Roster/Rumors/Speculation/Trade Talk - 2025-26: Welcome to the Darche Side

[MarsTBOW]

What the heck is this terminology...?

"....neither the Islanders nor Mat Barzal is actively seeking a separation at this time..."

"At this time...???" That kind of a phrase sounds like it's only a matter of time..,

LOL This makes me think there is a move coming even more!

 

[Zeeker]

What the heck is this terminology...?

"....neither the Islanders nor Mat Barzal is actively seeking a separation at this time..."

"At this time...???" That kind of a phrase sounds like it's only a matter of time..,

I think you’re probably reading more into the “At this time” than the person intended with saying that part

 

[SonOfWang100000000]

Back after a season and it just warms my heart to see Throttle still harping on about Barzal for pages. Never Change, Isles HF

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

What the heck is this terminology...?

"....neither the Islanders nor Mat Barzal is actively seeking a separation at this time..."

"At this time...???" That kind of a phrase sounds like it's only a matter of time..,

Is this NTC related? Barzal doesn’t want to go to the team Isles want to trade him to and the Isles don’t want to trade him to a team on his allowable list.

 

[Kasparaitis]

Back after a season and it just warms my heart to see Throttle still harping on about Barzal for pages. Never Change, Isles HF

To be fair, I've been attending and watching professional hockey for over 60 years and Barzal is by far the most frustrating player I've ever watched.

 

[periferal]

I think you’re probably reading more into the “At this time” than the person intended with saying that part

Maybe, but that was one of the most strangely worded report I've ever seen.

Again...If the Isles had ZERO intention of trading Barzal, wouldn't the report then be something like, "The Isles do not have Barzal on the trade block and will not be trading him."

We've seen those reports about players throughout the NHL when there's a rumor they might be dealt. However with Barzal now we hear things like, "The Islanders are not actively shopping him," "It would take a big offer to get him," and the Isles are "not looking to separate from Barzal at this time."

The Isles may not trade Barzal, but something is going on behind the scenes we don't know about. There's way too much smoke that has not been emphatically denied. I wouldn't be surprised if the Isles did want to trade Barzal, but....They're not getting offers that are good enough.

Adding to that...I wouldn't be surprised if Darche has an offseason plan, but needs cap space to implement it, and if he doesn't trade Barzal by July 1st (if not before) then he'll miss out on what he wants to do.

Annoyingly...Because of all the contracts on the team, Barzal is almost the only one Darche can trade to free up significant cap space. So then you have to wonder...Does Darche really think trading Barzal is a good idea, or is he being backed into it because of the need for more cap space.

And IF that is the case...Even more annoyingly this is why you don't take on 13 million of cap space for over the hill vets like Palat and Schenn (And even if Darche does not need more cap space, you still don't do this).

 

[miscs75]

Is this NTC related? Barzal doesn’t want to go to the team Isles want to trade him to and the Isles don’t want to trade him to a team on his allowable list.

Probably not. Most likely the fact that the team isn’t looking to actively move him. If it was NTC related, we would have heard more then the one reporters questionable info.

 

[NC 1972]

I'm wondering if we will see any action on our guys before mid-next week or is it our guys just are not as valuable to other teams looking for leadership.

Would like to see them try and reshape our team with a little less experience and a little more enthusiastic youth.

It’s been said before all fans overvalue their teams talent, we are no different. I may be wrong but the time to strike was at the trade deadline, and we all know how that went. We want to hold onto our young guys and among our older players it seems like Pelech is the sacrificial lamb due to lack of trade protection. Trading Pelech would be an about face considering the deadline acquisition of Schenn but I’d imagine if moving players are in the cards it probably occurs on draft day. It’s a bit worrisome not knowing the path forward but if I had to guess it’s more about the present than the future. Veteran Coach.

 

[NC 1972]

Maybe, but that was one of the most strangely worded report I've ever seen.

Again...If the Isles had ZERO intention of trading Barzal, wouldn't the report then be something like, "The Isles do not have Barzal on the trade block and will not be trading him."

We've seen those reports about players throughout the NHL when there's a rumor they might be dealt. However with Barzal now we hear things like, "The Islanders are not actively shopping him," "It would take a big offer to get him," and the Isles are "not looking to separate from Barzal at this time."

The Isles may not trade Barzal, but something is going on behind the scenes we don't know about. There's way too much smoke that has not been emphatically denied. I wouldn't be surprised if the Isles did want to trade Barzal, but....They're not getting offers that are good enough.

Adding to that...I wouldn't be surprised if Darche has an offseason plan, but needs cap space to implement it, and if he doesn't trade Barzal by July 1st (if not before) then he'll miss out on what he wants to do.

Annoyingly...Because of all the contracts on the team, Barzal is almost the only one Darche can trade to free up significant cap space. So then you have to wonder...Does Darche really think trading Barzal is a good idea, or is he being backed into it because of the need for more cap space.

And IF that is the case...Even more annoyingly this is why you don't take on 13 million of cap space for over the hill vets like Palat and Schenn (And even if Darche does not need more cap space, you still don't do this).

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance!

 

[periferal]

Is this NTC related? Barzal doesn’t want to go to the team Isles want to trade him to and the Isles don’t want to trade him to a team on his allowable list.

I don't get that vibe. If the Isles had a deal in place with another team that Barzal didn't want to go to I'd almost guarantee that would leak out. At minimum the reports wouldn't say, "They have no intention of parting at this time." That sounds more like the offers for Barzal aren't great.

 

[SI]

I don't get that vibe. If the Isles had a deal in place with another team that Barzal didn't want to go to I'd almost guarantee that would leak out. At minimum the reports wouldn't say, "They have no intention of parting at this time." That sounds more like the offers for Barzal aren't great.

Barzal is not going anywhere - he will be with the team. He loves playing here.
He has a 22 NTC, and all of this smoke has come from Bruce Garrioch, a Sens reporter.
It is silly season. Barzal is not going to be traded, book it.

 

[periferal]

Barzal is not going anywhere - he will be with the team. He loves playing here.
He has a 22 NTC, and all of this smoke has come from Bruce Garrioch, a Sens reporter.
It is silly season. Barzal is not going to be traded, book it.

Oh I agree he's probably not going anywhere.

That said if Darche has been trying to trade him and the offers and NTC are preventing him from doing so, let's not act like that's not newsworthy.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

This comes up because Goals are easily quantifiable as the guy who puck the put in the net whereas Assists could be a secondary where the guy did absolutely nothing aside from moving the puck along.

I would advocate for removing secondary assists entirely, but that would screw up historical records.

Barzy had 31 primary assists, that's pretty great. By comparison:
McDavid - 57
Kucherov - 51
MacKinnon - 50
Suzuki - 45
Keller - 42
Scheifele - 42
Aho - 32
Eichel - 30

When trying to find some primary vs. secondary assist numbers that lead me to this article - both of our boys are mentioned:

Mathew Barzal, NY Islanders: Rare is the 70-point forward with under 20 goals. Sure, Barzal is famously pass-first but it creates hollow stat lines. With a pair of empty net goals, the Isles’ leading point scorer has put a puck past a goalie only 17 times this season.

Matthew Schaefer, NY Islanders: Parking the hype of his age and draft status for a moment, Schaefer’s historic season has even more layers. With 22 goals, no empty net points, and a 17-19 split of primary to secondary assists, the 18-year-old’s stat line is extra high on protein and low on carbs.

Weighted scoring race 2025-26: Who are the point merchants and unsung scorers?

Ya, this really doesn't hit the issue at all. Fact remains he is the only 70-point scorer we have had here since JT left- and you could use the secondary thing with all forwards- and it is just going to secure the point even more where the 50-point/40-point guys we have had are actually 30 and 40 point players...

It is frustrating that he doesn't shoot more and get more goals- but it pales in comparison to the tiring and nauseating year after year collection of OVERPAID and washed-up veterans we sign (or trade for) who have no business being in the top six.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

Back after a season and it just warms my heart to see Throttle still harping on about Barzal for pages. Never Change, Isles HF

1 out of every 2 posts he does is that...
I picture a dark room full of Barzy's memorabilia in the most uncompromising positions, a tiny 13 voodoo with pins...the works

 

[seafoam]

How did you get blocked...?

How did you get unblocked (even more amazing)?


And if you think Rosner is bad at his job, when in the hell do you think of Andrew Gross? He's supposed to be the central Isles beat reporter representing Newsday, but he literally does nothing well. Not only does he NEVER break Isles news, but he's often the very last NHL reporter anywhere to report it.

And have you heard him ask questions at press conferences? The coach/player literally gets the point in a few words, but he extends it out to the point you can see them thinking, "I got it buddy. Just let me answer the f***ing question already..."

Not once has Gross ever educated or informed me on anything the Isles were doing or offered any insight where I thought, "Oh. Well that's interesting." Gross is like the first ever Beta version of AI - Just the most basic amalgamation of information that already exists somewhere else and presented at a kindergarten level.

Gross doesn't try to be more than he is and to be honest I don't even think I follow him.

Rosner posts misleading content to generate traffic to his articles and capitalize on ad revenue, it's shady.

 

[SayItAintSoJohnny]

Now, we have to move from PPG player to less than that. My lord, it never ends.

Again, this wasn't anywhere mentioned in the discussion

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

1 out of every 2 posts he does is that...
I picture a dark room full of Barzy's memorabilia in the most uncompromising positions, a tiny 13 voodoo with pins...the works

“What a sports nut, huh?”

 

[Top Corner]

It’s been said before all fans overvalue their teams talent, we are no different. I may be wrong but the time to strike was at the trade deadline, and we all know how that went. We want to hold onto our young guys and among our older players it seems like Pelech is the sacrificial lamb due to lack of trade protection. Trading Pelech would be an about face considering the deadline acquisition of Schenn but I’d imagine if moving players are in the cards it probably occurs on draft day. It’s a bit worrisome not knowing the path forward but if I had to guess it’s more about the present than the future. Veteran Coach.

I can't see a draft day deal only because what we have to deal is going to require may days of pre-draft work and i would think it would be for day 2 type selections. A draft floor deal will only be a big-name Islander that has been discussed during the week leading up to draft and only happen with a young player who might step in like Schaefer so essentially a high pick.

 

[I am the Problem]

Why are you comparing a superstar that went first overall with Barzal?

he should be compared to Bailey who was picked 9th overall and constantly made bad passes to either the other team or to no one at all. I would take Barzal over Bailey all day everyday

 

[crashthenet]

Pretty sure the narrative now is keep Barzal and hope to draft another player just like him.

 

[crashthenet]

he should be compared to Bailey who was picked 9th overall and constantly made bad passes to either the other team or to no one at all. I would take Barzal over Bailey all day everyday

Yup. A natural center that was moved from one wing to the other.

 

[YearlyLottery]

I would be fine trading Barzal if they are getting multiple, top tier pieces in return to better fit with Schaefer's timeline.

How good will Barzal be in 3-5 years when Schaefer will likely have the ability to will this team to a deep playoff run?

 

[LeapOnOver]

Even though there is ZERO chance that is happening- you GLADY make that deal for a not even 27-year-old who already has THREE forty goal seasons.

Hell, I would add their choice of Eklund and Eiserman as well to make that happen.......

But again, its not happening

I get what you are saying, but let's not forget who he plays with. He's on a team that has had a ton of success and lots of skilled forwards to play with. If Barzal was in Dallas he'd have 3 90-100 point seasons. I don't trade Barzal and 13oa for him either, but I would do Barzal and a prospect.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Carlson should be a primary target

asking for 2x10m