself screaming at him to move his feet, because he's got some zip.

Has it worked?

 

[seafoam]

They’ve earned a point in their last 16 of 18 while playing the likes of Aho, Bolduc, Bortuzzo, and Reilly.

 

[MJF]

They’ve earned a point in their last 16 of 18 while playing the likes of Aho, Bolduc, Bortuzzo, and Reilly.

The “likes of” Reilly brings more to the table than Aho ever will.

I wonder if the injuries hadn’t happened if Lou would have picked up Reilly as a straight upgrade to the D corps?

 

[seafoam]

The “likes of” Reilly brings more to the table than Aho ever will.

I wonder if the injuries hadn’t happened if Lou would have picked up Reilly as a straight upgrade to the D corps?

I agree that Reilly outshines Aho, but at the end of the day this was a player who was acquired off of waivers for free. Bortuzzo was acquired for a 7th round pick which might as well be free since this team drafts players like Cody Rosen, Andong Song, and Dennis Good-Bogg with their 7th rounders.

The point is that they are winning games with what other teams consider "replacement level" players. Read into that how you will, but at the end of the day it's a positive sign for the Islanders.

Banking points before the All Star Break is critical to having a good chance at making the dance.

Bortuzzo does things better than Mayfield. I'm not ready to call him a better player, but he's definitely be a nice find by Lou. His gap control and ability to defend the blueline is sorely needed on this team...

 

[Doshell Propivo]

I agree that Reilly outshines Aho, but at the end of the day this was a player who was acquired off of waivers for free. Bortuzzo was acquired for a 7th round pick which might as well be free since this team drafts players like Cody Rosen, Andong Song, and Dennis Good-Bogg with their 7th rounders.

The point is that they are winning games with what other teams consider "replacement level" players. Read into that how you will, but at the end of the day it's a positive sign for the Islanders.

Banking points before the All Star Break is critical to having a good chance at making the dance.

Bortuzzo does things better than Mayfield. I'm not ready to call him a better player, but he's definitely be a nice find by Lou. His gap control and ability to defend the blueline is sorely needed on this team...

I'm glad they are banking points bit they are also leaving tons of points on the table. If they could be at least .500 in OT and SO they'd have 4 or 5 more points and be flirting with 1st place. It's a very tight division. WAS technically has a better record (as far as winning % goes) and is only 3 points behind with 3 games in hand, which puts NYI in WC2.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I know this team needs to get healthy, and trust me, I want that foremost; they still need a D man for inevitable injuries. Fast forward two weeks, Mayfield is out. This team can score, more than I imagined. Yes, that's a function of systems, but I see there's enough offense with this personnel that they manufacture offense.

 

[MJF]

I agree that Reilly outshines Aho, but at the end of the day this was a player who was acquired off of waivers for free. Bortuzzo was acquired for a 7th round pick which might as well be free since this team drafts players like Cody Rosen, Andong Song, and Dennis Good-Bogg with their 7th rounders.

The point is that they are winning games with what other teams consider "replacement level" players. Read into that how you will, but at the end of the day it's a positive sign for the Islanders.

Banking points before the All Star Break is critical to having a good chance at making the dance.

Bortuzzo does things better than Mayfield. I'm not ready to call him a better player, but he's definitely be a nice find by Lou. His gap control and ability to defend the blueline is sorely needed on this team...

Reilly may have been a waiver pickup but his value to the Islanders is evident. He fills a need here, that of a PMD who provides some offense. Thaf others think we’re winning with replacement level players is irrelevant. Those players allow guys on the top 2 lines and Noah Dobson to get into the O zone easier and keep the puck down there. It wasn’t happening this way when 3, 6, 17, 24, 25 were playing every game.

 

[Big L]

Reilly was not on waivers for performance issues. Florida had a crowded D corp with Ekblad coming back from injury. Reilly was odd-man out. not quite like Reilly was waiver wire trash.

 

[periferal]

Reilly was not on waivers for performance issues. Florida had a crowded D corp with Ekblad coming back from injury. Reilly was odd-man out. not quite like Reilly was waiver wire trash.

I know many have said this, but also interesting that no other team ahead of the Isles put a claim in on him. He's making essentially minimum salary so basically every team could afford him.

 

[Throttle]

I know many have said this, but also interesting that no other team ahead of the Isles put a claim in on him. He's making essentially minimum salary so basically every team could afford him.

With so many team cap bumping, while he’s cheap, it was still under 25 games into the season to be tying up more cap unnecessarily for a lot of teams. I’ll say Isles got lucky on this one.

 

[periferal]

With so many team cap bumping, while he’s cheap, it was still under 25 games into the season to be tying up more cap unnecessarily for a lot of teams. I’ll say Isles got lucky on this one.

But even that doesn't fly. Reilly is a UFA after this season and making 1M in 23-24 (pro-rated is even less as the season goes on), and any team that claimed him could've put him back on waivers and/or buried him in the minors if they didn't like him for any reason.

On November 25th when the Isles claimed Reilly there were about 15 teams ahead of them in the waiver order. Just cannot remember half the league passing up on an NHL caliber defenseman making basically nothing when they could have him for free.

 

[Throttle]

But even that doesn't fly. Reilly is a UFA after this season and making 1M in 23-24 (pro-rated is even less as the season goes on), and any team that claimed him could've put him back on waivers and/or buried him in the minors if they didn't like him for any reason.

On November 25th when the Isles claimed Reilly there were about 15 teams ahead of them in the waiver order. Just cannot remember half the league passing up on an NHL caliber defenseman making basically nothing when they could have him for free.

Early in the season teams are cap strapped and are usually at max roster capacity, so taking him might have required those teams to waive a player. They are also believing in their own rosters they set a month earlier.

 

[impaaaaaact]

I know I'm going to get some hate for this, but I want to bring up a couple of Holmstrom facts before everyone goes off the deep end:

- He's shooting 31%. For comparison, if Nelson was shooting 31% he would have 33 goals right now and be on pace for 87. Wayne Gretzky maxed out at 26%. This will not continue. I've seen people calling him a 25 goal scorer on this board, but if he had Barzal's shooting percentage he'd be on pace for 9 over a full season. Go check out how Kuzmenko is doing this year for a look at the other side of the coin.

- The reason he is shooting 31% is because almost all of his chances come on a 2-1 or a breakaway. They're all super high danger looks and he's done an (unsustainably) amazing job of burying them. The issue is that he's really not getting pucks on net in any other situation. He has 19 shots at 5v5 this season, and remember he played on the first line for like 10 games.

- I don't feel as though the third line has been doing a great job shutting down other teams. That's obviously not all on Holmstrom, but if he's not getting shots on net and not playing standout defense, that's a recipe for failure. Not saying he's a complete liability or anything, but he has 11 takeaways and 11 giveaways.

- Yes, he is leading the league in shorthanded goals. The PK is also the worst in the league. I would take a middle of the road PK with no shorties over what we have now. I would go as far as to say they're getting all of these 2 on 1s based on their scheme (or lack thereof) on the PK. It almost seems like they're trying harder to find a way to skate the puck out than just clear the puck sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the guy... now. He seems to make the smart play, buries his opportunities more often than not and does it with style when he gets the chance. But even if they keep getting all of these shorthanded 2 on 1s, he's going to reach the other side of variance at some point and stop burying so many of them. And then you're left with a guy who doesn't score at 5v5 (or even gets shots to the net), isn't a shutdown defender, and is a cog in the worst PK in the NHL.


All of this to say, if his value has spiked I think he's a name you keep on the table. Not saying to actively shop the dude, but especially if Parise is coming back and can take his spot on the PK, he's a guy I wouldn't be shocked to see included in a package this year.

 

[CupHolders]

I know I'm going to get some hate for this, but I want to bring up a couple of Holmstrom facts before everyone goes off the deep end:

- He's shooting 31%. For comparison, if Nelson was shooting 31% he would have 33 goals right now and be on pace for 87. Wayne Gretzky maxed out at 26%. This will not continue. I've seen people calling him a 25 goal scorer on this board, but if he had Barzal's shooting percentage he'd be on pace for 9 over a full season. Go check out how Kuzmenko is doing this year for a look at the other side of the coin.

- The reason he is shooting 31% is because almost all of his chances come on a 2-1 or a breakaway. They're all super high danger looks and he's done an (unsustainably) amazing job of burying them. The issue is that he's really not getting pucks on net in any other situation. He has 19 shots at 5v5 this season, and remember he played on the first line for like 10 games.

- I don't feel as though the third line has been doing a great job shutting down other teams. That's obviously not all on Holmstrom, but if he's not getting shots on net and not playing standout defense, that's a recipe for failure. Not saying he's a complete liability or anything, but he has 11 takeaways and 11 giveaways.

- Yes, he is leading the league in shorthanded goals. The PK is also the worst in the league. I would take a middle of the road PK with no shorties over what we have now. I would go as far as to say they're getting all of these 2 on 1s based on their scheme (or lack thereof) on the PK. It almost seems like they're trying harder to find a way to skate the puck out than just clear the puck sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the guy... now. He seems to make the smart play, buries his opportunities more often than not and does it with style when he gets the chance. But even if they keep getting all of these shorthanded 2 on 1s, he's going to reach the other side of variance at some point and stop burying so many of them. And then you're left with a guy who doesn't score at 5v5 (or even gets shots to the net), isn't a shutdown defender, and is a cog in the worst PK in the NHL.


All of this to say, if his value has spiked I think he's a name you keep on the table. Not saying to actively shop the dude, but especially if Parise is coming back and can take his spot on the PK, he's a guy I wouldn't be shocked to see included in a package this year.

I would be concerned with this if he was a 28-29 year old. He is showing promise and the possibility of more growth. No he won’t shoot at 31%. But the shots he makes are skilled scorer goals.

The attempts on net, should increase with experience and further development.

What’s important is that the skill and drive appears to be there. As is the room for growth due to his age.

 

[Big L]

I know many have said this, but also interesting that no other team ahead of the Isles put a claim in on him. He's making essentially minimum salary so basically every team could afford him.

Perhaps the teams ahead on the waiver wire didn’t have D injuries and didn’t need a 7D.

sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one, and there is no ulterior motive.

 

[Riseonfire]

Early in the season teams are cap strapped and are usually at max roster capacity, so taking him might have required those teams to waive a player. They are also believing in their own rosters they set a month earlier.

This feels like the right answer to me, but even still it’s weird that he “fell” to us. I’d have to look at the D lineups of the teams that passed but maybe they liked their PMD. There are a billion smaller fast dmen now adays.

 

[crashthenet]

But even that doesn't fly. Reilly is a UFA after this season and making 1M in 23-24 (pro-rated is even less as the season goes on), and any team that claimed him could've put him back on waivers and/or buried him in the minors if they didn't like him for any reason.

On November 25th when the Isles claimed Reilly there were about 15 teams ahead of them in the waiver order. Just cannot remember half the league passing up on an NHL caliber defenseman making basically nothing when they could have him for free.

Maybe he realizes it's kind of last chance opportunity for him and is focused on playing the right way? He has been pretty good playing second pair type minutes.