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Bottom Line: These are your 2022-23 New York Islanders |
New York Islander Fan Central | 7/24/2022 09:17:00 AM |
Not writing a lot here because we have our team. I'm not expecting any moves besides them waiting on Chara or Greene so Salo goes back to Europe with his three year deal. Hutton's here to stay he got his three years, Aho got two more years to watch when his skating is NHL quality but he does not play enough to avoid some mistakes.
If they opened season with 3-6, 8-Mayfield, Romanov-Hutton-Aho-Salo I'm good with that if Sorokin-Varlamov is goaltending.
Offensively they have 32nd best 1st line RW in Palmieri, the 32nd best second like RW in Bailey, the 32 best third line LW in Parise as he turns 38. A fourth line with too much age/mileage in decline and Bellows watching with Johnston who belongs in Bridgeport.
The only reason they were not 14th last season was goaltending, now most of the teams behind them who have been rebuilding for years with young, franchise level talent are going to skate rings around these players in crunch time with a rookie coach vs the NHL's best coach. Can they squeeze another career year out of Nelson who disappears & is injured too much? Lee can carry a team but he disappears more, and breaks down more. The 30 million dollar third line Pageau is bottom five, while Toews has his cup at 16 million which is why the 1st round pick had to go from a weak prospect pool.
Answers? Lamoriello signed these players, he extended Clutterbuck/Parise so any path for Dufour, Raty, Holmstrom, Bellows is blocked.
Bottom line don't see trade coming & to move Wahlstrom Beauvillier from a forward group this old is how you become the many teams who live outside the playoffs for a generation or longer which is where NYI are now.
Off the ice Malkin will sell within two years as Belmont Park Retail Village is hidden in Newsday. Lou's contract is up. The obvious narrative Belmont is a destination was always a joke, tenant NYI will be gone in 2-3 years unless new owners keep team there with no revenue streams and Dolan likely advancing Malkin 2032 TV money for these massive payrolls miles above revenue streams since 2014, and the 480 million sale. You can already see Dolan's Newsday pushing for a Nassau Coliseum demolition.