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

[Strickland]

I’m not going to deal with hypotheticals, just the reality of what has actually transpired.

Sure, but the Nelson trade doesn't happen in a vacuum. No moves do, ever. And the mindset of the guy in charge is worth discussing. He didn't wanna trade Nelson. The player had to force his hand. So I find it hard to believe that Lou is all that interested in moving more pieces from this team in similar trades. He's gonna move Pulock (provided he waives NTC)?

Lou sucks. He's sucked pretty much the whole time. The only thing left discussing is when he's fired in the next 12 month, who replaces him and how deep the organizational hole is.

 

[periferal]

He hasn't gone 'all-in' since the Horvat trade, in early 2023.

If this is the end of Lou, he actually did alright by the franchise the last two years by trading Nelson for futures and not trading away draft picks for win-now moves.

Let's not let LDS get in the way of facts.

Not trading picks is a good point, but we all saw the reports of Lou trying hard to resign Nelson when anyone with a 54 IQ knew it was better to trade Nelson for futures. He only did so because Nelson rejected all his contract offers. That means Nelson saved us from Lou.

Then we add in the embarrassing Duclair contact and not trading Palmieri - You can call it whatever you want, but it’s definitely terrible GM work.

And if Lou is not going all in and not rebuilding, then what the f*** is he doing? This roster isn’t young or related enough to retool, but Lou’s moves are individually mediocre at best (and horrid at worst), while he drives us the NHL version of Siberia.

Whatever you think of Lou he’s had his chance and the team is worse off than when he started. That’s a failure of his job responsibilities and why he has to go.

 

[periferal]

I’m not going to deal with hypotheticals, just the reality of what has actually transpired.

Well your favorite team just missed the playoffs again with one of the oldest rosters in the league. How you dealing with that? You like what you see?

 

[WangMustGo]

I hate the idea of a total scorched earth rebuild, but the longer this dreadful season goes on the more open to it I am. The next 2 drafts have elite talent at the top. Get lucky in one of those drafts and it changes everything. Move all the vets. Horvat, Dobson, Barzal, and Sorokin will net us a huge haul to kick off a rebuild.

 

[MJF]

I hate the idea of a total scorched earth rebuild, but the longer this dreadful season goes on the more open to it I am. The next 2 drafts have elite talent at the top. Get lucky in one of those drafts and it changes everything. Move all the vets. Horvat, Dobson, Barzal, and Sorokin will net us a huge haul to kick off a rebuild.

Do you like the idea of building around Horvar, Barzal, and Romanov?

 

[seafoam]

Sorokin is starting today. LOL

 

[Sparksrus3]

Well your favorite team just missed the playoffs again with one of the oldest rosters in the league. How you dealing with that? You like what you see?

.
Lou will spruce up the lineup by bring in Patrik Elias and Scott Stevens this summer..It’s all he knows

 

[Arsenalogist24]

Sorokin is starting today. LOL

Unbelievable. What an unnecessary risk

 

[NoOneHere]

Sorokin is starting today. LOL

Comical

 

[impaaaaaact]

Does anyone think Gatcomb has the IQ to move up the lineup at all? Even playing a cause chaos/puck retrieval role? He does always seem to be around the net at the right time

 

[MJF]

Sorokin is starting today. LOL

Tristan Lennox Moonlight Graham

 

[MJF]

Does anyone think Gatcomb has the IQ to move up the lineup at all? Even playing a cause chaos/puck retrieval role? He does always seem to be around the net at the right time

Do you mean 2nd line? I don’t think he has the hands for that. He slots in as a better Fssching.

 

[seabass45]

Meanwhile… going well!

 

[WangMustGo]

Do you like the idea of building around Horvar, Barzal, and Romanov?

Nope the only “build around” player we have is Sorokin, and by the time this team is competing for the cup who knows how old he will be. And Sorokin is good enough to keep us from a top 3 pick.

 

[MJF]

Nope the only “build around” player we have is Sorokin, and by the time this team is competing for the cup who knows how old he will be. And Sorokin is good enough to keep us from a top 3 pick.

I agree and I would choose to rebuild but it’s not going to happen.

 

[WangMustGo]

I agree and I would choose to rebuild but it’s not going to happen.

Only chance it happens is if new front office is put in place, and even if that happens who knows what ownership has to say about it. I think Lou and Roy are here for another season most likely. Which is a disaster itself. This team desperately needs a McKenna or DuPont (2027) level talent.

 

[JPIsles18]

I agree and I would choose to rebuild but it’s not going to happen.

Rebuilding is tough without guarantees of paying off.

Teams like the Stars and Panthers were able to retool on the fly by being smart and thrifty. The stars had albatross contracts in Sequin and Benn. Then, through the draft and development, they were able to add Heiskanen, Oettinger, Robertson, Harley, and Johnston. And just like that they were good again.

The Panthers did it a bit differently. They used trades to get guys who were undervalued (Reinhart, Bennett). Then they weren't afraid to send important core players for a guy like Tkachuk knowing he is a young unicorn type of player. Furthermore, they've done damage by picking up other teams "trash" like Forsling and Verhaeghe.

The problem with the Isles is that they do neither thing well. They don't draft and develop particularly well. They overpay in terms of assets and AAV for players (Palmieri and Pageau), they overvalue their own players by re-signing them to term (Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield, Cizikas, Engvall, etc.) This year you saw some attempts at this with acquiring Perunovich and Boqvist. However, Perunovich has not been given any sort of leash to develop his game.

Every year has been very tepid in terms of making bold moves to actually become a contender. Even the Horvat trade is an example of this. He is an excellent secondary piece on a team ready to compete for a cup, a 3rd or 4th best forward on a great team. Instead they brought him in to be the 2nd best forward on the team. Half measures all around.

With that being said, I don't think a full rebuild should be in order. Instead, it's time to get creative. You have pieces that teams may covet. You also have pieces (Barzal, Horvat, Dobson, Sorokin, Holmstrom, and some others) that can be a strong core with the right coaching. Let's not forget that if we even had average special teams (which is usually an indictment on coaching), we'd be in the playoffs.

Our GM and Coach are unfortunately bad. There are some things they do well. However, this season is evidence that they are not good enough. Not the right coach, and not the right GM. All the successful teams in the NHL do not fall in love with their players. Lou does. He falls madly in love and won't let them go. Once a GM does this, it's time to go.

 

[Throttle]

Rebuilding is tough without guarantees of paying off.

Teams like the Stars and Panthers were able to retool on the fly by being smart and thrifty. The stars had albatross contracts in Sequin and Benn. Then, through the draft and development, they were able to add Heiskanen, Oettinger, Robertson, Harley, and Johnston. And just like that they were good again.

The Panthers did it a bit differently. They used trades to get guys who were undervalued (Reinhart, Bennett). Then they weren't afraid to send important core players for a guy like Tkachuk knowing he is a young unicorn type of player. Furthermore, they've done damage by picking up other teams "trash" like Forsling and Verhaeghe.

The problem with the Isles is that they do neither thing well. They don't draft and develop particularly well. They overpay in terms of assets and AAV for players (Palmieri and Pageau), they overvalue their own players by re-signing them to term (Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield, Cizikas, Engvall, etc.) This year you saw some attempts at this with acquiring Perunovich and Boqvist. However, Perunovich has not been given any sort of leash to develop his game.

Every year has been very tepid in terms of making bold moves to actually become a contender. Even the Horvat trade is an example of this. He is an excellent secondary piece on a team ready to compete for a cup, a 3rd or 4th best forward on a great team. Instead they brought him in to be the 2nd best forward on the team. Half measures all around.

With that being said, I don't think a full rebuild should be in order. Instead, it's time to get creative. You have pieces that teams may covet. You also have pieces (Barzal, Horvat, Dobson, Sorokin, Holmstrom, and some others) that can be a strong core with the right coaching. Let's not forget that if we even had average special teams (which is usually an indictment on coaching), we'd be in the playoffs.

Our GM and Coach are unfortunately bad. There are some things they do well. However, this season is evidence that they are not good enough. Not the right coach, and not the right GM. All the successful teams in the NHL do not fall in love with their players. Lou does. He falls madly in love and won't let them go. Once a GM does this, it's time to go.

I would agree with most of this. I know you are bringing up Dallas, they had a bunch of luck on their side. Otteninger rose to the occasion very early and sustained it, Ben/Sequin were aging and slowly down for a faster league, it was the youth that pushed them down the lineup and also as the go-tos. They got tremendously lucky that Klingberg did not sign their offer - if he does, that changes how that team has to approach their cap usage and roster.

Hat tip to Florida bc just like Vegas - once they identify a way to trade up in talent and skill, they do it, then do it again, if needed. They don’t settle, but again there’s luck there as FL used 6 goalies, including their $10M guy that was an albatross as well. And if Bennett turned into a different player in FL - it doesn’t always work out that way in favor of the acquirer, it’s a delicate balance.

I think Lou identified playoff players and style, but outside of Trotz as a 4 line unit, it has struggled to adapt. He’s wasted cap space on marginal players that have speed, but not brains.

 

[gordie43]

I don’t know what to make of this squad, but with functional special teams they would probably be in a playoff spot. Such a strange season.

 

[Lek]

I don’t know what to make of this squad, but with functional special teams they would probably be in a playoff spot. Such a strange season.

as a coach, it is a team of square and round pegs that you are trying to fit into triangle shaped holes....no one really goes together....no chemistry, especially with the top 6 and D and really i did not see any sustained desire to go out there and win, to go out and play your best. Time to find some triangles.

 

[JPIsles18]

I would agree with most of this. I know you are bringing up Dallas, they had a bunch of luck on their side. Otteninger rose to the occasion very early and sustained it, Ben/Sequin were aging and slowly down for a faster league, it was the youth that pushed them down the lineup and also as the go-tos. They got tremendously lucky that Klingberg did not sign their offer - if he does, that changes how that team has to approach their cap usage and roster.

Hat tip to Florida bc just like Vegas - once they identify a way to trade up in talent and skill, they do it, then do it again, if needed. They don’t settle, but again there’s luck there as FL used 6 goalies, including their $10M guy that was an albatross as well. And if Bennett turned into a different player in FL - it doesn’t always work out that way in favor of the acquirer, it’s a delicate balance.

I think Lou identified playoff players and style, but outside of Trotz as a 4 line unit, it has struggled to adapt. He’s wasted cap space on marginal players that have speed, but not brains.

Agreed with this. There's always an element of luck. However, both teams in my example, Stars and Panthers, exhibit balls. They take the swings. Not all the swings work out. However, they operate from a position of never being satisfied with not winning the Stanley Cup. They operate from a perspective of trying to be more creative than the other 31 teams they are competing with.

Lou appears to operate in fear. Fear of roster turnover. Fear of hiring coaches/assistants he does not know from Jersey. Fear of goal scoring. Fear of beards. Fear of young players. Fear of short contracts for average players.

We need a GM to start embracing the motto of "if you're not getting better, you're getting worse."

 

[periferal]

Rebuilding is tough without guarantees of paying off.

Oh...I'm sorry - Are there guarantees if Lou keeps doing whatever it is he's doing?

I'd argue there's more of a guarantee that the Isles continue to fade away from Cup contention then if we try a new path. That means not just a new GM, but a total investment into a youth movement that includes elite young talent.

I love every Islander who put on the uniform the last few years and gave us some great memories, but the last thing I want to do is watch (much less pay money to see) aging average talent continue to miss the playoffs...And get nowhere near a top 3 pick.

Teams like the Stars and Panthers were able to retool on the fly by being smart and thrifty. The stars had albatross contracts in Sequin and Benn. Then, through the draft and development, they were able to add Heiskanen, Oettinger, Robertson, Harley, and Johnston. And just like that they were good again.

Here's the problem you're missing...

Both Panthers and Stars' core group of players was/is SO much better than the Isles "core" group. Sure most around here would say our core players are Sorokin, Barzal, Horvat, and Dobson (and yet many want him traded), but compare that to the top 4 players on any contending team and it's a joke how much of a gap there is to even consider this current Isles team close to competing for a Cup

You have to build your core group first...And it needs to be a LOT more talented than what the Isles have. Then you can talk about retooling, but you can't retool if you don't have a foundation. That's why I'd argue the Isles are still "building," and without hitting on a (top) draft pick(s), I don't see how they're going to get that top (young) talent to build there core.

 

[miscs75]

I don’t know what to make of this squad, but with functional special teams they would probably be in a playoff spot. Such a strange season.

With how mid everyone is in the conference, they’d probably be in the Devils spot with average special teams. It would also carry over to late game defense thus being able to not blow leads with less then 3 minutes remaining.

 

[Zeeker]

With how mid everyone is in the conference, they’d probably be in the Devils spot with average special teams. It would also carry over to late game defense thus being able to not blow leads with less then 3 minutes remaining.

So if the team was better, they’d be in the playoffs?

Seriously though, we say this every year

 

[miscs75]

So if the team was better, they’d be in the playoffs?

Seriously though, we say this every year

3rd in the metro over barely making it in as a wildcard, yes.