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

[Throttle]

Signing Reilly was an absolute no-brainer.

There were a few nights where he was our best defenseman.

There were plenty of nights where he provided solid top 4 minutes.

In general, save for Dobson, he gelled with our skill players better than any other blueliner.

Now we need to see if it was just a "right time, right place" situation because he was DEAD in the water when Lou grabbed him off waivers from Florida.



I think Lou truly, truly thought Engvall was on the brink of being a regular all-purpose 20-25-45 style for forward with a body that is hard to play against, even without being physical.

Agree, also two other elements. He fit the ‘younger/faster’ motto at a time the Isles were getting older/slower.

Add in, he was continuity in the middle six at a cost controlled level as other players are sunset in the next couple of years. It also an easy deal to get out of, if necessary.

 

[leeroggy]

How many more times are we going to beat a dead horse?
Engvall is here unless he's traded. Has anything new about the signing been said the last 6 months? You can argue term, but $3 million a year is the rate for his production, and he added zone entry and speed when we needed it.
The three prior years to last year he had 15/17/17 goals. If he gets to that, he's certainly worth the $3 million; if he repeats last year, he likely isn't.

October 4th is only 97 days away, can we put Engvall on hold for at least the next 60, or unless he is traded?

 

[The Real JT]

Engvall is here unless he's traded.

October 4th is only 97 days away, can we put Engvall on hold for at least the next 60, or unless he is traded?

I agree. Can we put him on ice? Figuratively, not literally.

 

[impaaaaaact]

How many more times are we going to beat a dead horse?
Engvall is here unless he's traded. Has anything new about the signing been said the last 6 months? You can argue term, but $3 million a year is the rate for his production, and he added zone entry and speed when we needed it.
The three prior years to last year he had 15/17/17 goals. If he gets to that, he's certainly worth the $3 million; if he repeats last year, he likely isn't.

October 4th is only 97 days away, can we put Engvall on hold for at least the next 60, or unless he is traded?

Yeah, the Engvall deal is weird but it's probably fine for the most part, especially with the cap rising. Same with the Mayfield deal, although I would have preferred to spend that $$$ elsewhere. with Dobson and Pulock already locked in on the right side.

That being said, I think we got some good value out of this offseason. Duclair signed for 3.5M but we can probably get 5.5M worth of value out of him if he's playing with Barzy and Horvat. Tsyplakov is a wild card, but he signed for less than a million and there's really no risk. If he shows he's a solid middle 6 player that's worth at least 2.5M. Reilly certainly played well above the 1.25M he's getting paid this year.

Turn 6M of cap space into 11M worth of value? That would be just about the best we could hope for. I'm pretty excited for next season tbh

 

[MJF]

I think Lou truly, truly thought Engvall was on the brink of being a regular all-purpose 20-25-45 style for forward with a body that is hard to play against, even without being physical.

Similar thought process behind Jordan Eberle’s last Isles contract. Eberle had a good playoff round against the Pens and never broke through to the next level after that.

 

[mm11]

Wonder what fans were thinking when Panarin and Kucherov were coming over from the KHL? would be nice one of these centuries the Isles strike oil when all it costs was money and keen scouting

 

[doublechili]

In that analogy, the valuation would ostensibly be the same. It's the same deal.

A better analogy would be if you wanted 3rd base line tickets for a ballgame. You can pay the convenience fee and buy the tickets ahead of time, guaranteeing your preferred outcome at the expense of extra money, or you can take your chances at the gate on game day. You might save money, but you might not get your preferred seat. There's value in doing it either way, it's just a matter of how you prioritize it.

Ebay buy-it-now maybe? Bidding on an item is at $25 with 5 days left in the auction. It's an item you don't see listed often, but there happens to be another one in the same condition with a buy-it-now price of $100. You think it's worth around $125, so the guaranteed $100 price is good. But, maybe you can really steal it for $50 if you wait it out. Of course, there's the chance someone else pays the buy-it-now $100, and then the auction price ends up higher than $100. What to do?

I think it comes down to how badly you need the item, how much money you have at your disposal, how rare it is, etc.. So, just like shopping for hockey players in a competitive Cap environment.

 

[Throttle]

How many more times are we going to beat a dead horse?
Engvall is here unless he's traded. Has anything new about the signing been said the last 6 months? You can argue term, but $3 million a year is the rate for his production, and he added zone entry and speed when we needed it.
The three prior years to last year he had 15/17/17 goals. If he gets to that, he's certainly worth the $3 million; if he repeats last year, he likely isn't.

October 4th is only 97 days away, can we put Engvall on hold for at least the next 60, or unless he is traded?

He’s just a lightning rod for the ‘if you didn’t sing these 3 guys for $3-4M each, then you have the money for an elite talent’ only to be rejected and have to go back to the scrap yard anyway.

 

[Top Corner]

Lou chose to extend Reilly instead. They had one spot on D and gave it to him. The current cap situation has no openings for adding extra players.

Not unless you move any of the lower tier forwards which could be doable or look at other options to have Boqvist added at the expense of Bolduc or maybe the option to move a more tenured D man somewhere else like a Pelech or Pulock for other options up front

 

[LeapOnOver]

In that analogy, the valuation would ostensibly be the same. It's the same deal.

A better analogy would be if you wanted 3rd base line tickets for a ballgame. You can pay the convenience fee and buy the tickets ahead of time, guaranteeing your preferred outcome at the expense of extra money, or you can take your chances at the gate on game day. You might save money, but you might not get your preferred seat. There's value in doing it either way, it's just a matter of how you prioritize it.

I don't follow. If we had Horvat, Raty, a 1st and Beauvillier vs. just Horvat....I don't see how the value is not different. Just as, if we had a car we bought plus our original ride vs just the car we bought, how is the former not better value?

 

[The Wahligator]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811190537845960778

 

[impaaaaaact]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811190537845960778

…interesting. probably nothing. didn’t know much about him, seems like he’s got speed but not a whole lot of hockey sense. PKs a little bit. just a depth signing I guess

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Just as, if we had a car we bought plus our original ride vs just the car we bought, how is the former not better value?

In the example, you just pay the amount that the old car is worth in cash.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I liked Foudy in the brief stints I saw him with CBJ (I believe it was CBJ). Speed and work ethic.

 

[leeroggy]

If memory serves, Foudy was a late riser who went surprisingly high
Interesting family background, Mom an Olympic silver medalist sprinter and Dad a CFL player
Was definitely drafted too high, so a low risk Bridgeport likely signing to give him some time
Still only 24 years old

 

[SI90]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1811190537845960778

Super low risk. I like it. Hes a speed demon. Still only 24. 2018 first round pick. Had some injuries stunt his development but still young enough to carve out a career and figure things out.

Hell compete for a bottom 6 spot but these are the cheap low risk signings I like.

 

[Chardo]

Let's be real. 24 year old forwards who haven't done anything and can barely get a league minimum UFA contract are going to continue not doing anything.

 

[Glorydays22]

…interesting. probably nothing. didn’t know much about him, seems like he’s got speed but not a whole lot of hockey sense. PKs a little bit. just a depth signing I guess

worth a risk at league minimum

 

[impaaaaaact]

Let's be real. 24 year old forwards who haven't done anything and can barely get a league minimum UFA contract are going to continue not doing anything.

Yeah, I’d look at this as a depth option for if a bottom 6 player goes down. Foudy did a bit of PK work in 2023 and maybe could fill in in a pinch. If a top 6 guy goes down maybe they try Jeffries or Maggio. Maybe Holmstrom is on his way out, who knows.

 

[IslesNorway]

Really liking the Foudy signing. Absolutely no risk move on a guy young enough to bounce back. At worst it'll give Bridgeport a good player.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Wonder what fans were thinking when Panarin and Kucherov were coming over from the KHL? would be nice one of these centuries the Isles strike oil when all it costs was money and keen scouting

Well, the thing that strikes me the most about the Tsyplakov signing is that it feels very unique to the Lamoriello era.

The guy was litereally the top Euro UFA in this spring's (admittedly uninspiring) crop.

Sure, we can look way back to the out-of-nowhere summer addition of Kovar when Lou first came in as well as the unexpected Soshnikov addition that was oh so shortlived. It's not the first time a non-contracted KHL-guy has been brought in.

But it's the first time this organization got a top guy who had been talked about all winter long.

I mean, there's really good reason to think of and bet on him being no less than what Mikheyev was coming over as a UFA out of the KHL.

It would be real nice if that goal-scoring touch he displayed at times last season could lead to a few more goals as well.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

Another 2018 bust thus far (picked 7 spots below Ollie), Foudy is a good low-risk add I guess...

He's got 102 NHL games under his belt and 7 goals and 22 points while shooting less than 6%.

Comparably, Wahlstrom has 34 goals and 67 points in 193 NHL games, shooting over 9% and is likely on his way out...

Progress

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Another 2018 bust thus far (picked 7 spots below Ollie), Foudy is a good low-risk add I guess...

He's got 102 NHL games under his belt and 7 goals and 22 points while shooting less than 6%.

Comparably, Wahlstrom has 34 goals and 67 points in 193 NHL games, shooting over 9% and is likely on his way out...

Progress

Basically, if comparing, one has speed and can be continually molded into a lower line checker.

The other either pops as a scorer or is staring a career in Europe in the face cause even if he'd use his heavy body to check people (which he can), we've seen he's so fragile that he can only do it so much before landing on the IR.

 

[saintunspecified]

Foudy makes sense as an AHL/depth option. Hard to find AHL faceoff stats, but it looks like he played almost entirely on the wing in the NHL. NYI certainly need more PK options, but they really need PK options with NHL level faceoff competence. Whether or not they would like to shed JGP, they absolutely cannot without another PK C.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Well, the thing that strikes me the most about the Tsyplakov signing is that it feels very unique to the Lamoriello era.

The guy was litereally the top Euro UFA in this spring's (admittedly uninspiring) crop.

Sure, we can look way back to the out-of-nowhere summer addition of Kovar when Lou first came in as well as the unexpected Soshnikov addition that was oh so shortlived. It's not the first time a non-contracted KHL-guy has been brought in.

But it's the first time this organization got a top guy who had been talked about all winter long.

I mean, there's really good reason to think of and bet on him being no less than what Mikheyev was coming over as a UFA out of the KHL.

It would be real nice if that goal-scoring touch he displayed at times last season could lead to a few more goals as well.

We hired Jim Paliafito in 2022, the guy who brought over Mikheyev among others.