Speculation: Mathew Barzal Contract Discussion

[mm11]

I remember too. Devil fans wanted him too. I remember thinking Talbot had no where near the value of the 16th overall pick and then we traded Reinhart for it, so what do I know?

thanks Garth. You da man!

 

[danteipp]

To me, this was always going to be a Point type of bridge deal. Or a longer term deal along the lines of Aho. I agree with you that I don't think any GM follows the Dumbass outlier contracts in this case the Marner comparable except Kid Wunderless himself. The Isles have Barzal for 3 years, these should be the best years of his career. I think there is a real strength to a team when your best player is only a 7M cap hit. The other things will work out later, for now the Isles have their conference finals roster 99% intact. Every year there will be difficult decisions, such as Beauvillier and Pelech are up next summer. It never gets easy in a cap system. I am somewhat amazed the Isles are contenders and still have no player making over 7M per on the roster.

Totally agree with what you said. And the three-year term lets the Isles evaluate where they stand as a contender vs. pretender, when it is time to extend Barzal or think about a potential retool or overall rebuild.

 

[Sparksrus3]

where they stand as a contender vs. pretender,

when it is time to extend Barzal

or think about a potential retool or overall rebuild.

Or move to Kansas City.... nah , it’s time for the One for the Thumb run . My thumbs were a lot less achy back in 1983..LGI

 

[dlawong]

Happy New Year everyone and great that Lou got this done. It will be a fun year now with Barzy back. Reasonable contract and a short term bridge contract can motivate him even more to set up the next big deal.

Now the team should focus on getting ready for the season and start work on the special teams, especially the PP.

 

[eoin92]

I remember their draft thread like it was yesterday. They wanted Barzal badly, no mention of any other prospect. They legitimately were begging for the trade to Edmonton involving Talbot and they thought it happened and they were getting Barzal until the Islanders instead of their Rags was in the trade announcement. I was dying laughing.

If someone wants to look it up...

I'm too lazy to do it.

And then the islanders traded for the Rangers first round pick, from Tampa, and drafted Beauvillier. Absolute gold.

 

[scott99]

The best part for me were the Rags fans that thought they were going to get Barzal with that #16 pick by trading Talbot. They truly believed it all the way into the trade announcement, "to the New York...".

I was actually watching with a Ranger’s fan, he audibly gasped, thinking he was getting that #16 pick for Talbot. I was just watching for fun because the Isles didn’t have a 1st or 2nd. Finished the night with Barzal and Beauvillier in the 1st round. What a night. Best moves Snow ever made.

 

[periferal]

Impressed that Pagnotta broke this.

 

[periferal]

If this is true, then I'm thrilled how it turned out. I'd rather Have Barzal for 3 years, then be an RFA AGAIN ATONLY 26 where you can resign him again for 6-8 years...Then a 6 year deal now when he'd be a UFA after at 29.

 

[periferal]

Damn, so we’re not trading him for Dubious?

...Or Laine.

 

[periferal]

How many teams were able to dump bad contracts this year?

Enough. They just paid through the nose to do so.

 

[periferal]

i can see us showcasing Bellows. he will need to be protected, in my estimation, and i don't think he will be. may as well get something for him, instead of losing him in the expansion.

Unless he magically became a new player who looks like he can score 20+ goals this season, no team is trading anything of value for a prospect who's shown zero at the NHL level, is due for a new contract next season, and...Has to be protected in the expansion draft.

 

[danteipp]

Enough. They just paid through the nose to do so.

And most of those teams either panicked and rushed to make moves or are run by GMs who haven't shown a knack for building functional teams.

Meanwhile the Lightning and Isles waited, evaluated all options and got under the salary cap without getting taken to the cleaners.

It might not always be that way, there was definitely some "luck" with LTIR, but the worst option is always to panic.

 

[periferal]

The Isles only managed to draft him due to a loaded draft class, an unfortunate fluke injury and the Bruins mistakes.

Same with Kyle Connor, Chabot, Boesser, Aho, etc. from that draft year. That draft class will go down as one of the best in NHL history.

Watching that draft live, I thought the Bruins were coming away with Barzal, Connor and one of Chabot or Colin White and would be a dynasty for the next 10-15+ years.

That draft is pure drugs. All-Stars all over the place. If you put them all together on one team in a video game it wouldn't be fair.

And it's funny how even as the Bruins were making 3 picks in a row everyone felt like they were screwing it up. And thank god they did.

 

[periferal]

 

[SI90]

...Or Laine.

Dammit

 

[BelovedIsles]

Glad LL didn’t cheap out and you get to keep Barzel. 7 per for 3 is fair both ways. Backloading shows MB commitment to him by the Isles. Super happy for MB, the team, and the fans.

NYI would've 'kept' him regardless. Yup, glad it's over, he gets a week of prep, and NYI have, once again, one of the deepest C cores.

 

[Throttle]

I am less concerned with other teams bad contracts,then I am with Lou's bad contracts and the sweeteners he has to attach to move them.

Still waiting for an example of Lou having to do this...

 

[Throttle]

Enough. They just paid through the nose to do so.

And did the Isles?

 

[CREW99AW]

Still waiting for an example of Lou having to do this...

You missed the recent press reports that Lou shopped Hickey and Uncle Leo,trying to free up cap space to give Barzal 6 yrs?

Goes over your head that other teams wanted more of a sweetener then Lou wanted to give and the isles are lucky that Boychuk ended up on LTIR or we would have given up more then Toews due to the team's cap crunch.

 

[CREW99AW]

And did the Isles?

Only because Boychuk's LTIR saved them from having to attach sweeteners to other contracts.

 

[Steve55]

Impressed that Pagnotta broke this.

I heard of the news yesterday from a local radio station. Great to hear the Isles resigning Barzal.

 

[Throttle]

You missed the recent press reports that Lou shopped Hickey and Uncle Leo,trying to free up cap space to give Barzal 6 yrs?

Goes over your head that other teams wanted more of a sweetener then Lou wanted to give and the isles are lucky that Boychuk ended up on LTIR or we would have given up more then Toews due to the team's cap crunch.

Read them. Did he ACTUALLY make such a trade, yes or no?

 

[Throttle]

Only because Boychuk's LTIR saved them from having to attach sweeteners to other contracts.

And LTIR has been used by other teams to avoid cap issues. Nothing new here...

 

[CREW99AW]

Read them. Did he ACTUALLY make such a trade, yes or no?

.

Isles had $3.9m in cap space to sign Barzal, Pulock and Toews.
Did the isles luck out with Boychuk's $6m caphit going on LTIR, at a time they faced a major cap crunch?

Did Lou trade Toews,a young, top 4 he told the press he hadn't wanted to trade because of the cap crunch?

Lou doesn't get props because Boychuk's career ending eye injury , saved the isles from attaching sweeteners to other players.

 

[CREW99AW]

And LTIR has been used by other teams to avoid cap issues. Nothing new here...

Boychuk suffered the eye injury in early March. If it hadn't been as severe,if his Dr encouraged him to have additional surgery or give the eye more time to heal, the Isles would have been sitting there with less then $4m to extend three key rfas.
Snow deserves part of the blame for giving out several bad contracts,but Lou also deserves part of the blame. Those 4 yr contracts he gave to Uncle Leo ($3m per) and Hickey ($2.5m),have bitten the isles on the azz. Two yrs into the deals and Lou is shopping both due to a cap crunch.
Expect him to shop then next off-season too.