Once again Lou whiffs on the big scoring talent. I can't imagine how anyone could be surprised by this.
I appreciate Lou for bringing respectability back to the organization. Bringing Trotz here and the back to back ECF runs were exciting. But his time has passed as being a good GM. He doesn't manage the cap well, his old school tactics just don't work with todays young players as he does strike out getting the top FA. I could understand if JG went to an original 6 but to lose out to the Blue Jackets is pathetic. He will get this season but if its another bad one then L&M have to fire him and look for someone else to takeover.
I agree with all of this. I think the team hit a hard ceiling a couple of seasons ago, and he's taken them as far as he can. As I said at the time, when Trotz was fired, it was the wrong guy who needed to go - if Trotz was going to go, the Isles should have taken that as an opportunity to replace both of them.
With Lou-induced silence in effect we have nothing but speculation at this point. But if we have to lose Beau to bring in Kadri I don’t see how adding another center but losing a winger improves the team, unless we are also moving Pageau and Bailey and probably Raty and getting someone like TJ Miller as in return.
Looks like Kadri is a done deal 7 years at 7 million. Lou hasn't made it official yet but... Islanders signing Nazem Kadri considered ‘a formality’: report (msn.com)
Terrible deal if true and not what the Islanders need if he has to trade Beau or Wahsltrom to make it happen.
So much for the Kadri signing, He just signed with the Flames. I am done with Lou. I appreciate what he did in bringing respectability back to the organization but he is way past his prime when it comes to being an effective GM in today's game. Our offense still sucks and we fired the best coach in hockey (Trotz) and replaced him with a first time HC(Lambert). Please retire Lou. (17) Elliotte Friedman on Twitter: "Kadri 7x$7M in CAL" / Twitter
God, yes - not necessarily because of the specifics of this deal (I think 7 years is too long), but because of his complete inability to navigate the modern NHL. How often does he have to fail to get offensive help before Ledecky and Malkin do something about it?
I won’t be sad to see Lou go when he does but if he refused to trade Beau, as rumored, or Varly, to fit in Kadri this year then it’s actually a great move on Lou’s part. Sure he hasn’t won any off season free agent championships but he’s smart enough to know not to fuck the team this year giving up a winger when he need wingers to sign a player whose contract will fuck us in four years. Not signing Kadri is the best news of the offseason. I also think Lou will find a taker for Bailey now as well; the rumors that we needed to move a contract to sign Kadri hurt us as teams thought we were desperate to do so. Now it will be easier to find a reasonable trade for a team that could use his services or needs to hit the cap floor. And I think JT Miller is still realistic. we never needed a center (unless Barzal wanted to move to winger which I doubt); Raty will be on the team by season’s end.
Dobson, Romanov and Bellows all resigned. Either last year was a fluke of scheduling and Covid or the team is truly in decline. If the former, I’m content going into the season with the team that went to back to back semi-finals, seeing what we need during the season and making a smart trade to improve from there. If the latter, expensive long term contracts for fTJ Miller or Kadri wouldn’t be enough and would screw the team long term. the reality is we need to resign Barzal and Sorokin before doling out any more money.
Barzal signed; now Lambert needs to open the ice up for him. He was a good soldier for Trotz, but you don’t pay him to put him in a system that restricts his output.
(7) New York Islanders on Twitter: "#Isles News: The New York Islanders announced today that Mathew Barzal has agreed to terms on an eight-year contract." / Twitter
I hope this doesn't happen. (8) Chris Botta on Twitter: "Chris Lamoriello is likely the next GM of the Islanders. I’ve always heard he’s good at his job, a quality person, and he’ll do things his own way. Craig Button tells us more about Chris. Watch clip. Full show on YouTube. Listen here: https://t.co/QYdIeLbZCO…" / Twitter
Might it be time to start a new thread for the season? Anyway, I don't have high hopes for this season. The team is virtually identical to last year's team, which obviously wasn't any good. I think they have excellent goaltending, but that's about it. I think they had to sign Barzal, but I also think he's just about hit his ceiling, and isn't going to correct the obvious flaws in his game. This doesn't look like a playoff team to me, and I certainly don't think that the GM can (or will) make it one via trade.
The one thing I will say is the defense got a lot younger and faster. No Chara or Greene this year. They should do a better job getting the puck out of their own zone. Have to see what kind of coach Lambert turns out to be.
Defensive speed was the biggest issue from a talent/ability standpoint and that has been corrected. It was evident right from the beginning of last season that we were chasing the puck in our defensive zone and struggling to dictate the pace the way we had in years past. The scoring problems I believe were a coaching/system issue, not a talent issue, so returning with the same roster does not necessarily mean the offense cannot and will not improve. Improvement will be dependent on how Lambert runs the offense and if he allows for his players to skate, be creative and be aggressive on offense. I think he will. I don’t think Barzal would have resigned if he was told he’d continue to be handcuffed and was looking at being a 60 point player.
The Isles won't start the first 14 games (or whatever it was) on the road either. That will make a big difference.
