Really not looking good for an impact type trade at this point. Team really needs to keep this years #1. Probably best to let Roy run with the current team.
- ses111

I don't really disagree, but being able to pick up a Hanifin or Chychrun would lock down the entire blueline (assuming they're able to extend Dobson and Romanov after next season) for a very long time. I don't think they have the assets or the cap space to make those deals though so yeah, I'd prefer to just hang onto the pick.

Watching the game now and love horvat dropping the gloves. Don't want to see that too often but the guy is a player for sure. Still love the deal let's hope they get it together under Roy and with 3 and 6 back too. I think they will be buyers at the deadline but hope the 1st isn't part of the deal unless it's a sign and trade
- Upstate_isles

Timing?

For me it depends on where the first pick lies and who the expected player/draft choice will be. If I can take the first round pick and add a dynamic D man that can solidify the blue line for years to come you have to think about trading the pick.
Depends on what you’re getting in either scenario. You can’t say I’m not trading the pick without knowing what it could bring back. Just look at how well the Horvat trade worked out even though most internet GM’s were screaming about how bad a deal it was. If you can take an unknown asset and turn it into player or players a team needs you do it. Those assets don’t grow on trees.

I did enjoy the dig by Burke when he said 4 all stars and Tavares on the pp

Not a lot of guys out there worth a first round pick. Frankly, I'd be shopping for a defenseman before anything else if it were up to me. Two guys that could be signed long-term are Hanifin and Chychrun, that could certainly be worth a 1st but will take a lot of other assets too.

Frankly, with guys on LTIR and not accruing cap space...as things stand now they will only have the ability to add $1.487M in full-year cap hit at the deadline. Not getting anyone of value for under that amount no matter what you trade. They'd have to do some pretty wild stuff to make the room to do anything noteworthy. Like trade Pageau or Palmieri
- eichiefs9

Trading Pageau to free up cap space would be the move.

I don't really disagree, but being able to pick up a Hanifin or Chychrun would lock down the entire blueline (assuming they're able to extend Dobson and Romanov after next season) for a very long time. I don't think they have the assets or the cap space to make those deals though so yeah, I'd prefer to just hang onto the pick.
- eichiefs9

If Lou did a better job with the Cap or prospects, we would have a better chance at one of these players. Probably best to sit tight for now and see what can be done in the offseason.

Trading Pageau to free up cap space would be the move.
- kindlyrick

It creates a hole though. The internal option would be to bump Cizikas up a line when he's healthy and let McLean center the fourth line but then you're losing your best FO man (Pageau leads the team at 54.4%) and a pretty good center. Even though Pageau is having a down year offensively, he's still probably more likely to create more offense than Cizikas will.

That said, the market for centers is real thin so if someone is offering up a fortune in assets for him, it might make Lou have to think long and hard about it. Who knows, I'm not betting they do it but it's not out of the question. He's got a 16 team NTC too, so that would complicate things.

How refreshing is the Patrick Roy postgame?
He actually talks about the game and what he wants to see it's so nice to hear.

How refreshing is the Patrick Roy postgame?
He actually talks about the game and what he wants to see it's so nice to hear.
- Upstate_isles

Barry and now Roy great moves by Lou.

I did enjoy the dig by Burke when he said 4 all stars and Tavares on the pp
- Upstate_isles

Definitely got a kick out of that

Definitely got a kick out of that
- keaner17

Things not going well for JT. He seems to show some passion for the Islander games and not the same passion for other games.

Things not going well for JT. He seems to show some passion for the Islander games and not the same passion for other games.
- ses111

He was a little female dog last night lol

He was a little female dog last night lol
- Upstate_isles

This should not fly as Leafs captain. JT just does not have the personality for the Leafs pressure cooker. The Leafs were the worst fit for JT in terms of hockey.

He was a little female dog last night lol
- Upstate_isles

Last night?

He was a little female dog last night lol
- Upstate_isles

Nothing better than sweeping the Leafs and seeing that touchhole cry like a little girl. Best was last night was in a win in regulation and my boy Engy was the winner. Love that guy, lol 😝

Nothing better than sweeping the Leafs and seeing that touchhole cry like a little girl. Best was last night was in a win in regulation and my boy Engy was the winner. Love that guy, lol 😝
- streaks

Islanders have to hope Pierre thinks he is playing the Leafs every game.

Islanders have to hope Pierre thinks he is playing the Leafs every game.
- ses111

Lol, yeah was being sarcastic. Kind of need the guy to start contributing though. Especially if he’s gonna get top six minutes. I’m rooting for him!! I just don’t like how soft he is for how big he is.

Lol, yeah was being sarcastic. Kind of need the guy to start contributing though. Especially if he’s gonna get top six minutes. I’m rooting for him!! I just don’t like how soft he is for how big he is.
- streaks

I suspected that you were.

Islanders are going to need Pierre to produce.

Lol, yeah was being sarcastic. Kind of need the guy to start contributing though. Especially if he’s gonna get top six minutes. I’m rooting for him!! I just don’t like how soft he is for how big he is.
- streaks

He’s like a big flaccid penis.

From Pierre LeBrun:

TORONTO — The look on Lou Lamoriello’s face said as much as his response.

It was Monday morning, ahead of the New York Islanders’ game in Toronto, and the question for the team’s general manager was rather simple: What have you seen so far with Patrick Roy behind the bench?

“He’s brought everything that I thought he would, without question,” Lamoriello said, beaming. “He’s a coach. And he’s a teacher. His passion certainly comes through. But it’s his teaching and his coaching that I’ve been impressed with.”

Now 2-2-1 since he took over as head coach, Roy isn’t wasting a minute in his efforts to mold his team.

The morning skate has become a thing of the past for many teams, with sports science recommending conserving energy levels and so on. It sure hit you watching the Isles’ morning skate Monday at Scotiabank Arena: high energy drills, Roy barking orders, go, go, go, 100 percent effort.

You don’t see that a lot anymore on game days.

“Just trying to create habits here,” Roy told a group of assembled reporters Monday. “I think the identity of our team, the DNA of our team, is hard work. That’s what a lot of our guys have been saying to me. We just want to go back to that.”

Message well received.

“Very high energy,” veteran Isles winger Matt Martin told me Monday regarding his new coach. “He’s a really positive guy. He’s also very adamant about doing it the right way. And there’s a structure that he wants. The first few days of practice, he doesn’t have a whistle — he makes his own whistle, and we probably heard it 100 times in practice because he wants to make sure that we’re doing everything the way it’s supposed to be done.

“It’s just a new voice. And it’s Patrick Roy. He’s one of the best to ever do it. He understands what it takes to win, and I think that carries a lot of weight. His messaging so far has really given guys new life and excitement.”

Why did Roy want back in so badly?

“I love the game, I love the game,” the Hockey Hall of Famer repeated for emphasis. “I’m a very passionate person about hockey. The game was so good to me. And having a chance to give back, I could not ask for a better situation.”

It goes without saying, Lamoriello doesn’t make that coaching change unless he believes his team still has a chance this season.

The post-All-Star break began with a huge 3-2 road win over the Maple Leafs. The Isles next host Tampa Bay on Thursday night. They’re all big right now for an Islanders team scratching and clawing over its final 32 games to get in.

“Every game is like a playoff game,” Lamoriello said. “Even though that’s a cliché, that’s the position we’re in. We can’t look back. We just have to play the next game and be ready for it.”

We are a month away from the March 8 trade deadline. Not that Lamoriello would ever say, but my sense from talking to league sources is that the Islanders are calling around looking for help up front, which is no surprise. But because of their tenuous spot in the standings, I did ask Lamoriello whether it made more sense to avoid the rentals (pending unrestricted free agents) and focus on players with contracts past this season. In other words, are they looking for help his team this year and beyond?

“Like everything else, you make every decision for today with tomorrow in mind,” he responded. “But where the priority comes at that given time? Depending on cost, depending on age, depending on so many variables. So it’s really tough to say it’s for this reason or that reason.

“But you certainly do it because you want to give yourself a better opportunity, if the opportunity comes about,” he added. “Remember, it still takes two teams.”

And it’s still early. Mind you, we had two trades last week, with Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan dealt by Calgary and Montreal, respectively. Both are pending UFAs and were destined, 100 percent, to get dealt.

A year ago, there were a number of trades that began to drop three weeks out. The action began early.

So here we go again?

“Things are trends, but it’s also what’s available, and I think both of those situations, those trades (Lindholm, Monahan), if you look at them, the players were going to go somewhere,” Lamoriello said. “So I think that wasn’t a surprise. It’s just where, and what’s the price.”

The Isles feel re-energized under Roy. It would be pretty surprising if Lamoriello didn’t pull something off before March 8.

This should not fly as Leafs captain. JT just does not have the personality for the Leafs pressure cooker. The Leafs were the worst fit for JT in terms of hockey.
- ses111

100%. The fans are turning on him. His contract isn’t worth the numbers produced. The leafs are just a mess.

From Pierre LeBrun:

TORONTO — The look on Lou Lamoriello’s face said as much as his response.

It was Monday morning, ahead of the New York Islanders’ game in Toronto, and the question for the team’s general manager was rather simple: What have you seen so far with Patrick Roy behind the bench?

“He’s brought everything that I thought he would, without question,” Lamoriello said, beaming. “He’s a coach. And he’s a teacher. His passion certainly comes through. But it’s his teaching and his coaching that I’ve been impressed with.”

Now 2-2-1 since he took over as head coach, Roy isn’t wasting a minute in his efforts to mold his team.

The morning skate has become a thing of the past for many teams, with sports science recommending conserving energy levels and so on. It sure hit you watching the Isles’ morning skate Monday at Scotiabank Arena: high energy drills, Roy barking orders, go, go, go, 100 percent effort.

You don’t see that a lot anymore on game days.

“Just trying to create habits here,” Roy told a group of assembled reporters Monday. “I think the identity of our team, the DNA of our team, is hard work. That’s what a lot of our guys have been saying to me. We just want to go back to that.”

Message well received.

“Very high energy,” veteran Isles winger Matt Martin told me Monday regarding his new coach. “He’s a really positive guy. He’s also very adamant about doing it the right way. And there’s a structure that he wants. The first few days of practice, he doesn’t have a whistle — he makes his own whistle, and we probably heard it 100 times in practice because he wants to make sure that we’re doing everything the way it’s supposed to be done.

“It’s just a new voice. And it’s Patrick Roy. He’s one of the best to ever do it. He understands what it takes to win, and I think that carries a lot of weight. His messaging so far has really given guys new life and excitement.”

Why did Roy want back in so badly?

“I love the game, I love the game,” the Hockey Hall of Famer repeated for emphasis. “I’m a very passionate person about hockey. The game was so good to me. And having a chance to give back, I could not ask for a better situation.”

It goes without saying, Lamoriello doesn’t make that coaching change unless he believes his team still has a chance this season.

The post-All-Star break began with a huge 3-2 road win over the Maple Leafs. The Isles next host Tampa Bay on Thursday night. They’re all big right now for an Islanders team scratching and clawing over its final 32 games to get in.

“Every game is like a playoff game,” Lamoriello said. “Even though that’s a cliché, that’s the position we’re in. We can’t look back. We just have to play the next game and be ready for it.”

We are a month away from the March 8 trade deadline. Not that Lamoriello would ever say, but my sense from talking to league sources is that the Islanders are calling around looking for help up front, which is no surprise. But because of their tenuous spot in the standings, I did ask Lamoriello whether it made more sense to avoid the rentals (pending unrestricted free agents) and focus on players with contracts past this season. In other words, are they looking for help his team this year and beyond?

“Like everything else, you make every decision for today with tomorrow in mind,” he responded. “But where the priority comes at that given time? Depending on cost, depending on age, depending on so many variables. So it’s really tough to say it’s for this reason or that reason.

“But you certainly do it because you want to give yourself a better opportunity, if the opportunity comes about,” he added. “Remember, it still takes two teams.”

And it’s still early. Mind you, we had two trades last week, with Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan dealt by Calgary and Montreal, respectively. Both are pending UFAs and were destined, 100 percent, to get dealt.

A year ago, there were a number of trades that began to drop three weeks out. The action began early.

So here we go again?

“Things are trends, but it’s also what’s available, and I think both of those situations, those trades (Lindholm, Monahan), if you look at them, the players were going to go somewhere,” Lamoriello said. “So I think that wasn’t a surprise. It’s just where, and what’s the price.”

The Isles feel re-energized under Roy. It would be pretty surprising if Lamoriello didn’t pull something off before March 8.
- eichiefs9

Agreed with that last paragraph. Gotta think Lou adds to this team if they can string together a little win streak. It certainly appears that they’re more “energized” under Roy. Lou is def not afraid to pull the trigger.

He’s like a big flaccid penis.
- Cptmjl

😂😂😂

Agreed with that last paragraph. Gotta think Lou adds to this team if they can string together a little win streak. It certainly appears that they’re more “energized” under Roy. Lou is def not afraid to pull the trigger.
- kindlyrick

He’ll be pulling something off.

100%. The fans are turning on him. His contract isn’t worth the numbers produced. The leafs are just a mess.
- kindlyrick

It made no sense in a Cap world when you have Matthews and other high-end forwards. Money could have been spent more wisely elsewhere to fill in needed holes. I doubt Matthews was happy with another 1C added and that he was not named Captain.

It made no sense in a Cap world when you have Matthews and other high-end forwards. Money could have been spent more wisely elsewhere to fill in needed holes. I doubt Matthews was happy with another 1C added and that he was not named Captain.
- ses111

I think what the last 5-6 years have shown is that the core four is more like the core bore. Talented or not, it hasn’t worked and continues to fail. My guess is Keefe doesn’t return and they move Marner.