I don't even know what kind of assets we'd get for trading back a pick or two. Is it really worth it for a 2nd and 3rd round pick? I don't think it would be. If someone is really in love with Schaefer and wants to offer up some kind of blockbuster package I'd absolutely be interested, but short of that....no thanks.
I think Schaefer is the guy and if they can wheel and deal to get back in the top 5/10 then that's awesome. I'd put the Colorado pick in play and then, depending what pick it'd be for, make a call on what the other assets would be to include - Gabe Athaus
This is the best option for the isles. While even taking Schaefer is a crap shoot, it is taking the best available player. On a team that needs to fill holes on both offense and defense this is you option. I also agree that Isles have the assets to get back into the top 5, if that can happen, I would then take Hagens. This would be a huge boost to putting the team on the right path.
This is the best option for the isles. While even taking Schaefer is a crap shoot, it is taking the best available player. On a team that needs to fill holes on both offense and defense this is you option. I also agree that Isles have the assets to get back into the top 5, if that can happen, I would then take Hagens. This would be a huge boost to putting the team on the right path. - Nfdbulldawg
I'm skeptical they can get back into the top 5, but given that we have no real front office right now anything is possible once they bring in whoever it is they decide to hire. They probably can get back in but that means someone in there needs to want to trade out. Everything should be on the table because this team needs a lot. But I think Schaefer is the pick mainly because we have Eiserman and Ritchie in the system at forward and they have jack poop in terms of defensive prospects. George looks promising but he doesn't have the kind of ceiling that Schaefer does and there is nobody else that figures to be an impact player on the blueline right now.
I'd be equally as interested in trying to land Isaac Howard as I would be getting back into the early first round. Maybe even more because he's more of a known quantity at this point.
That's good news. Chris Botta has been pretty adamant that the President and GM are going to be the same person, which I'm not a fan of. Hopefully it's Darche as GM. I think I'd be OK with Holland at the President position but would probably prefer someone else.
edit: and now Pierre LeBrun just dropped this:
Talk about good timing for the New York Islanders, winning the draft lottery just as they’re in the midst of a general manager search.
More precisely, they’re in the market for a GM and a president of hockey operations. There seems to be some flexibility as to whether the Islanders bring in just one person for those positions or two. The first choice, according to league sources, is to get someone who can fill both portfolios.
Where I’m told things are: Free-agent Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Holland has already interviewed with the Isles and is a serious candidate, as he should be. The team would also like to speak with Los Angeles Kings executive Marc Bergevin but hadn’t yet as of Tuesday, as the Kings’ season just ended — and now Rob Blake’s departure as GM might have complicated things, depending on whether Bergevin is in the mix for Blake’s old job.
Colleague Arthur Staple, who’s been on top of all of this, reported Tuesday that the Isles had reached out to the Montreal Canadiens wanting to speak with executive vice president Jeff Gorton. The response from Montreal, according to league sources, is that Gorton is there to stay. So not available.
The Islanders also intend to interview Mathieu Darche. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s assistant GM has been a hot candidate the past few years, as I’ve reported before. He would be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ GM had Kyle Dubas not surfaced as a candidate when he got fired by the Leafs. He also has had strong interviews with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Canadiens over the past few years.
The Islanders also want to speak to candidates who are currently not available because their teams are still in the playoffs. Whether that delays things or the Isles move ahead with a candidate soon remains to be seen.
Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello, who was let go after the season, was on an expiring contract as president and GM. My understanding is that he signed a four-year deal when he first got to the Islanders, then kept signing one-year extensions with ownership. The current one-year extension expires June 30.
Whoever ends up in charge will have to decide whether to keep Patrick Roy on as coach, as well. The Hall of Famer has three more years on his contract, which is not a small detail in whatever decision is reached.
That's good news. Chris Botta has been pretty adamant that the President and GM are going to be the same person, which I'm not a fan of. Hopefully it's Darche as GM. I think I'd be OK with Holland at the President position but would probably prefer someone else. - Gabe Athaus
I agree that it would be a mistake to hire one person for both jobs. I thought Botta was saying that the POHO hire would be first and that person would then hire a GM either now or in a year. Another positive is that a guy like Darche can really up his resume with a rebuilding isles and the subsequent first overall. It’s a good spot to be in.
That's good news. Chris Botta has been pretty adamant that the President and GM are going to be the same person, which I'm not a fan of. Hopefully it's Darche as GM. I think I'd be OK with Holland at the President position but would probably prefer someone else.
edit: and now Pierre LeBrun just dropped this:
Talk about good timing for the New York Islanders, winning the draft lottery just as they’re in the midst of a general manager search.
More precisely, they’re in the market for a GM and a president of hockey operations. There seems to be some flexibility as to whether the Islanders bring in just one person for those positions or two. The first choice, according to league sources, is to get someone who can fill both portfolios.
Where I’m told things are: Free-agent Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Holland has already interviewed with the Isles and is a serious candidate, as he should be. The team would also like to speak with Los Angeles Kings executive Marc Bergevin but hadn’t yet as of Tuesday, as the Kings’ season just ended — and now Rob Blake’s departure as GM might have complicated things, depending on whether Bergevin is in the mix for Blake’s old job.
Colleague Arthur Staple, who’s been on top of all of this, reported Tuesday that the Isles had reached out to the Montreal Canadiens wanting to speak with executive vice president Jeff Gorton. The response from Montreal, according to league sources, is that Gorton is there to stay. So not available.
The Islanders also intend to interview Mathieu Darche. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s assistant GM has been a hot candidate the past few years, as I’ve reported before. He would be the Pittsburgh Penguins’ GM had Kyle Dubas not surfaced as a candidate when he got fired by the Leafs. He also has had strong interviews with the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Canadiens over the past few years.
The Islanders also want to speak to candidates who are currently not available because their teams are still in the playoffs. Whether that delays things or the Isles move ahead with a candidate soon remains to be seen.
Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello, who was let go after the season, was on an expiring contract as president and GM. My understanding is that he signed a four-year deal when he first got to the Islanders, then kept signing one-year extensions with ownership. The current one-year extension expires June 30.
Whoever ends up in charge will have to decide whether to keep Patrick Roy on as coach, as well. The Hall of Famer has three more years on his contract, which is not a small detail in whatever decision is reached. - Gabe Athaus
Unless there’s someone that they believe will be head and shoulders better after the playoffs, I think it’s best for them to get the hire going sooner rather than later to start undressing this franchise and build back better.
I agree that it would be a mistake to hire one person for both jobs. I thought Botta was saying that the POHO hire would be first and that person would then hire a GM either now or in a year. Another positive is that a guy like Darche can really up his resume with a rebuilding isles and the subsequent first overall. It’s a good spot to be in. - kindlyrick
This was from yesterday:
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
21h
The #Isles search is basically over.
It’s down to 2-3 candidates.
ONE person will be both President of Hockey Ops and GM. This person is likely to be an experienced former GM. An announcement is not far away.
MORE:
It doesn't seem to jive with a lot of the other stuff that's been reported, speculative as it all may be. I don't know how plugged in Botta still is or isn't with the Isles management staff so I'm not sure whether to believe him or not.
This was from only like 15min ago:
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
16m
POHO/GM candidates, in order of #Isles owners’ preferences:
1. Gorton: so far, unavailable
2. Holland: Ken may prefer Buffalo; would want to bring Ryan Martin with him to LI
3. Mystery Candidate
4. Bergevin: Marc really wants NYI job, now LA is open
5. Darche: not sure they want to give Mathieu both titles
6. Kekelainen: backup choice
7. Chiarelli: NYI legend
As
@PierreVLeBrun
reported today, Lou Lamoriello remains in place, on team directory, and with integrity is completing his agreement with Scott Malkin before deciding the next step in his career.
The way they describe Darche makes it sound like he still believes the POHO/GM role will be occupied by one person, but the kicker after the Holland bulletpoint sounds like there could be two. Not sure what to believe at this point. The Buffalo comment with Holland also confused me. They didn't fire their GM and there really hasn't seemed to have been any talk about them hiring a president of hockey ops. Botta sending a lot of mixed signals that are tough to follow.
Unless there’s someone that they believe will be head and shoulders better after the playoffs, I think it’s best for them to get the hire going sooner rather than later to start undressing this franchise and build back better. - kindlyrick
Yeah I hope they don't extend their due diligence phase too much because there are potentially a few paths towards accelerating things a bit. Whether that's trading back into the early 1st round or putting together a deal for Isaac Howard or something nobody sees coming. But if they sit around conducting interviews for too long they're going to potentially miss out on a good candidate and possibly opportunities to restock the pipeline quicker
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
21h
The #Isles search is basically over.
It’s down to 2-3 candidates.
ONE person will be both President of Hockey Ops and GM. This person is likely to be an experienced former GM. An announcement is not far away.
MORE:
It doesn't seem to jive with a lot of the other stuff that's been reported, speculative as it all may be. I don't know how plugged in Botta still is or isn't with the Isles management staff so I'm not sure whether to believe him or not.
This was from only like 15min ago:
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
16m
POHO/GM candidates, in order of #Isles owners’ preferences:
1. Gorton: so far, unavailable
2. Holland: Ken may prefer Buffalo; would want to bring Ryan Martin with him to LI
3. Mystery Candidate
4. Bergevin: Marc really wants NYI job, now LA is open
5. Darche: not sure they want to give Mathieu both titles
6. Kekelainen: backup choice
7. Chiarelli: NYI legend
As
@PierreVLeBrun
reported today, Lou Lamoriello remains in place, on team directory, and with integrity is completing his agreement with Scott Malkin before deciding the next step in his career.
The way they describe Darche makes it sound like he still believes the POHO/GM role will be occupied by one person, but the kicker after the Holland bulletpoint sounds like there could be two. Not sure what to believe at this point. The Buffalo comment with Holland also confused me. They didn't fire their GM and there really hasn't seemed to have been any talk about them hiring a president of hockey ops. Botta sending a lot of mixed signals that are tough to follow. - Gabe Athaus
I think there has to be legality in some of this. For example, I don’t believe Lou is finishing out his contract because of integrity. He’s probably contractually obligated to…..or he’s got exposure for damages. It’s probably why the isles “can’t talk” to Gorton because he’s under contract. It’s a grey area to me because if someone wants to leave their job for another why can’t they? Why can’t they listen to another offer, and make a decision, unless there’s a non compete in the small print?
I think there has to be legality in some of this. For example, I don’t believe Lou is finishing out his contract because of integrity. He’s probably contractually obligated to…..or he’s got exposure for damages. It’s probably why the isles “can’t talk” to Gorton because he’s under contract. It’s a grey area to me because if someone wants to leave their job for another why can’t they? Why can’t they listen to another offer, and make a decision, unless there’s a non compete in the small print? - kindlyrick
He's under contract so he'd have to be granted permission to interview/leave to take the job. It's not like a regular employee who can quit whenever he wants to go elsewhere.
I have a good friend who's a very high-level front office executive with a major pro sports team (not hockey) in his second year with them. His boss went there a year before he did but his old owner was a real stickler for making guys finish out their contracts and that's why he had to stick it out for an extra year before he followed his old boss to their current team.
Unless there’s someone that they believe will be head and shoulders better after the playoffs, I think it’s best for them to get the hire going sooner rather than later to start undressing this franchise and build back better. - kindlyrick
I'm thinking the Islanders would like to speak to someone from Dallas. I'd also rather make a hire sooner rather than later. I just do not want Holland having both jobs. Rather the President focus on the scouting and development areas and the GM focus on the roster. I think it would be good for someone like Darche to just have the roster to worry about.
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
21h
The #Isles search is basically over.
It’s down to 2-3 candidates.
ONE person will be both President of Hockey Ops and GM. This person is likely to be an experienced former GM. An announcement is not far away.
MORE:
It doesn't seem to jive with a lot of the other stuff that's been reported, speculative as it all may be. I don't know how plugged in Botta still is or isn't with the Isles management staff so I'm not sure whether to believe him or not.
This was from only like 15min ago:
Chris Botta
@ChrisBottaNHL
16m
POHO/GM candidates, in order of #Isles owners’ preferences:
1. Gorton: so far, unavailable
2. Holland: Ken may prefer Buffalo; would want to bring Ryan Martin with him to LI
3. Mystery Candidate
4. Bergevin: Marc really wants NYI job, now LA is open
5. Darche: not sure they want to give Mathieu both titles
6. Kekelainen: backup choice
7. Chiarelli: NYI legend
As
@PierreVLeBrun
reported today, Lou Lamoriello remains in place, on team directory, and with integrity is completing his agreement with Scott Malkin before deciding the next step in his career.
The way they describe Darche makes it sound like he still believes the POHO/GM role will be occupied by one person, but the kicker after the Holland bulletpoint sounds like there could be two. Not sure what to believe at this point. The Buffalo comment with Holland also confused me. They didn't fire their GM and there really hasn't seemed to have been any talk about them hiring a president of hockey ops. Botta sending a lot of mixed signals that are tough to follow. - Gabe Athaus
A lot to unpack here, and from the LeBrun comments. I guess the positive is they are seemingly hitting the best available, or soon to be available, candidates. Not sure I like Lou still being in a position to potentially influence the direction the team heads.
A lot to unpack here, and from the LeBrun comments. I guess the positive is they are seemingly hitting the best available, or soon to be available, candidates. Not sure I like Lou still being in a position to potentially influence the direction the team heads. - streaks
I don’t think Lou after being told they are not extending his contract is involved in making the decision on his successor.
I doubt he’s still going to the Islanders offices at this point. They are looking for a new direction and I just don’t see Ledecky, Malkin and Collin’s having Lou involved in his replacement.
I think Lou’s at home or on vacation collecting his paycheck until the termination date of his contract with The Islanders ownership group.
A lot to unpack here, and from the LeBrun comments. I guess the positive is they are seemingly hitting the best available, or soon to be available, candidates. Not sure I like Lou still being in a position to potentially influence the direction the team heads. - streaks
Why would Holland want Buffalo and that ownership group? Combo of Bergevin and Darche would be nice.
A lot to unpack here, and from the LeBrun comments. I guess the positive is they are seemingly hitting the best available, or soon to be available, candidates. Not sure I like Lou still being in a position to potentially influence the direction the team heads. - streaks
I wouldn't be too concerned with Lou being still technically employed. It was either LeBrun's article or one from Rosner that said that Lou is staying around to tie up a few loose ends and that's about it.
His contract expires at the formal end of the current NHL season, which is June 30th, and he is seeing it through. I doubt the team is formally consulting with him on who to hire to replace him. And even if they were, Lou has a sterling reputation and I don't think an 80-something year old legend of the game is going to be doing anything out of spite.
Arthur Staple
@StapeAthletic
Another #Isles search update -- we'll just keep ringing these up every 24 hours:
-- Ken Holland believed to be a no on NYI job for now
-- As @PierreVLeBrun reported, MTL not letting Jeff Gorton go for now
-- Marc Bergevin next in line for NYI?
Arthur Staple
@StapeAthletic
Another #Isles search update -- we'll just keep ringing these up every 24 hours:
-- Ken Holland believed to be a no on NYI job for now
-- As @PierreVLeBrun reported, MTL not letting Jeff Gorton go for now
-- Marc Bergevin next in line for NYI?
Let's see what changes by tomorrow - Gabe Athaus
Everything I’ve read says Jeff Gorton is staying in Montreal. I’d be curious to know when his contract expires
Also Botta said something about Holland wanting to bring in Ryan Martin which might be more do able in buffalo. 🤷♂️
Arthur Staple
@StapeAthletic
Another #Isles search update -- we'll just keep ringing these up every 24 hours:
-- Ken Holland believed to be a no on NYI job for now
-- As @PierreVLeBrun reported, MTL not letting Jeff Gorton go for now
-- Marc Bergevin next in line for NYI?
Let's see what changes by tomorrow - Gabe Athaus
I'm fine with Holland going to Buffalo. Bergevin could be a favorite now.
Location: It's probably sarcasm, NY Joined: 02.12.2011
May 7 @ 7:54 PM ET
Arthur Staple
@StapeAthletic
Another #Isles search update -- we'll just keep ringing these up every 24 hours:
-- Ken Holland believed to be a no on NYI job for now
-- As @PierreVLeBrun reported, MTL not letting Jeff Gorton go for now
-- Marc Bergevin next in line for NYI?
Let's see what changes by tomorrow - Gabe Athaus
We went from no information to too much information.
Location: It's probably sarcasm, NY Joined: 02.12.2011
May 7 @ 8:58 PM ET
In reality that information may be no information at all. We’ll realize that when they announce Chiarelli as president and GM. - Cptmjl
Shut your stupid face! The only thing worse than that would be Bettman announcing there was tampering at the lottery and the Isles being stripped of their first round pick.
Shut your stupid face! The only thing worse than that would be Bettman announcing there was tampering at the lottery and the Isles being stripped of their first round pick. - JimmyP
