And he signed those 2 forwards to contracts that are 1 year too long and $1M too rich. Meanwhile they continue to underperform and Lou then doubles down on Mat Barzal and he underperforms as well. So we’d better keep some picks to grow our own talent since we’re still not a free agent destination and in 2 years we’ll finally have Bailey and Beauvillier drop off the books.
I hope you enjoyed the deepest run we’ve had since 1984 because I don’t see another one with the vets we have today.
I don’t mind that Lou traded those picks to go for it. I did enjoy those runs, it was nice to see a team that had momentum to go deep, too bad the team couldn’t find it in them to score some goals to get over the hump vs TB. Usually when teams face this, they acquire more veterans vs youth, so Lou was not out of character there.
The extra cash and term for UFAs seems like something the Isles have to do to acquire UFAs - happened under Snow too so it’s not limited to Lou. It’s going to cause pain if/when (and now) the player is underperforming on that deal. Absent over paying, Isles are getting scrubs on 1/2year deals as stop gaps to nowhere. Fans will complain all the way on that journey too.
I’m not the biggest Pulock fan and certainly Pulock at his current price tag is a LOT of coin/cap, but again, he’s underperforming. Lou invested in him and he hasn’t returned that in production. If he’s gonna be weak on the offense, then he’s a $4M player.
Yeah, the Barzal deal is gonna be an issue in the not too distant future. Change the GM, coach, and even give him Brett Hull and he ain’t gonna be the savior Isles fans are looking for. He’s a difficult player to play with and he refuses to alter his game for his teammates. Hence, it’s better the Isles move on and get a North/South player and let another team deal with HIS issues. I mentioned Horvat bc his flaws are less impactful, he shoots the puck, and for a simple game plan like the Isles,
N/S player is way better than a zig, zag, curl, pass.
On the picks, no need to flip any unless some magic happens before Feb.
Right now, how is this team playing any different than the road trip start last year? Underwhelming in both.