SpezDispenser
Registered User
- Aug 15, 2007
- 26,757
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Front runner for GM of the year?
- Thread starter amnesiac
- Start date
after, since the deadline deals are mostly made for the post-season
Thrasymachus
Registered User
- Jul 1, 2018
- 5,214
- 6,715
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This is Bill Zito. It shouldn't be remotely close.
Unlike Sakic and Brisebois he's elevated his team substantially from this point last year. The whole outlook for the franchise has flipped.
Unlike Bergevin and Lou he's set up his team wonderfully for the long run too. He hasn't had to sign bad contracts or trade away his futures to improve his team.
Simply put the value of Zito's moves is just astoundingly good. Look at what he paid to get Bennett, Verhaege, Forsling, etc... etc... It's just genius level pro scouting.
Unlike Sakic and Brisebois he's elevated his team substantially from this point last year. The whole outlook for the franchise has flipped.
Unlike Bergevin and Lou he's set up his team wonderfully for the long run too. He hasn't had to sign bad contracts or trade away his futures to improve his team.
Simply put the value of Zito's moves is just astoundingly good. Look at what he paid to get Bennett, Verhaege, Forsling, etc... etc... It's just genius level pro scouting.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
The Islanders are good.
Lou is not. He shouldn’t win just because he has a successful team. His decision making as a GM has been horrible, except for hiring Trotz. Snow built the core of that team.
Lou is not. He shouldn’t win just because he has a successful team. His decision making as a GM has been horrible, except for hiring Trotz. Snow built the core of that team.
Captain97
Registered User
Loved Sakic's moves, especially Toews trade, but gotta give it to Brisebois for somehow managing to hold the cup winning lineup together for another season.
sebsisles
Registered User
Pageau, Palmeri, Zajac, Greene, Varly are all Lou moves...while snow put down the foundation, Lou perfected it. Isles arent where they are today without Pageau, Palmeri, Greene, or Varly. Also very underrated move brining back Matt Martin to put the 4th line back together. Has Lou made questionable moves? sure but he also has put pieces on this team to take them to the next level...far from horrible as you say IMO.
Ryuji Yamazaki
Do yuu undastahn!?
- Jul 22, 2015
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danyhabsfan
Registered User
Not Bergevin. We would have missed the playoffs 4 times in the last years 6 years but COVID saved him. We made the playoffs last year because of the COVID and this year because of the Canadian divison. (18th on 31 teams)
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
I don’t doubt that those players have contributed in the short-term. But in the long term those are not good moves.
And we’ll see what’s the end result this year and upcoming years. If you make so many win now moves, it only comes out good if you win a cup. Sacrificing the future for middle of the roster players that were part of giving up assets/contracts that hurt the future of the team to get eliminated later on in a few playoffs isn’t a success, in my opinion.
sebsisles
Registered User
Definitely hear what you're saying, but this is a win now team. These are the types of moves you have to make in order to take that next step and be true contenders for the cup. I think Lou has done a great job of getting guys that fit the isles system. Will the Isles have to reconfigure things in a few years, sure but ownership and the gm think this team can win it all this year. I think all the moves Lou has made backs that up but certainly see where you are coming from.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
I understand that viewpoint, but I think the Islanders had some quality core pieces between Barzal, Pulock, Pelech, Toews, Dobson, Sorokin that could’ve been the base for the core of the team. They needed to add some more offense. I think you let that happen through drafting/developing and big trades/signings, not players like Palmieri, Pageau, Zajac. The Islanders were not that far away with a more conservative approach that has more upside. It extends the window longer, and it doesn’t rely so much on style of play winning the games. You already have a great coach that can win the tactical battle. If the Isles could also win the talent battle, they would have more ways to win.
Everyone knows that Lou doesn’t manage like that though. It could end up successful. I just don’t think it’s very high percentage. That doesn’t reflect on the team’s ability to win a cup this year or the next few, but I think it’s bad roster construction from a GM.
sebsisles
Registered User
Unfortunately for cap reasons we had to let go of Toews, believe me he is not a player we wanted to let go of but felt we had the depth to do so. While I agree drafting is the way to go most of the time, when you're as close as the Isles came last year, you trade the futures to give yourself a chance to win it all with proven talent. Pageau has been a huge trade for us, Palmeri is proving to be worth what we gave us so far in the playoffs, Zajac has stepped in for Walhstrom and looked great. For a team who is losing in the first round or just missing out, I agree with your approach. But for the Isles who made the ECF last year, this was the time to make the moves Lou did. Who knows where this team would be without Pagaeu or Palmeri. When Lee went down, we needed to make that move to avoid having guys like Ross Johnston or Michael Dal Colle playing on third line.
Bottom line is the Isles are a team who are contenders, contenders dont wait for draft picks to pan out. In this league if you have a chance at the cup, you make the moves that have the chance to put you over the top. If the Isles win the cup this year and go into a rebuild in two years, I don't think you'll find any Isles fan that has an issue with it.
Jester9881
Registered User
This is the popular opinion among those who haven't payed too much attention to the Islanders.
The Islanders best line currently is here because of Lou (Palmieri/JPG/Zajac), both Goaltenders are here because of Lou. The "identity line" was made possible by Lou bringing back Martin. He changed the entire culture of this franchise from top to bottom.... and yes, Trotz wouldn't likely be here if it weren't for Lou.
They're in the Conference Finals for the second year in a row, and they got here without their Captain and best scorer. Not to mention Wahlstrom, who was drafted by Lou and is becoming a real scoring threat as a 21 year old rookie. That same draft, he snagged 21 year old Dobson who is currently among the leaders in D scoring this post season.
If the Islanders win the cup, Lou's fingerprints will be all over it.
Lou must be the luckiest GM in the league. According to many he keeps making bad moves and yet his teams keep winning. And it’s now been going on for multiple decades. He should be buying lottery tickets every week with all of the luck he has.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
I agree his fingerprints are all over the team. But it goes both ways. If they don’t win the cup, he saddled them with bad contracts for middle of the league veterans and he stripped them of many futures. You could also argue the contracts caused Toews to be traded.
The point I was making is that Snow built the core. Lou built the secondary aspects of the roster. As to the goalies and culture, I don’t buy it. Everywhere Trotz goes they have a winning culture and good goaltending.
BLNY
Registered User
Drouin may not have worked out the way he wanted, but I don't think Sergachev has really done anything substantial (yet) to say he's greatly missed. He's in an incredibly sheltered environment in Tampa. I don't think he's really taken advantage of that fact.
The Weber trade was criticized, and in the vacuum of the period of the trade I think justifiably. It has worked out, but I don't think anyone could have predicted Subban's decline and recurring back problems at the time of the trade.
As a Habs fan, I hated the Therrien hire from the start. It was reinforced during the entire 24CH era that captured MT's complete lack of skill. I think the organization would have been far better off to hire a Ducharme-like coach right off the hop. The Julien hire proved to be only a marginal improvement and was, if we're honest, a knee-jerk reaction to his being available. As a result, I think that as capable as Bergevin has largely been in in a transactional sense he's stepped on his own toes in a hiring sense. His choices for coaching, and their ridiculously conservative natures, have been a large contributor to the treading of water for 9 years.
If he does win, it will be snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Had the team not made the playoffs, had the team not had success in the playoffs, I think it fair to say he'd have been relieved of duties. It would have been easy to do, as the heir apparent - imo - is in Laval. Bouchard has done fantastic work with the AHL program, having completed turned it around from the fiasco it was under Carriere and Lefebvre.
Voight
#winning
Rags fans are just jealous, I wouldn't take it seriously.
Jester9881
Registered User
The Islanders aren't in any kind of cap trouble. With Boychuck on LTIR and Ladd soon to follow him, and two easily bought out contracts in Komarov and Hickey if needed there will be plenty of money to get the important players signed.
Toews was an unfortunate casualty due to an unforseen flat cap and contracts that had nothing to do with LL. The Islanders don't seem to be hurting from it, and have a promising replacement already working his way up.
Snow built a good team. It's nice that people are finally acknowledging that much. He also drafted well. Being a GM is more than putting players together. This is where Snow failed miserably. The management and structure put in place was comically awful. Basically an old boys club of his friends, and none of them had any track record of success on any level. The idea that the Islanders would somehow be just as good, or even close under that regime is nonsense. I'm hoping that isn't the point you're trying to make, but if it isn't.... then what the heck is your point? No one of quality was coming here under that regime. They came here because LL gives instant credibility.
The changes Lou made, were the changes this team needed, no more no less.
Trotz came here because of Lou.
MikeyMike01
U.S.S. Wang
NYR94
Registered User
Voight
#winning
Its a regular season award.... and his team won their division. Not a crazy idea to vote for him.
(I voted for Zito)
(I voted for Zito)
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