Islander Expansion Draft Thread

CupHolders

Really Fries My Bananas!
Aug 8, 2006
7,486
5,780
Here's my list as of today:

Using the 8F/D & 1G:

Brazal
Beauvillier
Nelson
Lee

Pulock (Do we know if he even needs to be protected? Someone ask Staple please.)
Pelech
Toews
Leddy/Mayfield (one protected, the other traded)

Varlamov

Using 7F/3D/1G

Brazal
Beauvillier
Nelson
Lee
Eberle
Bailey (LOL @Bones45)
One of Koivula or Bellows

Pulock
Pelech
Toews

Varlamov

Basically, the Isles are in a good spot for expansion. They could easily let any of the players LL signed this summer exposed (Nelson, Lee and Eberle,) including Bailey if the feeling is they will start to decline on the backend of their contract. All four of them are comparable in age and production. Many of their younger talents can be protected and/or do not need protection.
 
Last edited:

BMOK33

Registered User
Oct 5, 2005
26,872
4,435
Here's my list as of today:

Using the 8F/D & 1G:

Brazal
Beauvillier
Nelson
Lee

Pulock (Do we know if he even needs to be protected? Someone ask Staple please.)
Pelech
Toews
Leddy/Mayfield (one protected, the other traded)

Varlamov

Using 7F/3D/1G

Brazal
Beauvillier
Nelson
Lee
Eberle
Bailey (LOL @Bones45)
One of Koivula or Bellows

Pulock
Pelech
Toews

Varlamov

Basically, the Isles are in a good spot for expansion. They could easily let any of the players LL signed this summer exposed (Nelson, Lee and Eberle,) including Bailey if the feeling is they will start to decline on the backend of their contract. All four of them are comparable in age and production. Many of their younger talents can be protected and/or do not need protection.

Seattle is gonna suck compared to Vegas. They likely won’t get the goaltending Vegas got because there’s not gonna be an MAF out there and teams are more savvy this time vs last
 

CupHolders

Really Fries My Bananas!
Aug 8, 2006
7,486
5,780
Seattle is gonna suck compared to Vegas. They likely won’t get the goaltending Vegas got because there’s not gonna be an MAF out there and teams are more savvy this time vs last

Agree. They also don't have the benefit of the "surprise" expansion rules. No previous expansion drafts were as favorable as they were to Vegas. More importantly, no one expected the ruling on the NMCs requiring to be protected. Honestly, this is why I feel none of the Isles received NMC in their recent contracts.
 

Metnut

Registered User
Jan 19, 2013
1,032
758
I wouldn’t protect Lee. I doubt he gets claimed with that contract.
 

buud

Ping Pong Predator
Oct 3, 2017
2,159
1,303
43N -79
I wouldn’t protect Lee. I doubt he gets claimed with that contract.
Who would you protect, in his place?

We are in a weird position, in that we don't have many really good LWs (I do consider Lee protectable, by the way). LW, I believe, is where there is an abundance of talent, normally.

MDC, Bellows, Ladd, Johnston... Martin may be gone. Bailey can play LW, I guess. We stand to lose a middling player, which sucks a bit, but we have pretty good depth.

And there certainly is time for some changes to be made, prior to the draft. I'm getting interested, slowly.

Pretty good choices, Cup. I think this is what we'll see, if all stays as is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CupHolders

crasherino

Registered User
May 9, 2013
7,342
2,836
What would we be willing to pay to have Seattle take Ladd? 2nd rounder? 1st?

At that point it would only be 2 more years left on his contract so I doubt a first rounder is in play. But anything beyond that is a possibility.
 

The Real JT

No diving allowed
Jul 2, 2018
8,012
7,543
Connecticut
What would we be willing to pay to have Seattle take Ladd? 2nd rounder? 1st?

At that point it would only be 2 more years left on his contract so I doubt a first rounder is in play. But anything beyond that is a possibility.

Assuming the Isles are not a projected lottery team, I have to believe that any deal with Seattle to select Ladd would cost a 1st round pick. Same goes for Boychuk though at that point he'll only have one more year left on his contract, so why bother?

Barring a trade of an Isles' Dman and depending on whether the Isles go the 8 skaters vs 7F/3D route, I think Seattle's potential pick would be one of Leddy, Mayfield, Bellows, Cizikas (let's hope not), Eberle, Bailey or Lee.

So much of the above is dependent on near term player performance, possible injuries and/or trades.

Trading from a position of strength seems like the right thing to do but the same #5/6 Dman the Isles want to trade is the same guy that the receiving team may not value enough to protect.
 
Last edited:

MYIslanders

Registered User
Oct 4, 2014
369
508
I believe Isles will attempt to trade a first for Seattle to take who the isles want them to take at that time...this team is successful in large part because of chemistry. They will do what they can to preserve it.
 

boredmale

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Jul 13, 2005
42,446
7,013
In a perfect world by time the Draft comes around we know how Wahlstrom and Holmstrom both are(ie are they nhl top 6ers) and Seattle picks another RW in Eberle

yes they could pick Ladd or Boychuk but that is unrealistic.

I personally wish the rule would allow us to protect 9 players period not 8 players and a goalie
 

PWJunior

Stay safe!
Apr 11, 2010
42,926
22,771
Long Island, NY
The Expansion Draft is still a year and a half away, correct?

A lot can change, but there are no NMC's on the roster so we have plenty of flexibility. All of our prized kids are exempt so no need to worry about Dobson, Sorokin, Wahlstrom, Wilde, Holmstrom. Bellows could be exposed if he doesn't show something by then.

If we lose anyone, it could be on defense. Pulock, Toews, Pelech look like our must haves. Dobson and Wilde are exempt so Mayfield may be a casualty. I expect Leddy and Boychuk to be moved by then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Poster Unknown

The Real JT

No diving allowed
Jul 2, 2018
8,012
7,543
Connecticut
Don't underestimate the appeal of Boychuk to an expansion team that is looking for a handful of veterans to guide their kids.

Boychuk is also appealing since he helps them reach the cap floor without having much term left on his deal. If he is their choice, I just hope that it wouldn't cost the Isles a first round pick.
For Ladd, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
 

doublechili

For all intensive purposes, your nuts
Apr 11, 2006
18,635
15,007
Boychuk is also appealing since he helps them reach the cap floor without having much term left on his deal. If he is their choice, I just hope that it wouldn't cost the Isles a first round pick.
For Ladd, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Good point!
 

Chapin Landvogt

Registered User
Jul 4, 2002
20,014
6,073
Germany
What would we be willing to pay to have Seattle take Ladd? 2nd rounder? 1st?

At that point it would only be 2 more years left on his contract so I doubt a first rounder is in play. But anything beyond that is a possibility.

No deals.

We saw what Snow gave up so that Vegas would take Berube and borrow Grabovski's contract for a year (which we didn't even need to move for cap reasons).

Didn't help us in the least. We still missed the playoffs. We still watched Tavares and de Haan walk away for nothing.

Did cost us a 1st, 2nd, and a defenseman who's been a combined +38 in two AHL seasons since and has suited up for the big club 4 times this season. And that 1st basically went on to net them Stone.

Moral of the story:
Protect the guys you want the most, realize you're losing a good player (because, like, that's what Bettman wants), put the onus on the new team to pick someone (who they may not want to have in their plans anyways), and move on.
 
Last edited:

Shot of Bailey

Registered User
Apr 9, 2013
531
153
PEI, Canada
We have depth...we can replace anything we lose. Good news...if they take a player with term and high cap hit....this will give us flexibility similar to a buyout. Keep our picks...expansion draft may actually help us haha
 
  • Like
Reactions: Duanesutter12

CupHolders

Really Fries My Bananas!
Aug 8, 2006
7,486
5,780
Who would you protect, in his place?

We are in a weird position, in that we don't have many really good LWs (I do consider Lee protectable, by the way). LW, I believe, is where there is an abundance of talent, normally.

MDC, Bellows, Ladd, Johnston... Martin may be gone. Bailey can play LW, I guess. We stand to lose a middling player, which sucks a bit, but we have pretty good depth.

And there certainly is time for some changes to be made, prior to the draft. I'm getting interested, slowly.

Pretty good choices, Cup. I think this is what we'll see, if all stays as is.

Thanks! I personally am hopeful that Lee will live up to the majority of his contract. However, I concede (as many worry about in this board) that he may not.

But with all of that said and as you point out, there really isn’t anyone to pick over him anyway. So my thinking is why create the awkward PR of exposing you’re captain.

Disclaimer: Expansion draft is far off and much can still change. Embarrassingly, I started this thread thinking it was this upcoming offseason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dood

doublechili

For all intensive purposes, your nuts
Apr 11, 2006
18,635
15,007
Then we can leave him unprotected - IF his contract allows that.

No need to pay Seattle to take him.
Teams pay an expansion team to take a particular player to have certainty and avoid risk. If Boychuk has value to an expansion team, that just hopefully reduces the price we pay. But if it takes paying a 2nd round pick to get Seattle to take Boychuk (hypothentical example of course), would you do that to avoid losing a valuable player in their prime?
 

Chapin Landvogt

Registered User
Jul 4, 2002
20,014
6,073
Germany
Teams pay an expansion team to take a particular player to have certainty and avoid risk. If Boychuk has value to an expansion team, that just hopefully reduces the price we pay. But if it takes paying a 2nd round pick to get Seattle to take Boychuk (hypothentical example of course), would you do that to avoid losing a valuable player in their prime?

Looking at things now? No.

Mentioned it a few posts above. No deals. No "we give you this to avoid you taking that". Did that with Vegas. Got basically absolutely nothing that enhanced this team out of it.

Watched the other deals around the league as well and Vegas won them all. Especially incredible were the moves that gifted Theodore and Tuch to VGK. Absolutely ridonculous.

Put the onus on Seattle and just expect that you're losing someone you may otherwise want to keep. You don't know how that franchise is looking to structure their team. And it doesn't look like they'll have the sweetheart set-up Vegas got anyways.

In addition, we haven't been building a deep system for nothing. If a guy like Mayfield is the man we lose, by that time Dobson, Wilde, Hutton, and Bolduc may be making that loss very doable anyway.

In addition, if you have a player who you absolutely don't want to lose for nothing, then you may have to consider moving him in a trade to another team for a very fair to slightly below-average price beforehand.

But we'll have to see where many of our guys are at when the time comes.
 
Last edited:

nyisles

Registered User
Apr 4, 2006
6,636
837
Western Suffolk
No deals.

We saw what Snow gave up so that Vegas would take Berube and borrow Grabovski's contract for a year (which we didn't even need to move for cap reasons).

Didn't help us in the least. We still missed the playoffs. We still watched Tavares and de Haan walk away for nothing.
My understanding was that Garth made those trades to protect guys like Pelech and Pulock. At the time it was considered foolish by some here, but now with those guys both eating top-pair minutes the deal looks a lot more sensible.
 

N Ireland Nets Fan

Registered User
May 13, 2013
1,142
34
Rochester, New York
We should be making trades in the lead up to the expansion draft to maximize assets rather than lose anyone of real value.

I wouldn't give a 1st to take Ladd off us. I can see him eventually retiring or going on long term injured reserve or something along those lines. But I don't want to give any draft pick to Seattle to take specific players.

Just manage the roster, any players we can't protect who has real value, look to reclaim assets for them and move on. We need to accept that we will lose a player. Just set it up where it makes much more sense for it to be someone like Boychuk instead of a cost controlled quality player.
 

19 in a row

Registered User
Jul 19, 2011
9,481
3,324
Long Island
My understanding was that Garth made those trades to protect guys like Pelech and Pulock. At the time it was considered foolish by some here, but now with those guys both eating top-pair minutes the deal looks a lot more sensible.

How quickly my mind gets foggy but I seemed to recall speculation was it was to protect CDH who was an RFA, but interesting now to see some of the names on our unprotected list. Brock & Bailey had one year left on their contracts so maybe term/$$ wasn't attractive, Clutter was FA (had he signed before the expansion draft? not sure but don't think so). Cizikas had just completed the first year of his 5 year contract but may have been considered too expensive at the time as a 4th line center although he could have been a target? Mayfield was in the 2nd year of a contract which still left him as an RFA but maybe he wasn't thought of as highly at the time although he could have been a target as well had we not made the deal. Hickey, well, he had 1 year left, I was hoping they would take him but never would have happened.

Oh and think we had to protect Ladd, IIRC

Here was our list for the Vegas expansion draft:
New York Islanders

Protected players
Andrew Ladd (F)
Anders Lee (F)
John Tavares (F)
Johnny Boychuk (D)
Travis Hamonic (D)
Nick Leddy (D)
Adam Pelech (D)
Ryan Pulock (D)
Thomas Greiss (G)
Available players
Josh Bailey (F)
Steve Bernier (F)
Eric Boulton (F)
Jason Chimera (F)
Casey Cizikas (F)
Cal Clutterbuck (F)
Stephen Gionta (F)
Ben Holmstrom (F)
Bracken Kearns (F)
Nikolay Kulemin (F)
Brock Nelson (F)
Shane Prince (F)
Alan Quine (F)
Ryan Strome (F)
Johan Sundstrom (F)
Calvin de Haan (D)
Matthew Finn (D)
Jesse Graham (D)
Thomas Hickey (D)
Loic Leduc (D)
Scott Mayfield (D)
Dennis Seidenberg (D)
Jean-Francois Berube (G)
Christopher Gibson (G)
Jaroslav Halak
 
Last edited:

periferal

Registered User
Jul 5, 2007
28,830
16,171
I wouldn’t protect Lee. I doubt he gets claimed with that contract.

Seattle is literally going to have a FULL cap to spend on...And a top-6 LW who can score and is a captain would be very enticing to them.
 

periferal

Registered User
Jul 5, 2007
28,830
16,171
What would we be willing to pay to have Seattle take Ladd? 2nd rounder? 1st?

At that point it would only be 2 more years left on his contract so I doubt a first rounder is in play. But anything beyond that is a possibility.

No giving up of picks anymore. That's how we lost out on Brannstrom (Vegas took him with our pick).
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad