Confirmed with Link: Isles Sign Julien Gauthier 2 years $787.5 AAV

[MJF]

That would be fine as well. I don't see them moving on from Martin just yet though.

Sadly neither do I. Lou holds onto that 4th line like grim death.

 

[JKP]

Sadly neither do I. Lou holds onto that 4th line like grim death.

They're men who play a man's game...

 

[crasherino]

Martin just came off of a solid year. I would give him another shot. Clutterbuck on the other hand should be gone. Fasching, Durandeau, Gauthier, etc are already going to play half his games when he gets hurt anyway. May as well give these guys a shot to build some chemistry.

I think Clutterbuck is more effective.....when healthy. Of course, his style of play dictates that he's usually not healthy.

Just my impression but I think the team never thought they'd see the last two years of Martin's deal. Either his play would deteriorate to the point where he'd willingly get buried or he'd agree to LTIR. As it turns out, he's at the point where he's not really effective but he's just effective enough that he can expect to play. So he's taking up a roster spot that should be Ross's (which is why he was signed) but he's not really contributing. And considering we signed Fasching, we really have both replacements on the roster....just waiting for them to bow out.

I think the team just has to fight through til the end of the year and then they can gracefully say goodbye to these two stalwarts. Maybe we can recapture some cap space if either gets LTIR'd this season and use it at the deadline?

 

[YearlyLottery]

I think Clutterbuck is more effective.....when healthy. Of course, his style of play dictates that he's usually not healthy.

Just my impression but I think the team never thought they'd see the last two years of Martin's deal. Either his play would deteriorate to the point where he'd willingly get buried or he'd agree to LTIR. As it turns out, he's at the point where he's not really effective but he's just effective enough that he can expect to play. So he's taking up a roster spot that should be Ross's (which is why he was signed) but he's not really contributing. And considering we signed Fasching, we really have both replacements on the roster....just waiting for them to bow out.

I think the team just has to fight through til the end of the year and then they can gracefully say goodbye to these two stalwarts. Maybe we can recapture some cap space if either gets LTIR'd this season and use it at the deadline?

I think ironically the one time Martin struggled this season was in the playoffs. I think at times he felt the need to go overboard with the physicality due to the lack of it from some other players this year. I am unsure what his role will be like this year but if the rest of the team plays so carelessly at times a presence like Martin will be needed.

To just touch on Johnston I still do believe he was a major part of the turning point of this past season. When Barzal went down and they went and needed a win against Pittsburgh Johnston taking on two guys by himself pumped this team up. I think Johnston has been better than Martin for a couple seasons now and hope to see him get in the lineup more this year.

The other part of this discussion is Pageau needs to go at some point. If the Isles want to go into the future with guys like Fasching and Johnston on line four they can slot Cizikas up as a third line center and put him with more skilled talent. We are seeing Cizikas play with guys that just cannot keep up to him any longer.

 

[MJF]

They're men who play a man's game...

They're old men who usually end their shift pinned in their own end.,

 

[JKP]

They're old men who usually end their shift pinned in their own end.,

Just saying what the GM said!

 

[crashthenet]

They're old men who usually end their shift pinned in their own end.,

Kinda funny but not really. Martin actually put together a much better season than the year before. I'd be in favor of an upgrade and was pissed in game 3 but he and Czikas do what's required.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

Sadly neither do I. Lou holds onto that 4th line like grim death.

This seems like a good year to finally move past that 4th line. Clutter is the walking wounded and Martin is past his usefulness as a skater. I'd keep him around for spot duty, but it seems like a good idea to get Cizikas, who is still solid as a 4th line center, some better skaters as linemates.

 

[leeroggy]

They're men who play a man's game...

Maybe they should pick up a stick and try NLL . . . that's also a man's game

 

[seafoam]

Gauthier has not played a single second on the PK in his entire NHL career, so I have a hard time thinking he’s just going to waltz in and usurp Clutterbuck.

And I don’t think they are trading Pageau, he was third in 4 on 5 icetime (behind Parise who was second & likely not returning). FWIW Bailey was 6th, so if they traded Pageau they would be losing 3 out of their 6 main penalty killers without any replacements in sight.

And that’s with Horvat being one of the three remaining, who is good at faceoffs but not necessarily someone you want blocking a ton of shots and using his energy down a man.

 

[The Wahligator]

Gauthier has not played a single second on the PK in his entire NHL career, so I have a hard time thinking he’s just going to waltz in and usurp Clutterbuck.

And I don’t think they are trading Pageau, he was third in 4 on 5 icetime (behind Parise who was second & likely not returning). FWIW Bailey was 6th, so if they traded Pageau they would be losing 3 out of their 6 main penalty killers without any replacements in sight.

And that’s with Horvat being one of the three remaining, who is good at faceoffs but not necessarily someone you want blocking a ton of shots and using his energy down a man.

Agreed. The more and more I look at the roster the more I think the whole hockey trades thing was more along the lines of “if something comes up we’ll consider it” rather than “we’re actively looking.” I think the roster is set.

 

[scott99]

Agreed. The more and more I look at the roster the more I think the whole hockey trades thing was more along the lines of “if something comes up we’ll consider it” rather than “we’re actively looking.” I think the roster is set.

Agree 100%. The Debrincat trade rumor was always a pipe dream. Was never going to happen. Obviously the “sources” were wrong as usual. I even pressed Stefen Rosner on how he felt about his “source” on the subject, and he got snippy about it. Lou is so secretive, that every time I hear someone say something about their source + Islanders, I roll my eyes.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Big guy that can skate, not sure if it is by design but Isles seem to be acquiring players with this ID. maybe a change in philosophy. Maybe not. Team needs to get faster. Not a bad low risk move.

 

[Tahoeblue]

This seems like a good year to finally move past that 4th line. Clutter is the walking wounded and Martin is past his usefulness as a skater. I'd keep him around for spot duty, but it seems like a good idea to get Cizikas, who is still solid as a 4th line center, some better skaters as linemates.

Totally agree. My ideal 4th line would be CC, Fasching, and Parise(if he returns). Probably not going to happen but would be nice if Lou casted off some dead weight salary to gain cap space for the TDL for some options and flexibility. This is easier said than done, as many GM's are in the same boat.

 

[Throttle]

Totally agree. My ideal 4th line would be CC, Fasching, and Parise(if he returns). Probably not going to happen but would be nice if Lou casted off some dead weight salary to gain cap space for the TDL for some options and flexibility. This is easier said than done, as many GM's are in the same boat.

The 4th line is naturally going to phase itself out by contract and/or performance this season. The good thing is that Lou is subtly backfilling it with competition.

If Lou is casting off dead weight at the deadline, then it’s gonna be because the Isles are bottom 5 in the league - doubtful that happens.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Players coming into question as RW options heading into the season:
Barzal, Palmieri, Wahlstrom, Clutterbuck, Fasching, Gauthier, Holmstrom

RW possibilties then waiting in BPort:
Kuhlmann, Dufour, Maggio

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

The 4th line is naturally going to phase itself out by contract and/or performance this season. The good thing is that Lou is subtly backfilling it with competition.

If Lou is casting off dead weight at the deadline, then it’s gonna be because the Isles are bottom 5 in the league - doubtful that happens.

True. It'd be nice to have them drop away this year, but they're just gonna let them play it out, and if they're effective, great, if not, they have other options now.

 

[steveat]

Gauthier is centre depth. That's all. If there is an injury, everyone moves up and Gauthier takes 4 line duties. Kuhlman is winger depth....he will take the 4th line RW duties if there is an injury and everyone else moves up. Johnston is Left wing depth...basically, Lou made it such that we aren't stuck relying on a propspect...we would be asking too much and we have asked too much from our prospects.

Martin had a career year last year..Clutter is still good, but his body is broken and Zeeker probably has a good 4-5 years left before he falls off the face of the earth. To me, our 4th line is the least of our worries...we have depth for miles. It's our top end talent that we don't have at all.

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

Gauthier is centre depth. That's all. If there is an injury, everyone moves up and Gauthier takes 4 line duties. Kuhlman is winger depth....he will take the 4th line RW duties if there is an injury and everyone else moves up. Johnston is Left wing depth...basically, Lou made it such that we aren't stuck relying on a propspect...we would be asking too much and we have asked too much from our prospects.

Martin had a career year last year..Clutter is still good, but his body is broken and Zeeker probably has a good 4-5 years left before he falls off the face of the earth. To me, our 4th line is the least of our worries...we have depth for miles. It's our top end talent that we don't have at all.

For what it's worth, I've never seen Gauthier up the middle. Not as a prospect or pro.

Kuhlman, on the other hand, has played both and is listed as such at Eliteprospects.

But I'm sure there'll be some flexibility with all these guys.

 

[impaaaaaact]

The emergence of Gauthier on the third line allows us to play 3 lines where it's very likely we have the fastest player on the ice. A huge change from this time last year. 5 points in 9 games, not bad for a dude playing 10 minutes a game. I think he's going to stick.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Always had the tools, nice to hear.

 

[impaaaaaact]

Always had the tools, nice to hear.

It will never happen, and I'm not even sure it'll be a net positive with Lee moving back down to the third line... but I would love to see him with Barzal and Horvat. He's been finishing checks and causing chaos while still consistently getting solid scoring chances. I think he's a natural fit there, but everything is working pretty well right now and there's no reason to make that big of a move

 

[Glory Days]

The emergence of Gauthier on the third line allows us to play 3 lines where it's very likely we have the fastest player on the ice. A huge change from this time last year. 5 points in 9 games, not bad for a dude playing 10 minutes a game. I think he's going to stick.

With Martin and Wally out of the lineup the forward group looks noticeably faster.

 

[mm11]

With Martin and Wally out of the lineup the forward group looks noticeably faster.

do like Gauthier, dont need him to be a young Bill Guerin just bring speed, bang some bodies protect the puck and chip in 10-12 goals a year