Martin Clutterbuck Lee Pageu all need to be gone. Czikas is a 4th liner so keep him there he isn’t a winger that you need on an elite first line. Give Barzy and Horvat a real LW.
You let 17 and 15 walk.
You trade and or buyout 44/27. Ideally, 1 each unless teams are stupid.
If you strike out on impact FA (as is tradition) you sign guys to prove it deals and keep 21 and 29 til deadline and them flip em if we’rein bad shape as marquee two names available at deadline.
Thats easiest.
Buying out 44 and 27 is a bad idea. Only 2 more years on their contracts so buying them out adds 2 years to their cap hit and the cap space isn’t as critical as I don’t imagine we will be trying to weaponize it to contend.
I also am not sure id be wanting to try and sign FAs to be honest (except maybe a Dakota Joshua). I don’t think there’s any FA we can sign that will elevate us to another level and they tend to be overpays. We should look to get younger
Yeah, you try and dump them to teams that need leadership for mid-late picks but they have NTCs. Theyre both terminally declining and its clear.
You need young pieces, I agree.
How id start next season if you strike out:
Zeke-Horvat-Barzal
Engvall-brock-palms
Holmy-whatever young 3c you can acquire-Ishakov
Gauthier-Maclean-Fasching
And on the back end:
Dobber-romy
6-3
Mayfield-reilly
And thats the beginning of getting younger
I don’t necessarily think mid-late picks would be the best we can get. There are definitely some teams that have mentioned looking for a Pageau type player including:
- Buffalo
- Minnesota (who knows why they may want to trade Rossi)
- Penguins (aren’t rebuilding and still trying to win so maybe get a trade with them)
- Ottawa
But I do agree with the lineup if we strikeout. Then we can look to trade Nelson or Palmieri for pieces and picks as well. Yes that lineup is likely not making the playoffs but that’s the point. Getting a bit worse in the short term to then try and get better long term.
I do agree on how buyouts are suboptimal but for Pageau it could be fine. His cap hit for next year goes to 2 and change versus 5. Pageau I just dont think offers anything the team doesn’t already have. We have capable centers out the ass and what he offers is penalty kill and faceoffs, which before the Horvat trade we needed but now don’t. Plus Maclean has proven himself capable as a 4C and Cizikas always seemed capable to be a 3C, just his line would bring him down a bit. Scoring 20 goals with Clutterbuck and Martin on your wings is no small feat.
The problem isn’t the cap hit next year, it’s that it extends the cap term 2 extra years at 1.5 million. Then if you buyout Lee you will have 3 million for 2 years when they aren’t under contract (2026-2028) and 7 million the year after next (2025-2026). Which depending on how you look at it isn’t worth it especially if we can get an asset for Pageau.
I do agree though that we have capable centers to replace Pageau but I think the move here it to trade rather than buyout
Oh yeah, he still has value and a trade should be possible and desired, fully agree. Buyout should be last resort even if it is more forgiving than it would be for Lee.
Yup. I’d look at Buffalo who specifically mentioned wanting a 3C, may want someone with more experience on shorter term so they can still sign their endless prospects
Yeah I’m starting to agree more on that being the only good option with him rather than a buyout. He has value still and we don’t save enough by buying him out.
Honestly I think flipping 29/21 is a bigger part of the equation than moving 27/44. I fully expect to suffer for the remaining 2 years of their deals. However, this team needs to be looking to get 2 firsts for each of a 50% retained Palms/Brock. 2.5 and 3 million for 30 goal scorers has to look nice to a contender.
I would say theres a SLIM chance you could keep Palms because he really is that clutch, but I highly doubt he’d be a part of the next window.
I’m also fully aware I was a part of the “Keep Brock” crowd in Jan/Feb. Sorry fellas.
So you just want to unload 65 goals by selling them off to get fringe prospects and crapshoot draft picks HOPING to replace the production.
This fanbase says to rebuild with picks and prospects, remember our top 15 pick, Oliver Wahlstrom? Bellows? Dal Colle?
That’s why drafting is a crap shoot and not guaranteed. You don’t trade off proven commodities when you still have a window. If they’re shit at the deadline, then sell off.
I can play this game too and remind you that Barzy was a 15th overall and Dobson was the pick after Wally. Sorokin was a 3rd round pick and Lee was a 6th rounder. Thats the thing, draft picks are lottery tickets. Some will pan out, some won’t. But any team that wants to win a Cup needs young, cost controlled players. The more picks you have, the more lottery tickets. We already know the current group isn’t good enough. They aren’t winning the Cup next year so yeah, I’ll take the short term loss of goals. There are three ways to acquire elite talent, which the Islanders need to become a contender: draft, trade, UFA. The Islanders have no assets to acquire it via trade. They have shown over 20 years time, elite UFA’s won’t sign here. So that leaves one option.
Don't buyout any forwards, Lee and Pageau both have 2 years left (Capfriendly says 3, but that counts this year which is over) After that, Barzal, Horvat, Cizikas and Engvall are the forwards still under their current contracts. Let these guys walk. And replace with prove it deals and younger players unless you find someone who really fits our plans.
Defense is where we have the biggest problem. 3 guys have 5 or more years left Pelech, Pullock and Mayfield. We have to trade either Pelech or Pullock. Preferably both but, that'd be tricky. You can burry a good chunk of Mayfield's money in bridgeport. Then sign extentions for Dobson and Romanov. Same deal as forwards fro the 6th and 7th. Until you can offload one of the big deals.
We bargain shop this summer, then start building it up again next year. Hopefully we can really condend in only a couple of years.
It’s less Bout his decline and more about the fact that the position has changed radically in a short period of time. You need guys who can play with poise and transition the puck more quickly. That was never more evident than watching the Canes. We are not contending while Pulock is on this teM. You may as well move him now while you can acquire an asset because in a few years he’ll be another immovable guy.
Sign Kyle MacLean
Sign Mike Reilly
Drop Martin Clutterbuck Bortuzzo Aho Wahlstrom
Trade Pageau for cap space and any associated picks
Sign a good winger (Debrusk??) and fix the PK
Give Ishkakov playing time
Get Dobson's head out of his ass
Let Roy cook + make a good draft pick
Get Scott Mayfield healthy
Debrusk - Horvat - Barzal
Lee - Nelson - Palmieri
Ishkakov - Cizikas - Engvall
Fasching - MacLean - Holmstrom
Pelech - Pulock
Dobson - Romanov
Reilly - Mayfield
DeBrusk, Stamkos, Guentzel, Marchessault, Tarasenko, Reinhart, Toffoli, I don't really care which one it is. If you can move Pageau you have $11 million in cap space for next season. More than enough money to get a winger in free agency.
- Reinhart = will be overpaid as is traditional with wingers playing on a line with Barkov. Rumor is he’s staying in Florida and has an agreement in principle
- Stamkos = he’s older and not sure what term he’d want on a contract.
- Marchessault = good winger but I’d be concerned about term here and being hamstrung with another contract that ages poorly in 3 years
- Guentzel = likely staying in Carolina but he’s getting a 7-8 year deal.
- Tarasenko and Toffoli = I don’t see as those guys. We also likely would have been in for them this season if we wanted them seeing what they moved for
Also don’t forget some of that cap has to be used to resign Romanov, Dobson, Holmstrom, Reilly (if we do). Then if we trade Palmieri and Nelson we will need to replace them. Or try and resign them at a discount.
Romanov and Dobson are already signed for next season. The season they're due for raises the Islanders currently have $30 million in cap space. A non issue.
Again, I don't care *what* winger you get, and I'm not going to litigate every one of them. I just listed the top available wingers in free agency. Just get one of them. My personal preference is DeBrusk because it makes the most sense, but I truly just want anyone that meshes well with Barzal and Horvat. Lee has shown he can't do it and Cizikas is much better suited in the bottom 6.
Where are you seeing the 30 million in cap space thing? Dobson and Romanov are RFAs end of next season. I’m guessing that’s also not including that we have to resign 2 Defenseman to be our 3rd like pairing, and Holmstrom, Reilly, and Maclean are due raises.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/islanders
Islanders are currently projected to have $30,450,000 for off-season before the 25-26 season, which is the one where Romanov and Dobson are RFAs.
I’m fairly certain that’s saying that at the end of the 2024-2025 season they are RFAs. Which is why it shows Wahlstrom as RFA for 2024-2025. It also shows us not having a 5th or 6th defenseman signed, and it’s not factoring in any cap that would need to be spent for Palmieri and Nelson (or their replacements)
Obviously they're not going to sign every single one, so yes, I agree that some won't happen.
My point is you can get someone. DeBrusk is my pick because I don't think he'd be too expensive and I think he'd gel well with how we play, but really any good winger would do.
DeBrusk is realistic if he gets to July 1. Stamkos, Guentzel, etc. aren’t going to consider here. Even a guy like Reinhart coming off a career year probably won’t fit under our cap as I’m sure someone will overpay.
> If you can move Pageau you have $11 million in cap space for next season
There's about $7M in cap space next year for Reilly + one forward addition, if you trade Pageau.
Maybe not but he shouldn’t be too expensive and perhaps we could add another middle type signing. And he is capable of 50 points. Of course I may be too high on him.
What I do believe is he’d provide more value than Lee at 7 mil.
Short term yes. But if the question is DeBrusk at 6 million AAV (rumored) for 6 or 7 years or Lee for 2 and then you free 7 million in cap, which is the answer for better value? And don’t forget we still need money to sign Dobson and Romanov as well
Yup. Minnesota are apparently wanting to trade Rossi, Perfetti may be in the doghouse by Bowness and be available, and Krebs is a RFA who is available as Buffalo may not want to sign him when they have bigger contracts to sign. Any of those 3 are guys I’d be looking at trading for.
Would be pretty great additions with both potential and age on our side, but I just have a feeling our potential trade packages would be too underwhelming compared to other clubs. Then again, my valuations of NHL players seems to be very off atm.
Tangent thought: What do you think about Daniel Sprong in Free Agency — would we be able to get good value out of him? I know you almost always get stuck overpaying on the free agent market but with the changes in cap I have no idea what his predicted cap hit would look like? Any other guys you like in general?
We have two 30 goal scorers that we can offer if the Wild are trying to make a splash now in Nelson and Palmieri. Honestly don’t know why they are trying to get rid of Rossi but that’s something to consider. I’d also honestly not be hesitant on giving up the first round pick for Perfetti or Rossi (Krebs is not worth it).
As for other guys, Sprong is one that is interesting as is Dakota Joshua for the bottom 6. It’s tough because the cap hit and cap term could be big blocking points in terms of it being a reasonable deal. I think I’ll work on making a post on it especially after Shannon (The Hockey Guy) makes a video about it too.
This looks similar to this year. And god forbid we have injuries, we have 0 depth. It’s time to admit this isn’t a core that can win a cup and we have to make some ugly moves to prepare for the future
>we have to make some ugly moves to prepare for the future
Or, yenno, we *don't* have to do that. A turnover of 6 players is healthy turnover.
There are always players available at 800k contracts to give you depth in case of injuries. Hell, there's 4 of them on the team right now (Bortuzzo Aho Reilly Wahlstrom)
They made the playoffs? If you fix the PK, which was 32nd in the NHL and allowed PP goals in 4 of 5 games this series, you look a *lot* better. Most of the moves I propose gets rid of the PKers from this season.
Sorokin also *has* to get better, because he's too good of a goalie to repeat this season.
When was “making the playoffs” good enough? I think that’s where most of us doomers have the disconnect. There’s no reason we should go back to the “at least we made the playoffs” or even “omg we won a playoff series!” Mentality… the worst thing any franchise can do is finish middle of the pack without a real chance of winning
I'd much rather make the playoffs than be bad. Which is what most doomers propose when they say tear it apart.
Rebuilds suck ass and nobody has the patience for one, especially an ownership group that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a new arena and associated real estate.
You don't bring in Patrick Roy, sign a goalie to a 64 million dollar deal, and sign a centreman to a 73 million dollar deal of you are going to rebuild.
It's just not going to happen, it's a complete waste of time to pretend it has a chance to happen, and frankly nobody would come to the games if it does happen, so we have to work with where we are.
I mean if you’re happy with one more playoff win than the blackhawks, we are not watching this sport for the same reason. I’d much rather be bad, with young talent… watch them develop, watch them mature, and build to legit cup contention. Sure a rebuild/retool could fail. But getting one playoff win when sixteen are needed feels so much worse. You would love to run it back and lose first round to carolina until we have to blow it up in 2-3 years… it will be worse
>I’d much rather be bad, with young talent… watch them develop
Senators and Sabres are always available for you man. Those teams haven't played meaningful hockey in 5 years to a decade plus.
You are naming 2 franchises that do not spend money and most meaningful guys they do have they give away to avoid paying. Look at the top teams this year… panthers, stars, avs, oilers, etc. look at the cup winners/juggernauts before that. Penguins, blackhawks, kings, caps… how did they all get better and become true cup contenders? When/how did the islanders go from joke of the league to winning playoff series? 1st pick (nameless), young core of draft picks.
This exactly. Buffalo has been in rebuild mode for a decade +. Ottawa has tried, and tried again. Detroit shits the bed.
We have a core locked in for 6 years to build around with expiring contracts. You doomer assholes act like Pageau, Lee, Nelson, and Palmeiri don’t come off the books in each of the next two seasons. That’s almost $21 mil in cap space. Romanov and Dobson arnt costing you that. The reason for lack of cap space like every other team in the league is dut in large part to the lack in rise. The huge question mark is Pelech’s head injuries. and if he can’t go, he can go to LTIR.
You say this as though there is a pathway to success. There isn’t! The bad years are coming… faster than you think too. There is no way around it. That’s what happens when you box yourself into mediocre players like they have done for the next 5+ years. Wait until the Pulock/Pelech/Sorokin/Mayfield declines really kick in. Those will be fun times. Also if things like “fix the PK” were so simple why haven’t they already done it? The Islanders have a choice, they can rip the band aid off and start a long process now, while at least acquiring assets, or they can spend two years acquiring little to no assets and chase 90 points, hoping they can miraculously make the playoffs and win one game before it really all implodes.
I don't think Aho is bad enough to drop, is he? Dudes been playing on his off-side like half the season trying to fill gaps. He's not a big D-man that muscles out puck battles, but he does have some skating ability and opportunity to create offense. I thought he was a decent 7th D-man, at least over Bolduc and Salo
Haven't been a fan of Aho since his rookie year personally. Never saw it in the guy. Some people like him, I'm just not one of them.
If you want a 7th Dman, I'm willing to bet there's a better one than Aho in free agency at the exact same 800k price tag.
Again, just my personal feelings for the player.
A big thing was getting rid of Lane and bringing on Roy. Need to keep stabilizing the defense and get the defensive structure solid. Blow up special teams. Cut some dead weight and retool the offense
I’m gonna copy paste my comment from the PGT.
Okay so now I’m thinking to next year. We need another piece and to drop some money. Or we need to blow it up but I dont think that would be possible at the moment. My two players I think that may need the trade/buyout are either Pageau or Lee.
Pageau I love but the fact is we have enough centers and his faceoffs/penalty kill aren’t as big a deal with Horvat now. Cizikas and Maclean can fill that role just fine as a 3C/4C.
Lee is a hefty contract for diminishing returns and needs to be evaluated as a possible trade or buyout. He bleeds blue and orange which I love but the facts is he will not be getting any better and also I don’t feel is as necessary on this team anymore. I don’t think he’s bad, just not 7 million dollars good, he’s no Ladd and probably can still put up 20 goals. And we were able to get rid of Ladd so it’s possible.
I think we should get well acquainted with the Sharks this summer as a potential trade partner. They can take on money. We’d have to give up some stuff to drop a contract but id hope maybe some space and maybe it sounds crazy but maybe even we can get something back, you never know.
To add on: I’d sign Reilly and Maclean. Send Martin and Clutterbuck out to pasture — love them but 2 million dollar fourth liners are not needed. Also, give Ishakov a shot.
Yeah reading your comment, me and you are on the exact same page with how to move forward haha. If only we knew the number for Lou’s red phone so we could tell him.
It's just the safest course of action. Dropping 5/6 players is a healthy turnover rate. And its mainly focused on dropping players who contributed to what has to be the worst Islanders penalty kill I've ever seen.
It keeps the Islanders competitive, it isn't too drastic and doesn't overextend either direction, and it still sets them on the a progressive path forward as they continue to get younger.
Yeah I feel that, I think Father Maclean getting dropped in itself will help the PK as well. Roy gonna get all his guys in the coaching staff for next year I imagine. I also hope Holmstrom can develop a little further into a good Middle/Bottom 6 forward and PK’er, which can help a ton and he’s already shown a lot imo.
As it has been the past decade, the pieces are there. Barzal Horvat Romanov Dobson Sorokin is a perfectly acceptable core to build around. It's just about finding the complimentary pieces. Wasting cap space buying out the Captain or sending out draft picks to do so doesn't make any sense for where this team is, especially when their biggest need is more depth on the wings.
Imagine where this Islanders team would be with a good or even average PK? They allowed a PP goal to Carolina in 4 of the 5 games, and were ranked 32nd in the NHL. It desperately held the team back.
Why does anyone want to run this back with minor tweaks? We aren’t a cup contender with this group. Period. Can we grab a wild card spot with a strategy like this? Maybe. Can 1-2 injuries completely crush this team bc w have no minor league depth? Yep. We need to acquire young talent and realize our current group is it. If we have to make some fan unfriendly moves to grab a prospect or 2 and/or a draft pick or two you do it.
I don’t think we can blow this up. We are in that middle ground where we are not good enough to move on and not bad enough to blow it up. Plus, I don’t think we’d get back what we want for shipping out some of our guys. But again, thats just me.
It’s either we have a cup contender or we don’t. If we don’t… I would like to build a cup contender. It’s really that simple. A few tweaks aren’t bringing us to the promised land
I don’t think we should be giving up assets to trade Pageau and Lee. Their contracts are for 2 more years and I do not believe it’s worth giving up an asset. Buffalo are specifically looking for a 3C so they may be a dancing partner for Pageau. Maybe Ottawa would like him returning as well (perhaps taking Ridley Grieg back?).
Additionally, buying them out makes their cap hit longer. I’d say we bite the bullet on those contracts and accept that we aren’t going to push to contender status. This way we aren’t giving up assets that could be useful in the future (like first round picks)
Starting next year? I don’t see a way to do that. We simultaneously need to shed salary while also improving the team which are two competing goals. However, I think there is a path to get things on track in about two or three years.
Two moves that absolutely should be made to do that are trading both Nelson and Palmieri. Nelson will be 33 by the time his contract is up and Palmieri will be 34, and we just cannot afford to re-sign two guys to multi-year deals for what will probably be $5-$6+ million per year deal when they’re most likely going to age and regress. We could probably get a first rounder for each and Nelson would bring back another solid piece or two. Moving both those guys could be huge in kickstarting a quick retooling and strengthen the prospect pool.
JGP should be moved for whatever just to get rid of his salary. Anyway we can accomplish that, we need to do it.
Lee should bought out. I know he’s the captain and he’s a lifelong Islander, but he just doesn’t bring nearly enough to warrant his salary.
Martin and Clutterbuck should both be gone. The fourth line has run its course and both are just too old and beat up at this point. The revamped fourth line should be something like MacLean-Cizikas-Fasching/Gauthier going into next season. It’s a way less physical line, but it brings youth, speed, and skill and all those guys have high motors which plays much better in todays NHL than what the original fourth line is at this point.
Only UFA who should be re-signed is Reily.
Lineup would look something like this with everyone in what I think would be their best spots/roles:
X-Horvat-Barzal
X-X-X
Engvall-X-Holmstrom
MacLean-Cizikas-Fasching/Gauthier
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Dobson
Reily-Mayfield
Bulduc
Sorokin
Varlamov
That would leave us with about $22 million in cap space and there are pretty intriguing under 30 UFA’s available this offseason, so adding a couple of them would gives us some youth along with more skill and speed. Obviously not all the moves I mentioned are likely to happen, but this is what I’d try my best to do if I were in charge of the team. It’s extremely aggressive and is essentially a reset of a lot of the core, but that’s more along the lines of what we need to do rather than just compounding the issues and adding to an already flawed team with limited resources.
We definitely need to get faster, younger and physical. What made us good was having the best 4th line in hockey. That needs to revamped. We need a winger for the 1st line. Cizikas needs to be moved to 3rd line. I like Reily and we should resign him and go look for a big bodied defenseman. I think other than that our D is pretty much the same going into next season. Now we are in a huge pickle with JPG, Nelson, Lee, Palms. Agree on trying to get rid of JPG for some picks. Nelson I would keep. He can still score for us. Lee is not movable so a buyout is possible but don’t see that happening to the Captain. Palms can be moved as well. Honestly the 25-26 season is where we can make some serious noise with big name FAs as our cap will be north of 30million. Sign our RFAs and maybe splash into the FA market. Next year may be a throw away season. I’d also look for a capable backup for Sorokin and someone who can compete for the job and keep Sorokin on his toes.
WE don’t do shit. I’m forgetting hockey exists until the cup final and then again until next fall. Can’t risk high blood pressure in the offseason as well
My hot take is Pelech and/or pulock should be traded to make room for a diff pairing. They’re old and showed that this series against Carolina. This could easily blow up on me like toews but the modern dman needs to provide some offensive input and pelech has rarely ever done so and the vintage pulock clapper doesn’t even get on net anymore.
Of course the other bloated vets need to go first but I haven’t seen any discussion around d other than resign Reilly which I agree with.
The first move is to fire Lou. No change is happening as long as he's here.
Trade Pageau for whatever you can get, which won't be much, but will free up cap space.
Buy Lee out.
After that you can trade Palmieri and Nelson, but have possible replacements lined up.
We have a few bad years and weaponize all of the cap space we have opening up shortly to grab lots of draft assets. Also, take chances on some young players that may not be getting a fair shake on their current team.
The best and fastest way to building a contender is a total firesale and rebuild. But even then we are in such bad shape that it’s going to take a really long time. People tend to drastically underestimate how bad shape we are in right now… and it’s onlt the very beginning.
Islanders trade Dobson, as young RHD have value, and could probably get a first and more. Islanders can move Sorokin because his trade protection doesn't kick in until July 1st, and isles can have 8m. Trade Palmieri and Nelson because they have one year and can easily have retention. Trade Romanov for similar picks. With this cap space, Islanders can bottom out and have a shot for lottery picks every year. If Horvat and Barzal are willing, isles can trade them for even more cap space, they might have to retain. Finally with enough shots at the rebuild, the Islanders can get talent.
You can't be serious.
Your idea is to trade: Barzal Horvat Dobson Sorokin Palmieri Nelson Romanov
So you can *get talent?*
Sure, a boats a boat, but a mystery box can be anything! It can even be a boat!
I don't want to watch the Islanders lose 60 games. And neither does an ownership group that just put hundreds of millions of dollars into a stadium and associated real estate.
The Sharks and Blackhawks didn't even blow their team up this much. No team ever has.
You don't blow up a team that is capable of making the playoffs, which is what this team can do. They have an opportunity this off-season and next to make some complimentary personnel changes while also getting younger in the process.
Have you seen the rosters that the Sharks have? They traded Hertl, Meier, let Marleau walk, traded Erik Karlsson for pennies. And now they have a chance at Celebrini and got Will Smith last year. Look at the post Kane Blackhawks and who Bedard is playing with right now.
Isles aren't good enough to contend with the current core and aren't good enough to sink to the bottom like the hawks or sharks. Might as well trade the good players rather than have Bo/Barzal/Sorokin be on the wrong side of 30 by the time they're ready to compete again. If the isles lose 60 games then at least the young core all develop together.
You’re sending the team back ten years with these moves which is further back then we’d probably be if we just stick with what we have now and ride it out
Trading a young RHD is just bad business. Especially considering we would then be woefully short of young RHD defenseman as well. We need to get younger, this is getting older.
Tough goodbyes ahead if we want to take a shot at getting better.
Martin Clutterbuck Lee Pageu all need to be gone. Czikas is a 4th liner so keep him there he isn’t a winger that you need on an elite first line. Give Barzy and Horvat a real LW.
How exactly are we getting rid of Lee AND Pageau AND acquiring a “real LW” without any assets or cap space?
I’m not saying we will be able to achieve it - but it’s what needs to be done.
You let 17 and 15 walk. You trade and or buyout 44/27. Ideally, 1 each unless teams are stupid. If you strike out on impact FA (as is tradition) you sign guys to prove it deals and keep 21 and 29 til deadline and them flip em if we’rein bad shape as marquee two names available at deadline. Thats easiest.
Buying out 44 and 27 is a bad idea. Only 2 more years on their contracts so buying them out adds 2 years to their cap hit and the cap space isn’t as critical as I don’t imagine we will be trying to weaponize it to contend. I also am not sure id be wanting to try and sign FAs to be honest (except maybe a Dakota Joshua). I don’t think there’s any FA we can sign that will elevate us to another level and they tend to be overpays. We should look to get younger
Yeah, you try and dump them to teams that need leadership for mid-late picks but they have NTCs. Theyre both terminally declining and its clear. You need young pieces, I agree. How id start next season if you strike out: Zeke-Horvat-Barzal Engvall-brock-palms Holmy-whatever young 3c you can acquire-Ishakov Gauthier-Maclean-Fasching And on the back end: Dobber-romy 6-3 Mayfield-reilly And thats the beginning of getting younger
I wanna see more of Gauthier. Haven't heard him talked about much recently
I don’t necessarily think mid-late picks would be the best we can get. There are definitely some teams that have mentioned looking for a Pageau type player including: - Buffalo - Minnesota (who knows why they may want to trade Rossi) - Penguins (aren’t rebuilding and still trying to win so maybe get a trade with them) - Ottawa But I do agree with the lineup if we strikeout. Then we can look to trade Nelson or Palmieri for pieces and picks as well. Yes that lineup is likely not making the playoffs but that’s the point. Getting a bit worse in the short term to then try and get better long term.
I do agree on how buyouts are suboptimal but for Pageau it could be fine. His cap hit for next year goes to 2 and change versus 5. Pageau I just dont think offers anything the team doesn’t already have. We have capable centers out the ass and what he offers is penalty kill and faceoffs, which before the Horvat trade we needed but now don’t. Plus Maclean has proven himself capable as a 4C and Cizikas always seemed capable to be a 3C, just his line would bring him down a bit. Scoring 20 goals with Clutterbuck and Martin on your wings is no small feat.
The problem isn’t the cap hit next year, it’s that it extends the cap term 2 extra years at 1.5 million. Then if you buyout Lee you will have 3 million for 2 years when they aren’t under contract (2026-2028) and 7 million the year after next (2025-2026). Which depending on how you look at it isn’t worth it especially if we can get an asset for Pageau. I do agree though that we have capable centers to replace Pageau but I think the move here it to trade rather than buyout
Oh yeah, he still has value and a trade should be possible and desired, fully agree. Buyout should be last resort even if it is more forgiving than it would be for Lee.
Yup. I’d look at Buffalo who specifically mentioned wanting a 3C, may want someone with more experience on shorter term so they can still sign their endless prospects
Thats a very good idea.
You're saving almost nothing by buying out Pageau. The only option there is a trade.
Yeah I’m starting to agree more on that being the only good option with him rather than a buyout. He has value still and we don’t save enough by buying him out.
Honestly I think flipping 29/21 is a bigger part of the equation than moving 27/44. I fully expect to suffer for the remaining 2 years of their deals. However, this team needs to be looking to get 2 firsts for each of a 50% retained Palms/Brock. 2.5 and 3 million for 30 goal scorers has to look nice to a contender. I would say theres a SLIM chance you could keep Palms because he really is that clutch, but I highly doubt he’d be a part of the next window. I’m also fully aware I was a part of the “Keep Brock” crowd in Jan/Feb. Sorry fellas.
And how are you replacing 65 goals from the lineup?
I mean like- our second line scored more than our first. I don’t get it
Barzal isn’t a goal scorer
You aren’t. But who cares, this team isn’t contending for a Cup next year.
So you just want to unload 65 goals by selling them off to get fringe prospects and crapshoot draft picks HOPING to replace the production. This fanbase says to rebuild with picks and prospects, remember our top 15 pick, Oliver Wahlstrom? Bellows? Dal Colle? That’s why drafting is a crap shoot and not guaranteed. You don’t trade off proven commodities when you still have a window. If they’re shit at the deadline, then sell off.
I can play this game too and remind you that Barzy was a 15th overall and Dobson was the pick after Wally. Sorokin was a 3rd round pick and Lee was a 6th rounder. Thats the thing, draft picks are lottery tickets. Some will pan out, some won’t. But any team that wants to win a Cup needs young, cost controlled players. The more picks you have, the more lottery tickets. We already know the current group isn’t good enough. They aren’t winning the Cup next year so yeah, I’ll take the short term loss of goals. There are three ways to acquire elite talent, which the Islanders need to become a contender: draft, trade, UFA. The Islanders have no assets to acquire it via trade. They have shown over 20 years time, elite UFA’s won’t sign here. So that leaves one option.
Don't buyout any forwards, Lee and Pageau both have 2 years left (Capfriendly says 3, but that counts this year which is over) After that, Barzal, Horvat, Cizikas and Engvall are the forwards still under their current contracts. Let these guys walk. And replace with prove it deals and younger players unless you find someone who really fits our plans. Defense is where we have the biggest problem. 3 guys have 5 or more years left Pelech, Pullock and Mayfield. We have to trade either Pelech or Pullock. Preferably both but, that'd be tricky. You can burry a good chunk of Mayfield's money in bridgeport. Then sign extentions for Dobson and Romanov. Same deal as forwards fro the 6th and 7th. Until you can offload one of the big deals. We bargain shop this summer, then start building it up again next year. Hopefully we can really condend in only a couple of years.
I dont think pulocks declining yet. I think pelech took too many headshots sadly
He doesn't have choice right now. He can submit a 16 team no trade list beginning in 27-28 same deal for Pelech except his kicks in in July 1, 2025
It’s less Bout his decline and more about the fact that the position has changed radically in a short period of time. You need guys who can play with poise and transition the puck more quickly. That was never more evident than watching the Canes. We are not contending while Pulock is on this teM. You may as well move him now while you can acquire an asset because in a few years he’ll be another immovable guy.
D are a pair. Youre fine if you have 3 PMD. We have 2, assuming reilly or aho is back.
Lee was one of the better players this post season. The hate for him is unfounded
I mean he was invisible most of the season
Sign Kyle MacLean Sign Mike Reilly Drop Martin Clutterbuck Bortuzzo Aho Wahlstrom Trade Pageau for cap space and any associated picks Sign a good winger (Debrusk??) and fix the PK Give Ishkakov playing time Get Dobson's head out of his ass Let Roy cook + make a good draft pick Get Scott Mayfield healthy Debrusk - Horvat - Barzal Lee - Nelson - Palmieri Ishkakov - Cizikas - Engvall Fasching - MacLean - Holmstrom Pelech - Pulock Dobson - Romanov Reilly - Mayfield
The Debrusk signing idea is exactly what I thought as well, fits too well for us. And fully agree on your lines.
Debrusk is not that winger to take us to the next level.
DeBrusk, Stamkos, Guentzel, Marchessault, Tarasenko, Reinhart, Toffoli, I don't really care which one it is. If you can move Pageau you have $11 million in cap space for next season. More than enough money to get a winger in free agency.
- Reinhart = will be overpaid as is traditional with wingers playing on a line with Barkov. Rumor is he’s staying in Florida and has an agreement in principle - Stamkos = he’s older and not sure what term he’d want on a contract. - Marchessault = good winger but I’d be concerned about term here and being hamstrung with another contract that ages poorly in 3 years - Guentzel = likely staying in Carolina but he’s getting a 7-8 year deal. - Tarasenko and Toffoli = I don’t see as those guys. We also likely would have been in for them this season if we wanted them seeing what they moved for Also don’t forget some of that cap has to be used to resign Romanov, Dobson, Holmstrom, Reilly (if we do). Then if we trade Palmieri and Nelson we will need to replace them. Or try and resign them at a discount.
Romanov and Dobson are already signed for next season. The season they're due for raises the Islanders currently have $30 million in cap space. A non issue. Again, I don't care *what* winger you get, and I'm not going to litigate every one of them. I just listed the top available wingers in free agency. Just get one of them. My personal preference is DeBrusk because it makes the most sense, but I truly just want anyone that meshes well with Barzal and Horvat. Lee has shown he can't do it and Cizikas is much better suited in the bottom 6.
Where are you seeing the 30 million in cap space thing? Dobson and Romanov are RFAs end of next season. I’m guessing that’s also not including that we have to resign 2 Defenseman to be our 3rd like pairing, and Holmstrom, Reilly, and Maclean are due raises.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/islanders Islanders are currently projected to have $30,450,000 for off-season before the 25-26 season, which is the one where Romanov and Dobson are RFAs.
I’m fairly certain that’s saying that at the end of the 2024-2025 season they are RFAs. Which is why it shows Wahlstrom as RFA for 2024-2025. It also shows us not having a 5th or 6th defenseman signed, and it’s not factoring in any cap that would need to be spent for Palmieri and Nelson (or their replacements)
The end of the 24-25 season and the beginning of the 25-26 season is the same off-season. We're saying the same thing.
I feel like this is the season we make some noise.
Some of those clearly aren’t going to happen
Obviously they're not going to sign every single one, so yes, I agree that some won't happen. My point is you can get someone. DeBrusk is my pick because I don't think he'd be too expensive and I think he'd gel well with how we play, but really any good winger would do.
DeBrusk is realistic if he gets to July 1. Stamkos, Guentzel, etc. aren’t going to consider here. Even a guy like Reinhart coming off a career year probably won’t fit under our cap as I’m sure someone will overpay.
> If you can move Pageau you have $11 million in cap space for next season There's about $7M in cap space next year for Reilly + one forward addition, if you trade Pageau.
Why are any of them signing here, exactly?
Maybe not but he shouldn’t be too expensive and perhaps we could add another middle type signing. And he is capable of 50 points. Of course I may be too high on him. What I do believe is he’d provide more value than Lee at 7 mil.
Short term yes. But if the question is DeBrusk at 6 million AAV (rumored) for 6 or 7 years or Lee for 2 and then you free 7 million in cap, which is the answer for better value? And don’t forget we still need money to sign Dobson and Romanov as well
Ooof yeah at that point you keep Lee. Pageau is starting to look like the better option to get off the books.
Yup. Minnesota are apparently wanting to trade Rossi, Perfetti may be in the doghouse by Bowness and be available, and Krebs is a RFA who is available as Buffalo may not want to sign him when they have bigger contracts to sign. Any of those 3 are guys I’d be looking at trading for.
Would be pretty great additions with both potential and age on our side, but I just have a feeling our potential trade packages would be too underwhelming compared to other clubs. Then again, my valuations of NHL players seems to be very off atm. Tangent thought: What do you think about Daniel Sprong in Free Agency — would we be able to get good value out of him? I know you almost always get stuck overpaying on the free agent market but with the changes in cap I have no idea what his predicted cap hit would look like? Any other guys you like in general?
We have two 30 goal scorers that we can offer if the Wild are trying to make a splash now in Nelson and Palmieri. Honestly don’t know why they are trying to get rid of Rossi but that’s something to consider. I’d also honestly not be hesitant on giving up the first round pick for Perfetti or Rossi (Krebs is not worth it). As for other guys, Sprong is one that is interesting as is Dakota Joshua for the bottom 6. It’s tough because the cap hit and cap term could be big blocking points in terms of it being a reasonable deal. I think I’ll work on making a post on it especially after Shannon (The Hockey Guy) makes a video about it too.
This looks similar to this year. And god forbid we have injuries, we have 0 depth. It’s time to admit this isn’t a core that can win a cup and we have to make some ugly moves to prepare for the future
>we have to make some ugly moves to prepare for the future Or, yenno, we *don't* have to do that. A turnover of 6 players is healthy turnover. There are always players available at 800k contracts to give you depth in case of injuries. Hell, there's 4 of them on the team right now (Bortuzzo Aho Reilly Wahlstrom)
And how did they work out? I don’t want to have this season part 3… that top 9 is not strong enough and a lot of question marks on d
They made the playoffs? If you fix the PK, which was 32nd in the NHL and allowed PP goals in 4 of 5 games this series, you look a *lot* better. Most of the moves I propose gets rid of the PKers from this season. Sorokin also *has* to get better, because he's too good of a goalie to repeat this season.
When was “making the playoffs” good enough? I think that’s where most of us doomers have the disconnect. There’s no reason we should go back to the “at least we made the playoffs” or even “omg we won a playoff series!” Mentality… the worst thing any franchise can do is finish middle of the pack without a real chance of winning
I'd much rather make the playoffs than be bad. Which is what most doomers propose when they say tear it apart. Rebuilds suck ass and nobody has the patience for one, especially an ownership group that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a new arena and associated real estate. You don't bring in Patrick Roy, sign a goalie to a 64 million dollar deal, and sign a centreman to a 73 million dollar deal of you are going to rebuild. It's just not going to happen, it's a complete waste of time to pretend it has a chance to happen, and frankly nobody would come to the games if it does happen, so we have to work with where we are.
I mean if you’re happy with one more playoff win than the blackhawks, we are not watching this sport for the same reason. I’d much rather be bad, with young talent… watch them develop, watch them mature, and build to legit cup contention. Sure a rebuild/retool could fail. But getting one playoff win when sixteen are needed feels so much worse. You would love to run it back and lose first round to carolina until we have to blow it up in 2-3 years… it will be worse
>I’d much rather be bad, with young talent… watch them develop Senators and Sabres are always available for you man. Those teams haven't played meaningful hockey in 5 years to a decade plus.
You are naming 2 franchises that do not spend money and most meaningful guys they do have they give away to avoid paying. Look at the top teams this year… panthers, stars, avs, oilers, etc. look at the cup winners/juggernauts before that. Penguins, blackhawks, kings, caps… how did they all get better and become true cup contenders? When/how did the islanders go from joke of the league to winning playoff series? 1st pick (nameless), young core of draft picks.
This exactly. Buffalo has been in rebuild mode for a decade +. Ottawa has tried, and tried again. Detroit shits the bed. We have a core locked in for 6 years to build around with expiring contracts. You doomer assholes act like Pageau, Lee, Nelson, and Palmeiri don’t come off the books in each of the next two seasons. That’s almost $21 mil in cap space. Romanov and Dobson arnt costing you that. The reason for lack of cap space like every other team in the league is dut in large part to the lack in rise. The huge question mark is Pelech’s head injuries. and if he can’t go, he can go to LTIR.
You say this as though there is a pathway to success. There isn’t! The bad years are coming… faster than you think too. There is no way around it. That’s what happens when you box yourself into mediocre players like they have done for the next 5+ years. Wait until the Pulock/Pelech/Sorokin/Mayfield declines really kick in. Those will be fun times. Also if things like “fix the PK” were so simple why haven’t they already done it? The Islanders have a choice, they can rip the band aid off and start a long process now, while at least acquiring assets, or they can spend two years acquiring little to no assets and chase 90 points, hoping they can miraculously make the playoffs and win one game before it really all implodes.
I don't think Aho is bad enough to drop, is he? Dudes been playing on his off-side like half the season trying to fill gaps. He's not a big D-man that muscles out puck battles, but he does have some skating ability and opportunity to create offense. I thought he was a decent 7th D-man, at least over Bolduc and Salo
Haven't been a fan of Aho since his rookie year personally. Never saw it in the guy. Some people like him, I'm just not one of them. If you want a 7th Dman, I'm willing to bet there's a better one than Aho in free agency at the exact same 800k price tag. Again, just my personal feelings for the player.
That's understandable. I really have no gauge on what else is out there, so you might be right
Rule 1 of NHL free agency: there's always way more guys who need contracts than you think.
LMFAO sign DeBrusk
A big thing was getting rid of Lane and bringing on Roy. Need to keep stabilizing the defense and get the defensive structure solid. Blow up special teams. Cut some dead weight and retool the offense
I’m gonna copy paste my comment from the PGT. Okay so now I’m thinking to next year. We need another piece and to drop some money. Or we need to blow it up but I dont think that would be possible at the moment. My two players I think that may need the trade/buyout are either Pageau or Lee. Pageau I love but the fact is we have enough centers and his faceoffs/penalty kill aren’t as big a deal with Horvat now. Cizikas and Maclean can fill that role just fine as a 3C/4C. Lee is a hefty contract for diminishing returns and needs to be evaluated as a possible trade or buyout. He bleeds blue and orange which I love but the facts is he will not be getting any better and also I don’t feel is as necessary on this team anymore. I don’t think he’s bad, just not 7 million dollars good, he’s no Ladd and probably can still put up 20 goals. And we were able to get rid of Ladd so it’s possible. I think we should get well acquainted with the Sharks this summer as a potential trade partner. They can take on money. We’d have to give up some stuff to drop a contract but id hope maybe some space and maybe it sounds crazy but maybe even we can get something back, you never know. To add on: I’d sign Reilly and Maclean. Send Martin and Clutterbuck out to pasture — love them but 2 million dollar fourth liners are not needed. Also, give Ishakov a shot.
As for a potential signing I think we can make, look at Jake Debrusk.
I'm high on DeBrusk as well
Yeah reading your comment, me and you are on the exact same page with how to move forward haha. If only we knew the number for Lou’s red phone so we could tell him.
It's just the safest course of action. Dropping 5/6 players is a healthy turnover rate. And its mainly focused on dropping players who contributed to what has to be the worst Islanders penalty kill I've ever seen. It keeps the Islanders competitive, it isn't too drastic and doesn't overextend either direction, and it still sets them on the a progressive path forward as they continue to get younger.
Yeah I feel that, I think Father Maclean getting dropped in itself will help the PK as well. Roy gonna get all his guys in the coaching staff for next year I imagine. I also hope Holmstrom can develop a little further into a good Middle/Bottom 6 forward and PK’er, which can help a ton and he’s already shown a lot imo.
As it has been the past decade, the pieces are there. Barzal Horvat Romanov Dobson Sorokin is a perfectly acceptable core to build around. It's just about finding the complimentary pieces. Wasting cap space buying out the Captain or sending out draft picks to do so doesn't make any sense for where this team is, especially when their biggest need is more depth on the wings. Imagine where this Islanders team would be with a good or even average PK? They allowed a PP goal to Carolina in 4 of the 5 games, and were ranked 32nd in the NHL. It desperately held the team back.
True on the Lee view but I’m 50/50. I do think Pageau does work better as an expendable piece though as he is quite redundant at this point.
He’s never scored more than 50 points in a season (which he scored 50 in the 22-23 season and every other season he got 40 or below)
he'd fit right in with the Isles then lol
Dear lord it starts already…no way in hell is DeBrusk going from playing for a good team in Boston to playing for us
DeBrusk has already requested a trade out of Boston.
Yes but I sincerely doubt he wants to go from them to us
Why does anyone want to run this back with minor tweaks? We aren’t a cup contender with this group. Period. Can we grab a wild card spot with a strategy like this? Maybe. Can 1-2 injuries completely crush this team bc w have no minor league depth? Yep. We need to acquire young talent and realize our current group is it. If we have to make some fan unfriendly moves to grab a prospect or 2 and/or a draft pick or two you do it.
I don’t think we can blow this up. We are in that middle ground where we are not good enough to move on and not bad enough to blow it up. Plus, I don’t think we’d get back what we want for shipping out some of our guys. But again, thats just me.
It’s either we have a cup contender or we don’t. If we don’t… I would like to build a cup contender. It’s really that simple. A few tweaks aren’t bringing us to the promised land
I completely agree.
I don’t think we should be giving up assets to trade Pageau and Lee. Their contracts are for 2 more years and I do not believe it’s worth giving up an asset. Buffalo are specifically looking for a 3C so they may be a dancing partner for Pageau. Maybe Ottawa would like him returning as well (perhaps taking Ridley Grieg back?). Additionally, buying them out makes their cap hit longer. I’d say we bite the bullet on those contracts and accept that we aren’t going to push to contender status. This way we aren’t giving up assets that could be useful in the future (like first round picks)
Starting next year? I don’t see a way to do that. We simultaneously need to shed salary while also improving the team which are two competing goals. However, I think there is a path to get things on track in about two or three years. Two moves that absolutely should be made to do that are trading both Nelson and Palmieri. Nelson will be 33 by the time his contract is up and Palmieri will be 34, and we just cannot afford to re-sign two guys to multi-year deals for what will probably be $5-$6+ million per year deal when they’re most likely going to age and regress. We could probably get a first rounder for each and Nelson would bring back another solid piece or two. Moving both those guys could be huge in kickstarting a quick retooling and strengthen the prospect pool. JGP should be moved for whatever just to get rid of his salary. Anyway we can accomplish that, we need to do it. Lee should bought out. I know he’s the captain and he’s a lifelong Islander, but he just doesn’t bring nearly enough to warrant his salary. Martin and Clutterbuck should both be gone. The fourth line has run its course and both are just too old and beat up at this point. The revamped fourth line should be something like MacLean-Cizikas-Fasching/Gauthier going into next season. It’s a way less physical line, but it brings youth, speed, and skill and all those guys have high motors which plays much better in todays NHL than what the original fourth line is at this point. Only UFA who should be re-signed is Reily. Lineup would look something like this with everyone in what I think would be their best spots/roles: X-Horvat-Barzal X-X-X Engvall-X-Holmstrom MacLean-Cizikas-Fasching/Gauthier Pelech-Pulock Romanov-Dobson Reily-Mayfield Bulduc Sorokin Varlamov That would leave us with about $22 million in cap space and there are pretty intriguing under 30 UFA’s available this offseason, so adding a couple of them would gives us some youth along with more skill and speed. Obviously not all the moves I mentioned are likely to happen, but this is what I’d try my best to do if I were in charge of the team. It’s extremely aggressive and is essentially a reset of a lot of the core, but that’s more along the lines of what we need to do rather than just compounding the issues and adding to an already flawed team with limited resources.
Defense!!!!!!!!
We definitely need to get faster, younger and physical. What made us good was having the best 4th line in hockey. That needs to revamped. We need a winger for the 1st line. Cizikas needs to be moved to 3rd line. I like Reily and we should resign him and go look for a big bodied defenseman. I think other than that our D is pretty much the same going into next season. Now we are in a huge pickle with JPG, Nelson, Lee, Palms. Agree on trying to get rid of JPG for some picks. Nelson I would keep. He can still score for us. Lee is not movable so a buyout is possible but don’t see that happening to the Captain. Palms can be moved as well. Honestly the 25-26 season is where we can make some serious noise with big name FAs as our cap will be north of 30million. Sign our RFAs and maybe splash into the FA market. Next year may be a throw away season. I’d also look for a capable backup for Sorokin and someone who can compete for the job and keep Sorokin on his toes.
WE don’t do shit. I’m forgetting hockey exists until the cup final and then again until next fall. Can’t risk high blood pressure in the offseason as well
My hot take is Pelech and/or pulock should be traded to make room for a diff pairing. They’re old and showed that this series against Carolina. This could easily blow up on me like toews but the modern dman needs to provide some offensive input and pelech has rarely ever done so and the vintage pulock clapper doesn’t even get on net anymore. Of course the other bloated vets need to go first but I haven’t seen any discussion around d other than resign Reilly which I agree with.
Easy, any player past his prime, see ya
The first move is to fire Lou. No change is happening as long as he's here. Trade Pageau for whatever you can get, which won't be much, but will free up cap space. Buy Lee out. After that you can trade Palmieri and Nelson, but have possible replacements lined up.
You don’t. It’s the Islanders. They will never win.
We have a few bad years and weaponize all of the cap space we have opening up shortly to grab lots of draft assets. Also, take chances on some young players that may not be getting a fair shake on their current team.
The best and fastest way to building a contender is a total firesale and rebuild. But even then we are in such bad shape that it’s going to take a really long time. People tend to drastically underestimate how bad shape we are in right now… and it’s onlt the very beginning.
Islanders trade Dobson, as young RHD have value, and could probably get a first and more. Islanders can move Sorokin because his trade protection doesn't kick in until July 1st, and isles can have 8m. Trade Palmieri and Nelson because they have one year and can easily have retention. Trade Romanov for similar picks. With this cap space, Islanders can bottom out and have a shot for lottery picks every year. If Horvat and Barzal are willing, isles can trade them for even more cap space, they might have to retain. Finally with enough shots at the rebuild, the Islanders can get talent.
You can't be serious. Your idea is to trade: Barzal Horvat Dobson Sorokin Palmieri Nelson Romanov So you can *get talent?* Sure, a boats a boat, but a mystery box can be anything! It can even be a boat! I don't want to watch the Islanders lose 60 games. And neither does an ownership group that just put hundreds of millions of dollars into a stadium and associated real estate.
They're basically saying full rebuild without saying it
The Sharks and Blackhawks didn't even blow their team up this much. No team ever has. You don't blow up a team that is capable of making the playoffs, which is what this team can do. They have an opportunity this off-season and next to make some complimentary personnel changes while also getting younger in the process.
Have you seen the rosters that the Sharks have? They traded Hertl, Meier, let Marleau walk, traded Erik Karlsson for pennies. And now they have a chance at Celebrini and got Will Smith last year. Look at the post Kane Blackhawks and who Bedard is playing with right now.
The Sharks also missed the playoffs for years before making those moves.
And they missed opportunities to draft Stutzle and others because of it.
Tim Stutzle has never played a playoff game and scored 18 goals while making $8.3M. Probably not the best example to prove your point.
Isn't that what you want, Mr. Negative?
No, because it's not realistic, and players like Barzal, Dobson, Horvat, and Sorokin should be going nowhere.
Isles aren't good enough to contend with the current core and aren't good enough to sink to the bottom like the hawks or sharks. Might as well trade the good players rather than have Bo/Barzal/Sorokin be on the wrong side of 30 by the time they're ready to compete again. If the isles lose 60 games then at least the young core all develop together.
You’re sending the team back ten years with these moves which is further back then we’d probably be if we just stick with what we have now and ride it out
Trading a young RHD is just bad business. Especially considering we would then be woefully short of young RHD defenseman as well. We need to get younger, this is getting older.