Ben Shelley: Sebastian Aho could be an important piece going forward

Ben Shelley: Sebastian Aho could be an important piece going forward
- Ben Shelley

Showed glimpses of being a legit nhl defenseman and like you said would be great depth if Leddy got moved. I think he’ll stick eventually would be great if we could move Leddy and or Hickey to get some help up front.

I feel like the Oilers are a team that we could trade leddy to. The need a puck moving dman and have plenty of talent up front (aleast on paper they do)

Winnipeg could use him on there D core maybe for kyle connor

The kings need some help on the back end, maybe toffolli and some picks

Thanks for the write up Ben! Hopefully Aho gets a shot this year. I'm just not sure Leddy will be moved and if he does get moved he brings the needed improvement to the top 6. This could be another year Isles sit tight. Just hope Barry and Barzal stay patient.

Thanks for the write up Ben! Hopefully Aho gets a shot this year. I'm just not sure Leddy will be moved and if he does get moved he brings the needed improvement to the top 6. This could be another year Isles sit tight. Just hope Barry and Barzal stay patient.
- ses111

(frank) Barry and Barzal I won’t be patient.

(frank) Barry and Barzal I won’t be patient.
- Cptmjl

No argument Cpt. Fans do not have to be patient. I just do not want a repeat of JT with Barzal waiting for years for another star player like JT and we are wasting Barzal's prime years. I'm not saying it will happen with Lou. These hockey offseason are just brutal and it makes things even more frustrating. When is the last time an NHL offseason had a number of quality players available? These 7 year contracts are making trades very difficult. A team like the Isles cannot sign top players and trades are very difficult so how do you improve quickly when trades are this difficult? These offseasons that end pretty much on 7/1 are a problem. It's not good for the sport.

Two years ago ses, weber for subban and hall trade

Leddy for Kyle Connor? HahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Maybe not though.

Two years ago ses, weber for subban and hall trade
- Upstate_isles

Two years ago ses, weber for subban and hall trade
- Upstate_isles

Need more cow bell.

Two years ago ses, weber for subban and hall trade
- Upstate_isles

Very true upstate but these trades are very few and far between and they are not involving the Isles. Basketball and baseball you are seeing a lot more deals. I will be very happy when the Isles get to the point where they have a top 6 that can contend for the Cup. When and if this happens, I will not be expecting Lou to make a lot of other moves and then it will be on Barry and the players. Isles are not at this point and it's on Lou. When the Isles were winning Cups, I was not expecting Bill Torrey to get the Isles another Bossy for the 2nd line. I cannot wait to sit back and enjoy this team when they are not looking for that 2nd star offensive player and they are serious contenders.

Need more cow bell.
- Cptmjl

Very true upstate but these trades are very few and far between and they are not involving the Isles. Basketball and baseball you are seeing a lot more deals. I will be very happy when the Isles get to the point where they have a top 6 that can contend for the Cup. When and if this happens, I will not be expecting Lou to make a lot of other moves and then it will be on Barry and the players. Isles are not at this point and it's on Lou. When the Isles were winning Cups, I was not expecting Bill Torrey to get the Isles another Bossy for the 2nd line. I cannot wait to sit back and enjoy this team when they are not looking for that 2nd star offensive player and they are serious contenders.
- ses111

I cant either

I cant either
- Upstate_isles

Going to be real sweet when the Isles can just focus on filler type moves. These are the tough times when the team is good and just not there yet.

Leddy for Kyle Connor? HahahahahahahahahaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Maybe not though.


1st of all the jets don't have the cap room for leddy......

Nice write up Ben.. appreciate all the work. Love the comparisons with other D-men in AHL.. I know that takes time. ty

I am not sure how I feel about Leddy being moved. If we need the cap room and/or he is moved for a top 6 forward I am all for it. I am also curious to see how much better he would get with another year of Trotz and his coaching staff trying to get him on board with the system. He certainly seemed to have a harder time with it than the other D-men but if they can ever get him fully on board he certainly has a fantastic skill set that would be great for a long time.

Aho played well in his brief stint on the Island and is certainly ready to make the jump. Will be interesting to see if there is a spot for him. My guess is he starts in AHL and when one of our D-men gets hurt he is first call up.

oh god not you too... it was bad enough when it was just Habs fans and...

... the OTHER Sebastian Aho... okay fine, I guess.

https://theathletic.com/1...d-not-getting-complacent/ Nice write up on Lee.

How do you see this team taking the next step?

It was awesome to see how well Lou did bringing Ebs and Brock back. Us older, free-agent guys, we like to think we’re a big part of the core here. We’re proud of that. This past year, there was a lot to take in from Barry, a lot to learn, a lot of change and we took that in stride. Now, we don’t have to learn all that. We don’t have to figure out the system. We have our culture. We have all those things. We can get the ball rolling right away. The learning curve wasn’t too great for us last year, honestly — we had a pretty good start. But that learning curve is that much smaller and we’ll be that much more cohesive to start the year.

https://theathletic.com/1083684/2019/07/18/anders-lee-qa-the-isles-captain-opens-up-on-his-contract-negotiation-and-not-getting-complacent/ Nice write up on Lee.

How do you see this team taking the next step?

It was awesome to see how well Lou did bringing Ebs and Brock back. Us older, free-agent guys, we like to think we’re a big part of the core here. We’re proud of that. This past year, there was a lot to take in from Barry, a lot to learn, a lot of change and we took that in stride. Now, we don’t have to learn all that. We don’t have to figure out the system. We have our culture. We have all those things. We can get the ball rolling right away. The learning curve wasn’t too great for us last year, honestly — we had a pretty good start. But that learning curve is that much smaller and we’ll be that much more cohesive to start the year.
- niteislander

We need at least one more top 6 forward and a legit 3rd line center before we’re even in the conversation. Arguably we need two top 6 forwards before we’re legit contenders and that’s also believing Varmalov can be a legit starter.

We need at least one more top 6 forward and a legit 3rd line center before we’re even in the conversation. Arguably we need two top 6 forwards before we’re legit contenders and that’s also believing Varmalov can be a legit starter.
- Cptmjl

We need at least one more top 6 forward and a legit 3rd line center before we’re even in the conversation. Arguably we need two top 6 forwards before we’re legit contenders and that’s also believing Varmalov can be a legit starter.
- Cptmjl

This being the 2nd year with Barry's system will help but this team need a serious upgrade to the top 6 before they can be a serious contender. If Barry can take this same roster on a long playoff run, he will need his own wing in the Hall of Fame.

This being the 2nd year with Barry's system will help but this team need a serious upgrade to the top 6 before they can be a serious contender. If Barry can take this same roster on a long playoff run, he will need his own wing in the Hall of Fame.
- ses111

Well at this point in time we don’t have a 3rd line center. I have to assume Fritz is most likely going to be the guy and that to me is a down grade and our anemic top 6 and pp remains the same. I doubt neither wahlstrom or bellows are ready. In other words if there aren’t any additions we’re actually worse.

Step 1. Find a gullible GM
Step 2. Offer to trade them Sebastian Aho for a random top line player
Step 3. Finalize trade
Step 4. Reveal this is a different guy
Step 5. Shout "No takesy backsies!" and hang up

Well at this point in time we don’t have a 3rd line center. I have to assume Fritz is most likely going to be the guy and that to me is a down grade and our anemic top 6 and pp remains the same. I doubt neither wahlstrom or bellows are ready. In other words if there aren’t any additions we’re actually worse.
- Cptmjl

I still like Casey as 3C and using Fritz as 4C. I would not have minded a 3rd line of Casey MDC and Ho Sang this year. That's not happening. Hopefully Wahlstrom is the real deal. Have to think he needs more time in Bridge. This team had everything break right in some top teams losing in the playoffs and still won only one round. Hard to think team can do better with the current roster.

https://russianmachinenev...s-at-kids-birthday-party/