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

[Throttle]

I really don't want to move Bolduc at all at the deadline. I think he can be a good Defenseman. He just needs a little more time. Big frame, good shot, young. These are the type of back end guys you want to hold on to and develop, not trade. We have nothing in the system for a few years on the defensive side. Let's keep him.

I personally think Lou really needs to hold on to our 1st this year too. I mean it's sad that this team hasn't had a 1st rounder in what 4 years now???

I don’t see Lou trading Buldoc, he places a priority and long game on defenseman. Plus, he’s one of the few cost controlled guys on the roster. Buldoc hasn’t been brought along under good conditions this season.

On the last part, Lou used those picks to upgrade the talent level of the roster, fill necessary holes, and to acquire talent that most likely would not have signed with the Isles otherwise. This seems to be the ongoing issue of varying opinions.

For every Dobson, you have a ton more Wally’s.

I really don't want to move Bolduc at all at the deadline. I think he can be a good Defenseman. He just needs a little more time. Big frame, good shot, young. These are the type of back end guys you want to hold on to and develop, not trade. We have nothing in the system for a few years on the defensive side. Let's keep him.

I personally think Lou really needs to hold on to our 1st this year too. I mean it's sad that this team hasn't had a 1st rounder in what 4 years now???

 

[Throttle]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

 

[The Real JT]

I am with you here. I think the Isles should retool. There are a lot of NTC Lou has handed out that make it difficult to make a significant move. Nelson, Pageau, and Palmieri, The entire ID line, Wally and Holmstrom and the 1st rd pick look like the best trade assets. Nelson, Pageau and the 1st would bring back the most bang. It's hard to see Lou doing this though. But I am in the camp that the team needs to get faster and younger.

The other assets like Barzal, Dobson, and Sorokin are not going to be moved. They are pretty much locked in with Pelech, Pulock, Horvat and Mayfield. Going to have to get creative to retool to a Roy team.

I have always felt that there was a middle ground, i.e. retool rather than rebuild. We had that option at last year‘s trade deadline and to a lesser extent that option is still available now without completely mortgaging our chances at a playoff spot.

Way back when after Tavares left, it was all gloom and doom yet somehow we managed to go to back-to-back ECF finals. Sometimes losing an asset may look bad on paper, but allows another player an opportunity to excel. That player may not even be on the current roster, but could be acquired if we were to trade an asset like Nelson or Pageau.

Does the retool always work? Hell no, but look no further than what Vancouver did with Horvat at last year’s TDL to see that it can work out well fairly quickly. The main piece of the Horvat trade for Vancouver was our first round pick and they flipped that pick for Hronek who is playing quite well for them. The rest of their team has also picked up the pace despite the hole that was left when Horvat was traded.

Like last year, I still favor the rebuild or shall we say partial tear down. If we stay the course without any major moves, I would also be OK with that but my main concern is that Lou does not trade away yet another first round pick.

 

[impaaaaaact]

Sending Mac down is obvious 1 for 1 swap. Biggest question is on D. Do they bring Bortuzzo back and waive Aho/Bolduc and risk losing one of those guys. Seems like the obvious answer so the squad would have 4 lefties and 4 righties. I think Reily has easily earned that 6th spot over Aho & Bolduc.

I think there's no way they send down Bolduc or Bortuzzo and there's no way Aho doesn't get claimed. I agree that Reilly should be the 6D going forward

 

[PK Cronin]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

I think that'd be a mistake. I really don't think Stamkos is that important to the Lightning, he's behind so many other players.

 

[DerekKingSnipes]

I think there's no way they send down Bolduc or Bortuzzo and there's no way Aho doesn't get claimed. I agree that Reilly should be the 6D going forward

I think(could be wrong)cap wise to get Cizikas off LTIR Maclean needs to go down and someone else needs to go which is probably on D. Nobody was waived at 2 today so either Casey isn’t returning tomorrow or perhaps Fasching is going On LTIR.

 

[WangMustGo]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

No, he is garbage defensively and at this point he is carried by PP points. Take away Kucherov, Point, and Hedman and Stamkos is a 50-60 point player at this point in his career. There is a reason he hasn’t been resigned by Tampa yet. Anything over 5-6 million is an overpay.

 

[SCMURRAY]

No, he is garbage defensively and at this point he is carried by PP points. Take away Kucherov, Point, and Hedman and Stamkos is a 50-60 point player at this point in his career. There is a reason he hasn’t been resigned by Tampa yet. Anything over 5-6 million is an overpay.

And replace them with Barzal, Horvat and Dobson?? Seems like a fair trade off. He's a point per game player. 27 of his 47 this season are on the PP. Yes he's -17 so far this season but hes been a + player nearly his entire career. He turned 34 today so Stamkos at 9mil I think is a terrible idea but if you we can send Palms packing and sign Stamkos to something like 3/21 Id do it.

 

[Big L]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

No fvcking way

 

[YearlyLottery]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

If the Islanders go to the Eastern Conference Finals OR win a playoff series to show their window is still open there is no reason to stop buying in my opinion. While I would not trade the 1st this year unless it is a cost controlled asset such as Romanov I would 100% give Stamkos a deal if cap made sense.

Passing up on a guy who is still going to be scoring 40 goals IF you show you are still close to the Cup would be silly to pass on in my opinion.

 

[Lame Lambert]

x.com

x.com

Matches the eye test for most of this season. Roy needs to figure it out quickly.

 

[Big L]

x.com

x.com

Matches the eye test for most of this season. Roy needs to figure it out quickly.

Who the fvck is Corey Sanajder and why tf should we believe his numbers?

 

[Lame Lambert]

Who the fvck is Corey Sanajder and why tf should we believe his numbers?

Look him up and decide for yourself

 

[periferal]

Legit question. Isles win a round or two this playoffs. TB will not resign a 34 year old Stamkos this summer. Do you offer Stamkos a 4/36M contract to keep trying to win?

(Assume the Isles can make the cap space for the move to happen).

Yes.*



*If the cap space they make is done by getting rid of Engvall, Mayfield, and Pageau without giving up more than a 2nd rounder.

 

[The Real JT]

x.com

x.com

Matches the eye test for most of this season. Roy needs to figure it out quickly.

Who the fvck is Corey Sanajder and why tf should we believe his numbers?

I agree those kinds of stats scream BS to me.

I’m a simple man and believe less is more when it comes to analytics. The goal differential stat is simple but the one that worries me, not so much for what it is but for its prognostic value over the years.

 

[WangMustGo]

And replace them with Barzal, Horvat and Dobson?? Seems like a fair trade off. He's a point per game player. 27 of his 47 this season are on the PP. Yes he's -17 so far this season but hes been a + player nearly his entire career. He turned 34 today so Stamkos at 9mil I think is a terrible idea but if you we can send Palms packing and sign Stamkos to something like 3/21 Id do it.

You think Kuch, Point, and Hedman are equal to Barzal, Horvat, and Dobson?

Kuch is a top 3 player in the world right now.

Tampa isn’t taking a cap dump for Stamkos. They can easily get a decent return for him if they choose to sell him, which they won’t. Stamkos took less money last time he was a UFA to stay in Tampa. If Tampa offers him anything remotely fair he will be resigned by them.

 

[impaaaaaact]

You think Kuch, Point, and Hedman are equal to Barzal, Horvat, and Dobson?

Kuch is a top 3 player in the world right now.

Tampa isn’t taking a cap dump for Stamkos. They can easily get a decent return for him if they choose to sell him, which they won’t. Stamkos took less money last time he was a UFA to stay in Tampa. If Tampa offers him anything remotely fair he will be resigned by them.

Agreed, can’t really see him leaving unless management dicks him over. He was the captain for the 2 cups, would be a super weird move to end up on weird terms with him

 

[MarsTBOW]

If True this is just Makes Me Laugh.
Be Careful for what you wish for Pajama Boy!!!!!

 

[seafoam]

This would be iconic…Tavares would fold into the fetal position sucking on his thumb faster than you can say Dippin’ Dots.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Probably semantics but I don't think that Lou has ever gone "all in" at the deadline. To me that implies trading picks/prospects for rentals with a "cup or bust this season" mentality. While Lou has traded picks/prospects, the players he acquired weren't over the hill rentals by any means. In fact most of them were fairly young. And signed before they went UFA.

While I doubt Lou tries to go after a big fish, the Islanders will certainly not be sellers at the deadline. And I don't think it will take a Herculean effort to make the playoffs. 4 points out with a game in hand. And yes I know there are other teams in the race (basically 8 teams in a race for 4 spots). I think that if they win 18 or so of their remaining 32 it should get them in.

Yeah, just a difference in semantics. To me going all in is trading your first and prospects for the best player available which they did with Horvat, Pageau (debatable, but he was top 3, and Palmeiri).

18 out of 32 is most certainly not a lock for this team and I'm not even sure that will be enough to get in. Hughes is coming back for the Devils. Philly still shows no signs of faltering. If Roy gets this team into the playoffs I'll worship the guy, lol.

If True this is just Makes Me Laugh.
Be Careful for what you wish for Pajama Boy!!!!!

They are going to remove John Tavares Day if he doesn't pay it.

 

[LeapOnOver]

You think Kuch, Point, and Hedman are equal to Barzal, Horvat, and Dobson?

Kuch is a top 3 player in the world right now.

Tampa isn’t taking a cap dump for Stamkos. They can easily get a decent return for him if they choose to sell him, which they won’t. Stamkos took less money last time he was a UFA to stay in Tampa. If Tampa offers him anything remotely fair he will be resigned by them.

First of all, talent wise the gap is not big enough to affect Stamkos points that much. Stamkos probably gets more points on the Isles because he gets more playing time. He's still a big talent. Second, nobody is talking about trading for him, he's a pending UFA. Lastly, I agree that unless management cold shoulders him, no reason he won't just take a team friendly deal to stay with the Bolts. The only way I see him leaving is if Tampa doesn't make the playoffs and he wants another shot at it.

 

[Osakahaus]

if Walker wasn't gonna cost a first, i would've traded for him

First of all, talent wise the gap is not big enough to affect Stamkos points that much. Stamkos probably gets more points on the Isles because he gets more playing time. He's still a big talent. Second, nobody is talking about trading for him, he's a pending UFA. Lastly, I agree that unless management cold shoulders him, no reason he won't just take a team friendly deal to stay with the Bolts. The only way I see him leaving is if Tampa doesn't make the playoffs and he wants another shot at it.

and the isles do not want to be a retirement home. please do not do that for Stamkos

 

[IslesNorway]

The Islanders are not one player away from success let alone reaching the playoffs. It is pretty pointless thinking that adding someone like Chychrun or Vatrano (who are fine players BTW) will suddenly put this into Stanley Cup contention, because they won't.

Nearly all those top UFAs seem to play for playoff teams, so there really aren't that many really good players available, and with no real cap space and half the squad already signed for years, it makes little sense to go all in on someone.

 

[MikeyMike01]

If True this is just Makes Me Laugh.
Be Careful for what you wish for Pajama Boy!!!!!

what getting swept by the Islanders does to a mf

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

If True this is just Makes Me Laugh.
Be Careful for what you wish for Pajama Boy!!!!!

Even over here in Germany there are all kinds of stipulations that give athletes certain tax advantages. Well, they give "artists" certain advantages and pro athletes are categorized as artists.

Everyone knows that pro soccer would go down the drain in Germany if the athletes would be taxed like "normal people" in their pay grades.... Too many other destinations around Europe to compete with.

This said, a case like this seems like it could actually have some huge ramifications for the Canadian teams. Bears watching.

And surely Bettman is keeping a close eye on it.