Roster/Rumors/Speculation/Trade Talk - 2024-25: Re-Tool, Re-Group, Re-Mix, Re-Build

[Zeeker]

I won’t taint the GDT with the negativity - but we won six in a row last year too. I just pray this winning streak isn’t the different between selling and holding the UFAs.

 

[Arsenalogist24]

Kaplan is in touch with the rest of the league, the other guys aren’t, and I still don’t buy that they really know much with this team.

Yeah I think are guys are all kinda dolts to be honest. I’d love to see the actual segment cause in all seriousness I think she’s legit

 

[Zeeker]

Don’t have a link I briefly was out of the room but she usually does bits in between the benches so it may have been then or during the 1st intermission. I saw fans mentioning it on Bluesky.

Not doubting you, but sounds like a game of telephone if we don’t have a link or video snippet

 

[Chockey22]

Nope, you trade Barzal and Czikas for EP40. You trade Nelson and Palms for other assets. In 30 days, you have re-tooled on the fly and go into the draft with assets for more trades or make picks.

Pr-wise, Rutherford gets all the warm and fuzzies about the BC figure skater.

The Isles upgrade for an overpaid figure skater that doesn’t do much in most areas of the game AND get the best most talented player. My guess is his bounces back once out of that environment.

Nope - you keep very talented players to play with other very talented players that you can acquire.

My bad, you’re right. Mat Barzal is responsible for the record of the entire team. especially when he’s injured for half the year. Mat Barzal is responsible for Brock and Palmieri scoring 0 goals over 30 combined games. Mat Barzal is responsible for Varly getting injured and Lou forcing Roy to run Sorokin into the ground. Mat Barzal is responsible for Romanov and Reilly and Duclair getting immediately injured. He’s responsible for the entire roster Lou put together. It’s all Mat’s fault!!!!

Now that the Isles are winning games with Barzal in the lineup, I wonder what ridiculous theory will be used now to hate on Barzal.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Barzal last over last 13 (since he’s been healthy), playing on 3 different line combinations:

3G -10A-13 points, +15. Leads the league in ExG vs rest of team. But sure, let’s ship him out and bring in **checks notes** a more expensive figure skater!

Lol, I even read @Throttle post as EP40 was the overpaid figure skater. Had to do a reread. People complain Barzal can't mesh with anyone but want to trade him for the guy that is available because he can't mesh with someone. Go figure....

Cool stats, what place in the standings are Isles in?

That’s like saying he had a great playoff by scoring the game winning goal when the isles were down 3-1 in the series.

Or 5 points in the teams first 10 games, leading them to a record of 3-5-2 and a 1-4 losing streak.

Great job.

How are the Canucks doing with Pettersson leading their team?

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Be interesting if they could do a three way trade of Nelson to say Colorado, Engvall and Middlestadt to Van and we get Pettersson. Figure out the draft picks to compensate but I think it would work.

 

[MJF]

Kaplan reporting Isles made the decision to be sellers

I’lk believe it when shovels are in the ground.

 

[BrockLobster]

Nope - you keep very talented players to play with other very talented players that you can acquire.


Now that the Isles are winning games with Barzal in the lineup, I wonder what ridiculous theory will be used now to hate on Barzal.

They arent in first so barzal sucks.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Barzal last over last 13 (since he’s been healthy), playing on 3 different line combinations:

The last 13, huh? Damn.

 

[impaaaaaact]

Lol, I even read @Throttle post as EP40 was the overpaid figure skater. Had to do a reread. People complain Barzal can't mesh with anyone but want to trade him for the guy that is available because he can't mesh with someone. Go figure....


How are the Canucks doing with Pettersson leading their team?

lol he also reports me whenever I call him out on the Barzy Bashing. There is a tattle-tale in our midst - tread lightly my friend, beware the points

 

[SI]

My bad, you’re right. Mat Barzal is responsible for the record of the entire team. especially when he’s injured for half the year. Mat Barzal is responsible for Brock and Palmieri scoring 0 goals over 30 combined games. Mat Barzal is responsible for Varly getting injured and Lou forcing Roy to run Sorokin into the ground. Mat Barzal is responsible for Romanov and Reilly and Duclair getting immediately injured. He’s responsible for the entire roster Lou put together. It’s all Mat’s fault!!!!

Honestly, you just have to ignore that dude. He knows nothing and has one bad take after another. Most here have sense. You keep #13.

 

[Throttle]

Honestly, you just have to ignore that dude. He knows nothing and has one bad take after another. Most here have sense. You keep #13.

Can we revisit that Colorado and Carolina trade? Seems you were adamant something like that would never happen… did that make your blog post yet?

 

[SI]

"I felt like for a long time that there was a solution here because everybody has worked on it, including the parties involved,” Rutherford said. “But it only gets resolved for a short period of time and then it festers again and so it certainly appears like there’s not a good solution that would keep this group together.”

VC has a bit of a problem with their 2 best forwards not getting along. I don't know that Lou trades Nelson/Palmieri unless he improves the team now and for the future. Turning those 2 (directly or via assets obtained by trading them) into 26 year old Pettersson would seem to check all of the boxes for a deal Lou would actually make. A caveat is that Pettersson's shine seems to have worn a bit over the past year - not sure if that makes his $11.6M an issue?

Rutherford: No 'good solution' on J.T. Miller-Elias Pettersson rift for Vancouver Canucks | TSN

Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford has lost faith in his ability to mend the strained relationship between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. Rutherford told Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail that fixes to the relationship has proved to be short-term.

www.tsn.ca

edit: I saw the 2 above posts after posting mine.

---

I was listening to 650 AM today while driving my kid to a dentist appointment in Victoria, and they were popping off! All season, they've been clapping back at the media, saying the drama is blown out of proportion or completely made up.

But now, Rutherford has finally called it out—meaning the coach, the captain, and the lockerroom have had enough.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• What’s strange is that there was never any smoke before this season. EP40 - Miller - Boeser were the Lotto line! Great line - very productive and a line many fans wish they'd unify.
• When Miller signed his long-term contract, there was never any real beef between him and others, certainly not Bo. It just seemed like management saw them as competing roles. They couldn’t keep both, and they needed to address their defence—so they chose Miller, signing him for $8M AAV, then traded Bo, flipped the assets to get Hronek, and signed him long-term for under $8M.
• Hughes then signed for just under Miller.
• Petey rebounded with 2 strong seasons after an abysmal season of inconsistency. The expectation was that he’d get something similar to the Barzal contract—maybe slightly more, around $10M. Instead, he signed for $11.6M—over $3M more than anyone else on the team.
• IMO, that’s when the tension may have started.
• Miller is an intense player—his offseason regimen is no joke, and he always comes to camp in shape.
• But with Bo gone, and no more Pearson, Tanev, or even hard-nosed vets like Jay Beagle, there's no one in the room who can match Miller’s intensity. Hughes isn’t that kind of personality, and Boeser isn’t a leader.
• Meanwhile, Petey shows up to camp looking out of shape—or maybe he’s still dealing with knee tendinitis from last season.
• He’s slow, sluggish, and lacks jump. He’s just not playing at the expected pace.
• Miller, never one to hold back, lets him hear it. Petey struggles from the start of the season.
• Miller is probably on him every night, trying to push him to give more.
• Then, Miller suddenly takes a 10-game leave of absence. No one knows why. My conspiracy theory? He was suspended internally—something happened, and the team sent him away.
• Miller returns, and suddenly Petey is away from the team.
• Both deny any rift.
• The coach, frustrated with Petey, calls him out to the media—when asked if Petey will play, Tocchet says he's medically cleared but says that EP40 says he's not ready to play and will sit out. Maybe he’s feeling the pressure to perform and wants to be at 100% before stepping back in.
• Rumours start flying that Vancouver may need to trade one of them.
• A month later, the issue is still festering—or maybe even becoming unfixable for the coach, the captain, and the room.
• Now, management waves the white flag. They’re so frustrated that they’ve come to the conclusion they can’t build a team around either guy. Suddenly, both might be on the trade block.
• The big concern: If they trade both, they have to keep Hughes—who is now the face of the franchise. But to keep him, they’ll need to make two great hockey trades with no leverage and then flip those assets to speed up a retool.
• Some analysts are wondering: If Miller is moved, could Petey still find his way back and move forward?
• Others think it might be better to move Miller now and wait until the offseason to see what kind of leverage they can gain on a potential Petey trade.

IMO, Miller will be moved soon—I don’t know where or for what, but it sounds like Rutherford is already signaling that they may not be able to make a true hockey trade or get full value for him.

Personally, I think Miller would be an excellent fit for the Islanders. If they could upgrade from Nelson to Miller, I’d do it. We tend to fixate on the fact that he’s 31, but having watched him play, he’s strong, fast, and in incredible shape. He’s in his prime and would be a perfect addition to the right-side wall of the power play.

As for Petey, if he gets moved, it’s more likely to happen in the offseason. But if a trade happens now, Buffalo seems like a top contender. Not many teams could top a Cozens-Byram package (a 2-for-1 deal Friedman floated), or even something like Cozens and Power for EP40+.

Two other teams with the assets to make a deal:

• Anaheim – Zegras, McTavish, and Mintyukov could be a framework.
• Utah – They have the desire to make a splash, but they also have young pieces like Guenther and Cooley that they probably shouldn’t move. They should just stay the course.

An EP40-to-the-Isles move would be electric. Imagine this power play:
Lee
Barzal – Horvat – EP40
PP QB?

That said, an Islanders trade would be tough since few teams can afford $11.6M per season. The package would likely have to be built around Noah Dobson +. #13 (Barzal) isn’t going anywhere.

So, who QBs the PP - Tony DeAngelo has looked very, very good in his first two games, but it’s still too early to tell. Perunovich also looked solid, aside from that one giveaway. DO they continue to impress and make MGMT think it is worth a move?

A possible package:

• Dobson + Nelson + a prospect Danny Nelson and Pierre Engvall to balance out $ and Cap for EP40 would certainly rock Long Island
• Vancouver could either extend Nelson or flip him for picks and prospects. Maybe Colorado gets involved and wants Nelson and dangles Mittelstadt +

 

[IslesNorway]

You know, in true Islanders fashion this is not gonna end well. The recent upsurge in results will lead to them hanging on to Palms and Nelson, but just missing out on the playoffs. They will either walk for nothing of get signed to horrible deals. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation they are caught in now.

 

[Isles72]

vancouver should probably trade both ep40 and miller and at same time see what the market can offer for quinn hughes (no trade protection)since he'll probably head to njd after 2026-27

Rutherford could probably retool this nicely he plays his cards right

 

[Rehabguy]

Honestly, you just have to ignore that dude. He knows nothing and has one bad take after another. Most here have sense. You keep #13.

Of course you keep #13. Point per game players since returning from injury. Trade him? What craziness is that?

 

[Zeeker]

Does anyone have any evidence yet that Kaplan actually reported the Isles to be sellers?

 

[leeroggy]

Does anyone have any evidence yet that Kaplan actually reported the Isles to be sellers?

No, because I saw the segment, and she said IF the team is still well out of the playoffs by the deadline, they would be sellers. It was a PREDICTION.

 

[Zeeker]

No, because I saw the segment, and she said IF the team is still well out of the playoffs by the deadline, they would be sellers. It was a PREDICTION.

Thank you… I assumed this was the case and it was a game of telephone running wild

 

[MJF]

You know, in true Islanders fashion this is not gonna end well. The recent upsurge in results will lead to them hanging on to Palms and Nelson, but just missing out on the playoffs. They will either walk for nothing of get signed to horrible deals. Either way, it's a lose-lose situation they are caught in now.

The mushy middle. It’s no man’s land.

Of course you keep #13. Point per game players since returning from injury. Trade him? What craziness is that?

Elias Pettersson is better than Barzal. I’d trade 13 for EP40 in a minute.

 

[Lek]

Elias Pettersson is better than Barzal. I’d trade 13 for EP40 in a minute.

Not sure, but.....figure out how to have both...

 

[Rehabguy]

Elias Pettersson is better than Barzal. I’d trade 13 for EP40 in a minute.

I don't know if I would want a player who cannot resolve a simple rift between another player on his own team and bring that immaturity to our team. Talented for sure, but the team doesn't need the drama. Players should not be traded because they are acting like babies in the lockerroom. That alone makes Barzal a better player than EP.

 

[MJF]

I don't know if I would want a player who cannot resolve a simple rift between another player on his own team and bring that immaturity to our team. Talented for sure, but the team doesn't need the drama. Players should not be traded because they are acting like babies in the lockerroom. That alone makes Barzal a better player than EP.

We already have Tony DeAngelo.

 

[beach]

I don't know if I would want a player who cannot resolve a simple rift between another player on his own team and bring that immaturity to our team. Talented for sure, but the team doesn't need the drama. Players should not be traded because they are acting like babies in the lockerroom. That alone makes Barzal a better player than EP.

I think it's more JT being a dickhead bully. Pettersson would fit in nicely on the Isles.

 

[Chockey22]

I don't know if I would want a player who cannot resolve a simple rift between another player on his own team and bring that immaturity to our team. Talented for sure, but the team doesn't need the drama. Players should not be traded because they are acting like babies in the lockerroom. That alone makes Barzal a better player than EP.

There’s lots of speculation about the rift between EP and Miller, but I don’t think it’s due to EP’s immaturity. I think he’d be completely fine in the Isles room, especially with Horvat here who he’s gotten on well with in the past. Miller, on the other hand, might be a bit disruptive to the room.