Islanders are Instantly Tougher Opponent

[Howie58]

 Lou Lamoriello's decision to relieve Snow and Weight of duties is important. We now compete directly against a franchise with a Hall of Famer GM. He was a thorn in our side with the Devils. Now he is in our backyard again.  Please accept my apologies for posting with Philly instead of Islanders.  

 

About the only consolation--the Isles will be rougher for everybody in the Metro. 

[ruxpin]

I actually don't think so.  I mean, Snow going is instant improvement, but Lou is the wrong way to go.  I don't expect anything from them in the near term and not until they're in their new arena. 

[yave1964]

@Howie58

 

Gotta disagree with Lou being an improvement, the game has passed him by, his drafting for over a decade has been God Awful in New Jersey his signing of Kovie nearly bankrupted the franchise, he more or less left the team a scorched earth when he moved on. He was masterful early on but like Holland in Detroit the game has passed him by and he gets by on reputation. 

 

  I think it instantly makes the Isles the odds on favorite to sign Kovalchuk as they have a history together and hedges bets in case Tavares moves on. I think signing him long term at his age would be a big mistake but this is the Isles after all.

[ruxpin]

4 hours ago, yave1964 said:

 

  I think it instantly makes the Isles the odds on favorite to sign Kovalchuk as they have a history together

 

I have a question:  Why?

That history is one in which Kovalchuk screwed Lou over, so I don't get why Lou would go back for more.  My own knee jerk was "well, this puts NYI out of the running."

[yave1964]

@ruxpin

 

https:

//www.nhl.com/news/ilya-kovalchuk-wants-to-win-in-nhl/c-298887576

and this one

https://www.sny.tv/islanders/news/islanders-reportedly-interested-in-ilya-kovalchuk/279481532

 

The gist is Kovie says Lou is a great man, a mutual admiration between them exists and Lamoriello is a winner according to Kovie who says playing for a winner is his top priority. I just listed these two links but there are quite a few about no hard feelings between the two of them. From the moment Lamoriello signed on with the Isle of lost toys the two have been linked in the press.

  I could see the logic from both sides, ESPECIALLY if Tavares moves on. Barzal established himself as a premier player, a premier setup man needs a premier finisher and the last anyone saw him Kovie was that. As far as Kovalchuk goes I am sure in his mind he owes Lamoriello for the messy divorce and if all else was equal would probably allow Uncle Lou to call in a chip. 

  Personally I wouldn't want either of them. Don't get me wrong I think Kovalchuk can still play at a high level but he is 35 and is looking for a payday, anything beyond a year or two is toooooooo long and I already have too many links listed but supposedly the Rangers have a three year deal on the table already. The Isles have always been the second or even third team in the city as far as relevance goes and losing Tavares would be a killer, signing Kovalchuk and keeping him from the Rangers would be a huge PR move if nothing much else. THN who I don't believe much of, Hell you and I sitting down with a beer and a dartboard could get more right than them most days, lol, but anyway THN has Kovie and Lou reuniting as the most likely scenario possibly to entice Tavares to come back but to me, they need goaltending and defense before they need a 35 year old forward who has not played in the NHL for five years. Just saying the whispers have turned to shouts. I personally wouldn't do it but hey, greater minds than mine see it as the inside track to occur.

[musky]

Also sorokin said he wont play for snow this may bring him over.

[flyercanuck]

1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

@ruxpin

 

 

The gist is Kovie says Lou is a great man, a mutual admiration between them exists and Lamoriello is a winner

 

 

If Lou is all those things...why on earth would he sign a guy who walks out on anyone when offered more money, even if he's under contract, and was sent home by his KHL team, as captain, during the playoffs, for poor play?

 

Kovie might be rich. Kovie might have talent. Kovie is NOT a great man nor a winner.

[OccamsRazor]

12 hours ago, Howie58 said:

He was a thorn in our side with the Devils.

 

He is a great GM can't argue that....but no where a pain in the Flyer's arse once Marty Brodeur hung them up.

 

Sure for awhile they played that stupid trap game still but Mart B was the guy who stuck it to the Flyers every chance he got.

 

Speaking of which i think Lou goes out and brings Cory Schneider to the Isle to play goal for him.

[OccamsRazor]

Lou certainly has his work cut out for him.

 

First thing he needs to do is find a coach who JT will like and want to stay and work with.

 

Then resign JT.

 

He has has 8 forwards, 4 defensemen and one goalie under contract so he can add his touch to the team quickly.

 

Yet i think it will take them some time to win.

 

So now my first question.....who does he hire as the head coach???

 

 

My first time NHL coach guess would be Sheldon Keefe....

 

 

...my old coach recycled guess would be Dave Tippett....

[murraycraven]

20 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:

Kovie might be rich. Kovie might have talent. Kovie is NOT a great man nor a winner.

 

if this is the case let the Isles sign him...   

 

and I agree with all your statements.  i have no problem if the Isles want to sign him.  IMO, Kovie is NOT the answer to the Isles.

[yave1964]

4 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

He is a great GM can't argue that....but no where a pain in the Flyer's arse once Marty Brodeur hung them up.

 

Sure for awhile they played that stupid trap game still but Mart B was the guy who stuck it to the Flyers every chance he got.

 

Speaking of which i think Lou goes out and brings Cory Schneider to the Isle to play goal for him.

I am going to argue that he WAS a great GM but he has a record of dreadful drafting dating at least a decade, Brodeur kept the team relevant more than anything.  Acha, John Quenneville, Stefan Matteau, Adam Larsson (one good one) Jacob Josefsson, Mattias Tedenby, Mike Hoeffel, Matt Corrente, Bergfors, were his first rounders dating back a decade. And there were no late round gems, Mark Fayne played the most games of any draft pick during that time, Larsson or Henrique were probably the best players taken in a decade of ineptitude and the only thing that saved them was a great postseason by Clarrkson, Kovie before he defected and the final brilliant light of Brodeurs career which helped get a fluky finals appearance in the middle of a stretch of ineptitude. Like Holland he had his moment but that moment is long gone.

[yave1964]

@OccamsRazor

 

According to many sources the Isles have a deal in place for DJ Smith to coach the team. the assistant coach for Babcock who coached at Oshawa which by coincidence is where Tavares played Juniors, lol. Smith came after Tavares was there but it still kind of makes sense. 

[flyercanuck]

13 minutes ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

 

So now my first question.....who does he hire as the head coach???

 

 

My first time NHL coach guess would be Sheldon Keefe....

 

 

 

 That's the rumor du jour. Him or DJ Smith. 

[OccamsRazor]

45 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:

 

 That's the rumor du jour. Him or DJ Smith. 

 

Well JT junior coach makes a lot of sense whatever it takes to NOT let JT walk and the Isles getting nothing for him would be a travesty. 

[flyercanuck]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Well JT junior coach makes a lot of sense whatever it takes to NOT let JT walk and the Isles getting nothing for him would be a travesty. 

 

Smith didn't coach Tavares...he became the Gennies coach after Tavares left.

[musky]

you will see them get a good goalie and beef up the d fence and shead some fat,they will be a contender in a few years if only we could send ladd to philidelphia.

 

\https://elitesportsny.com/new-york-islanders

[ruxpin]

 

LMAO   Matt Di Giacomo is talking about going for Robin Lehner and apparently without the slightest hint of sarcasm or irony.

 

Quote

Surely, he’s looking for a rebound effort next season, and with the amount of drama emitting from the Sabres locker room, maybe a change of scenery is what Lehner could be looking for.

 

Yeah, but to the Islanders?  At least the Sabres have a fricken arena.

 

https://elitesportsny.com/2018/06/02/new-york-islanders-lou-lamoriello-work-salary-cap-magic/

 

Please God, make it happen.

[Howie58]

LL is a likely improvement over Snow. Agreed that a new arena will help.  The Kovie Angle seems a bit far afield; I would give Tavares a 50/50 chance at staying regardless of GM.

 

 

[flyercanuck]

12 hours ago, musky said:

you will see them get a good goalie and beef up the d fence and shead some fat,they will be a contender in a few years if only we could send ladd to philidelphia.

 

\https://elitesportsny.com/new-york-islanders

 

Hextalls the gm, not Homer. The only way he'd take Ladd and his 5 years at 5.5 per is if you included your 2-1sts this year.

[musky]

9 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

Hextalls the gm, not Homer. The only way he'd take Ladd and his 5 years at 5.5 per is if you included your 2-1sts this year.

i think i would do that to get rid of him....lol

[ruxpin]

8 minutes ago, musky said:

i think i would do that to get rid of him....lol

 

Make the call!

 

I'm not sure you're not getting the better part of the deal.  I'm not a fan of Ladd and don't think he does much for the Flyers.  And the $5.5 for 5 years will be an anvil.   But I'd take the firsts.   Do you want Lehtera?  You only have to deal with him for one year.

[King Knut]

On 6/5/2018 at 10:18 PM, Howie58 said:

 Lou Lamoriello's decision to relieve Snow and Weight of duties is important. We now compete directly against a franchise with a Hall of Famer GM. He was a thorn in our side with the Devils. Now he is in our backyard again.  Please accept my apologies for posting with Philly instead of Islanders.  

 

About the only consolation--the Isles will be rougher for everybody in the Metro. 

 

...Once they have someplace to play hockey.

 

Lou's gotta resign Tavares and Bailey before he manages to keep them exactly where they are.  They have no home.  No real fan base and the Rangers are about to spend more money than I could dream of to refill their completely empty roster.

 

Lou's got his work cut out for him.

[King Knut]

On 6/6/2018 at 10:22 AM, flyercanuck said:

If Lou is all those things...why on earth would he sign a guy who walks out on anyone when offered more money, even if he's under contract, and was sent home by his KHL team, as captain, during the playoffs, for poor play?

 

Kovie might be rich. Kovie might have talent. Kovie is NOT a great man nor a winner.

 

I wouldn't want to risk adding Kovie to my team for a $1million/1year deal as a final piece for a playoff push he has such a terrible track record.  

 

He WAS an unbelievable talent, but a lot got in the way.  I can't imagine trying to build a team around him now all these years later.  

[jammer2]

On 6/6/2018 at 10:51 AM, yave1964 said:

@OccamsRazor

 

According to many sources the Isles have a deal in place for DJ Smith to coach the team. the assistant coach for Babcock who coached at Oshawa which by coincidence is where Tavares played Juniors, lol. Smith came after Tavares was there but it still kind of makes sense. 

 

 Yet ANOTHER ex-Spitfire gets hired as an NHL coach. Joel Quenneville, Paul  Maurice...now D.J Smith, all ex Spit players. Plus, Boughner played for the Sault, but is still part owner and ex-coach of the Spits. All 3 ex players were Spits captains, got their coaching starts as Spits assistants and moved on from there. D.J was awesome as a Spit. Easily one of the top 3 toughest OHL'ers in his day. When D.J hit you, good chance you would not be the same. Few Cups winning coaches as well....yeah, Windsor the NHL Coach factory!!

[vis]

Scott Stevens as a potential candidate?

 

I think the Isles will be better because Lou sets a high bar and tone within the organization.  Do I think that's enough to make real noise in the POs?  No.  But I do think they will be a better team next year.  He needs to address goaltending, though.  If he is able to do that, the Islanders will be another team that the Flyers will be fighting with  for a PO spot.