We didn’t know what we had

[Throw More Waffles]

Bullshit, you don't ask for the moon hoping to become the villain.

It's not fun to be overpaid and it's not fun to be hated. There's a reason Marner came out with a fluff PR piece within a few months of signing.

I think Matthews believes he's a top 3-5 player. I think Marner wanted people to consider him on that level. Now that they have it were watching Marner crumble under that pressure

I think almost every player would get overpaid if they could. That's why they hire agents to negotiate for them. They fight tooth and nail for every penny. Most just aren't facing off against a weakling rookie.

 

[rumman]

Bullshit, you don't ask for the moon hoping to become the villain.

It's not fun to be overpaid and it's not fun to be hated. There's a reason Marner came out with a fluff PR piece within a few months of signing.

I think Matthews believes he's a top 3-5 player. I think Marner wanted people to consider him on that level. Now that they have it were watching Marner crumble under that pressure

Heavy lies the crown. Beware of the old gypsy curse “may you get everything you wish for.”

 

[Dreakmur]

True, I shouldn't have used "head games" there because it suggests every motivation technique is some sinister manipulation. Maybe you can comment on this: a talented cocky individual sometimes needs to be knocked down a peg for his own good. A little taste of failure or a little bit of social pressure in the dressing to give the individual a taste of humility can be a positive thing.

For me, it's all about the ice time. A guy like Marner almost always gets a lot of ice time because he almost always earns it. When he doesn't earn it, you have to take it away. Nothing humbles a player more than watching somebody else get your ice time.

As an added benefit, the lesser players see that the coach really does reward good play.

 

[sparxx87]

As a long-time coach, I'm not sure I'd call them head games. If I have 20 players to deal with, I need to figure out how to best deal with each of them. No player needs the same coaching, but it takes time and trial and error to figure out what each player needs.... and honestly, there have been a lot of players that I never did figure them out.

Exactly. Trying to push certain buttons at certain times to provoke the right response or action from so many different personalities. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes it’s wrong, and sometimes you can’t find the buttons.

It’s a tough line to walk. Some missteps along the way are inevitable.

 

[Gallagbi]

I think almost every player would get overpaid if they could. That's why they hire agents to negotiate for them. They fight tooth and nail for every penny. Most just aren't facing off against a weakling rookie.

Most players want to be paid well and appropriately. You have some that need to maximize money for their livelihood, but I wouldn't throw any star NHLer into that category.

Marner, Matthews, Nylander fought for the money they felt they were worth. I'd say Marner and Nylander have each felt the weight of their contract.

It's not just them either, we've heard Lou say he would have opted out of his contract if possible.

Contracts dictate expectations. A good agent will outline the cost of these signings and what it will mean for their actual lives.

 

[justashadowof]

Heavy lies the crown. Beware of the old gypsy curse “may you get everything you wish for.”

I want to know who cursed the entire planet to interesting times at sometime in the mid 2010's.

 

[forecheck]

Nice guy also had Lowry traded. Don’t kid yourself he’s an assassin at work, nice after hours.

Agree - Ujari cares about one thing WINNING ! - As he should .
There is an old saying when your a GM - Don't fall in love with your players ( because you may have to trade them someday ).

 

[Suntouchable13]

I mean, Matthews and Marner are slightly overpaid but not grossly overpaid. We're talking about the best goal scorer in the league and one the best playmakers in the league. I'm not even a huge fan of Dubas, at some point the players need to show up. It doesnt matter if Marner is making $11 million or $9million/year, he hasn't shown up. And every GM in the league signs him for that much.

I tend to find myself more leaning towards your direction. IT's on the players right now. But, I do think that his salary cap allocation leaves very little room to improve. His only hope is what? Hoping that Marner and Matthews find a "killer instinct"? Every year, we are now seeing how this team has less and less room for other good players to surround the core. If he is betting on this core "figuring it out" then I think he is mistaken. Shuffling around bottom 6 guys, min wage guys, does very little. We've seen that the past 2 seasons. This core is not good enough to carry this team to the Cup while being surrounded by min wage guys. We're going to lose another good player in Hyman because we can't afford him anymore and will have to replace him with another Simmonds or Thornton. Tell me how is the team going to get better?

 

[Peasy]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

 

[hamzarocks]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

Weren't the devils amazing from the mid 90s till 2012 outside of 1 year?

The devils aged up and fell apart afterwards with Parise walking and the devils being in need for a rebuild

Lou should've rebuilt after 2012 but he got to hungry trying to compete costing the devils. But from probably 1990 to 2012 they were amongst the best framchsies in the NHL

Most teams don't have such a long period of continued/sustained success so rebuilding becomes the norm only issue left is whether ownership/management are willing to rebuild or if they try to extend their success when it's almost run out



Lou joined the Devils in 1987. Look at their records since then and the amount of times they made the playoffs as well as cup appearances

5 finals appearances with his teams winning 3 out of 5

From 87 to 2012 his teams missed the playoffs 3 times I think which were 89, 96, and 2011

 

[egd27]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

You're joking right?

 

[m1ker]

It’s one thing if this core is bringing us to the conference finals every year and we just need to shuffle some depth guys around to find a magic recipe. We haven’t even won a playoff round lol

 

[sparxx87]

Weren't the devils amazing from the mid 90s till 2012 outside of 1 year?

The devils aged up and fell apart afterwards with Parise walking and the devils being in need for a rebuild

Lou should've rebuilt after 2012 but he got to hungry trying to compete costing the devils. But from probably 1990 to 2012 they were amongst the best framchsies in the NHL

Most teams don't have such a long period of continued/sustained success so rebuilding becomes the norm only issue left is whether ownership/management are willing to rebuild or if they try to extend their success when it's almost run out



Lou joined the Devils in 1987. Look at their records since then and the amount of times they made the playoffs as well as cup appearances

5 finals appearances with his teams winning 3 out of 5

From 87 to 2012 his teams missed the playoffs 3 times I think which were 89, 96, and 2011

It’s the natural life cycle of sports. The foundational pieces age out and they’re really tough to replace without picking high in the draft. Exceptions come with the Detroit Red Wings when you’re able to pull a Datsyuk and Zetterberg out of the late round and actually back fill with foundational pieces.

IMO, Lamoriello had those foundational pieces in Toronto, just needed more time to build around them. Remember, every move has to fit within specific parameters so you may pass on some things or take a different road because something doesn’t make sense at the time.

Lamoriello builds a basic structure. Every player and player type has a place. If he’s able to take this basic structure and add a gamebreaking talent like Barzal at the top, strong blueline and good coach, you get something like the Islanders. They can compete with anyone, but likely bow out to a more talented group.

Take those Islanders and substitute Matthews, Nylander and Marner for Barzal, Bailey and Eberle, and you get a Stanley cup contender for the next 10 years.

 

[ACC1224]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

 

[mikeyz]

 

[mikeyz]

You're joking right?

He's either a troll or he just started watching hockey in 2015. Lol.

 

[ToneDog]

It’s the natural life cycle of sports. The foundational pieces age out and they’re really tough to replace without picking high in the draft. Exceptions come with the Detroit Red Wings when you’re able to pull a Datsyuk and Zetterberg out of the late round and actually back fill with foundational pieces.

IMO, Lamoriello had those foundational pieces in Toronto, just needed more time to build around them. Remember, every move has to fit within specific parameters so you may pass on some things or take a different road because something doesn’t make sense at the time.

Lamoriello builds a basic structure. Every player and player type has a place. If he’s able to take this basic structure and add a gamebreaking talent like Barzal at the top, strong blueline and good coach, you get something like the Islanders. They can compete with anyone, but likely bow out to a more talented group.

Take those Islanders and substitute Matthews, Marner and Nylander for Barzal, Eberle and Bailey, and you get a Stanley cup contender.

Maybe but who's to say the Isles are not worse with the 3 amigos based on their past playoff performances compared to the performances of those 3 Islanders? Similar to when Sundin returned from injury and the team lost to the Canes in round 3.

 

[Donnie740]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

Please don’t embarrass yourself by trying to lecture on something when you’re that badly misinformed and obviously have ZERO clue.

That’s so Dubas.

 

[Bomber0104]

He's either a troll or he just started watching hockey in 2015. Lol.

He's a fan of rappers with dyed pink hair and face tattoos so that's entirely possible.

 

[sparxx87]

Maybe but who's to say the Isles are not worse with the 3 amigos based on their past playoff performances compared to the performances of those 3 Islanders? Similar to when Sundin returned from injury and the team lost to the Canes in round 3.

True, but the culture is very important. If one of them didn’t fit, they would have been shipped out early... like we’ve seen from the Bruins.

 

[LeafGrief]

Oh boy, having Joe Thornton on a 3m deal with term is so much better if it means Marner is on a 8m deal.

Trotz and having players who aren’t headcases in the playoffs are why the islanders are better than us. Not because of f***in Lou Lams.

 

[Joey Hoser]

I don't understand what people think Lou would have done so much differently/better. We'd probably just have overpaid bad players instead of overpaid good players.

 

[Jeremy2020]

Another thing to think about, if Lou is so great and created this amazing Islanders team, then why wasn't he able to do that in NJ?

Is this sarcasm? A poignant representation of the dubas fanboys?

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

Couldn’t afford some real workers, had to go to the scab market to try and get some “grit.” Bogo was worth worth his contract, the other two........not so much......

I still cannot for the life of me figure out how Simmonds scored over 30G multiple times in the NHL. He can't pass worth a shit...can't skate worth a shit and unless the puck is bouncing in off his ass...can't shoot worth a shit either. He is too light to hit anyone...he had 2 fights the whole year...what a complete waste of a roster spot IMO. Jumbo couldn't pass anymore and was slow as hell...it was a mess. Bogo was the best cheap deal we signed...played solid all the way through. I hope he didn't price himself out of the market here.

 

[LeafGrief]

The Islanders have 7.5m in cap dedicated to Komarov and Ladd. Komarov is still an NHL’er, but that 6m in wasted cap is plenty equivalent to the overpays that we have on our top guys.

Bitching about the contracts is fair enough, but pointing to the Islanders as if they’re anything other than a cap shitshow is laughable. The Islanders are a lesson in team commitment and buy in. They’d be absolutely unstoppable if their cap wasn’t wasted on a bunch of junk.

The lesson can be that you need more heart and physicality in the bottom six. The lesson can be that depth reigns. The lesson is absolutely not that overpaying stars is bad, because the Islanders are overpaying bad players instead. If you’re trying to sell that as somehow better, go away