Confirmed with Link: Komarov 4x3

[Byron Bitz]

Just found out Komarov was scratched in the playoffs in favour of rookie Johnsson. Is that something we should be concerned about given the contract we gave him?

 

[redbull]

Just found out Komarov was scratched in the playoffs in favour of rookie Johnsson. Is that something we should be concerned about given the contract we gave him?

No.

Lou got him for character, leadership and penalty killing.

Johnsson played while Komarov was hurt and he played so well they couldn't take him out of the lineup.

Doesn't impact the Islanders at all.

I had hoped Garth would target Johnsson and Leivo last season, good players stuck in a depth situation (like Hickey was in LA years ago) - Johnsson went on to tear up the AHL playoffs as well - 24 pts in 16 games and a championship.

Komarov isn't a great hockey player. Think Kulemin and Clutterbuck type.

Babcock and Lou loved him.

 

[Drytoast]

No.

Lou got him for character, leadership and penalty killing.

Johnsson played while Komarov was hurt and he played so well they couldn't take him out of the lineup.

Doesn't impact the Islanders at all.

I had hoped Garth would target Johnsson and Leivo last season, good players stuck in a depth situation (like Hickey was in LA years ago) - Johnsson went on to tear up the AHL playoffs as well - 24 pts in 16 games and a championship.

Komarov isn't a great hockey player. Think Kulemin and Clutterbuck type.

Babcock and Lou loved him.

Leo seems to also have connections with most russian players and talent and could potentially snag ya other free agents over his term.

He has up side just as youve mentioned.

 

[redbull]

Leo seems to also have connections with most russian players and talent and could potentially snag ya other free agents over his term.

He has up side just as youve mentioned.

Ilya Sorokin is the big Russian prize the Islanders want and need. Another Zaitsev/Ohziganov types would be welcomed too.

 

[Sheva7]

Just found out Komarov was scratched in the playoffs in favour of rookie Johnsson. Is that something we should be concerned about given the contract we gave him?

Absolutely. Yes.

 

[Cor]

I'm sure he's a nice guy. Sports isn't real life. And even so, he seems like a pleasant sports fan too.

I don't care. I don't want to hear from any Leafs fans. Stay out. And the guise of "oh you must hear what I have to tell you about Leo ****ing Komorov" is pretty thin!

To be fair, TWS isn’t really a Leaf fan either

 

[Bigmarycombo]

Lou has a pretty good hockey mind. The islanders are going to have a young team much like the last three years with the leafs. I’m sure he noticed the leadership Leo provided to these young players and brought him in to show the kids how to be a good professional on and off the ice. Leo may not have the greatest of offensive skill but he gives 100 per cent every shift.

 

[boredmale]

I honestly don't get this signing, only way it makes sense is if we can somehow dump Cluterbuck, but I don't think we can even give Clutterbuck away at this point

 

[crasherino]

I honestly don't get this signing, only way it makes sense is if we can somehow dump Cluterbuck, but I don't think we can even give Clutterbuck away at this point

Well....the 4 years is because we were competing with other teams for his services. In order to outbid them we needed to go to 4 years. I understand that part even if I don't like it - which I don't.

Why we needed him in the first place? That's a tougher question in the context of all our other moves. But it's not October yet. Some chips have yet to fall.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Isles fans I know some of you may be reading that he is slowing down, and he is not as aggressive, that he was benched in the playoffs.

The key points here are summarized below, I believe, and you know by now, I will give you the straight goods around here.

Komarov had personal problems last year and he was hurt in game 2 in the playoffs. So maybe this contributed to his off year. He also had some bad puck luck. Not that I am expecting him to score 20 this year, where he would have easily scored 2 years ago if he played all 82 games. The potential is there. But I do expect production of 15-20 if healthy. 15 for his usage is more what Leo can contribute. I don't know who is Center will be? But Josh Bailey may be converted to Center, and we know Barzal's talents, though I think Beauvillier is a lock on his wing. But the main thing here is I expect a bounceback season by Leo. As you are probably learning he has a unique personality. Really a fun guy that plays with zero fear, and he was one of Babcock's favourite players. Take that for what it is worth. I don't think Babcock is stupid, and I don't think Trotz is either. I predict Isles fans to take to Leo like and who knows maybe become one of the fanbases favourite players, or atleast personalities. Think of an edgier, agitating Nik Kulemin as a comparison.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Well....the 4 years is because we were competing with other teams for his services. In order to outbid them we needed to go to 4 years. I understand that part even if I don't like it - which I don't.

Why we needed him in the first place? That's a tougher question in the context of all our other moves. But it's not October yet. Some chips have yet to fall.

We needed him in the first place because our PK was 73 percent, faceoffs sucked, leadership sucked, we were too soft to play against

 

[CupHolders]

We needed him in the first place because our PK was 73 percent, faceoffs sucked, leadership sucked, we were too soft to play against

There were countless games that they were outworked and overmatched last year. But no game stood out to me as much as the 4-1 loss to Florida immediately coming back from the All-star break.

Isles were still over .500, and Florida was couple of games under. The Panthers took it to the Islanders with tenacity, while the Islanders folded. Florida used that as a springboard to get back into playoff contention (ultimately falling short).

The other thing about that game. There was only one penalty. Yet it was a pretty hard, gritty game played by Florida.

It always gets me when fans equate physical/gritty play as fighting or hitting. To me it means winning the one-on-one battles for the puck along the boards. Something the Isles have not been good at for some time.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

There were countless games that they were outworked and overmatched last year. But no game stood out to me as much as the 4-1 loss to Florida immediately coming back from the All-star break.

Isles were still over .500, and Florida was couple of games under. The Panthers took it to the Islanders with tenacity, while the Islanders folded. Florida used that as a springboard to get back into playoff contention (ultimately falling short).

The other thing about that game. There was only one penalty. Yet it was a pretty hard, gritty game played by Florida.

It always gets me when fans equate physical/gritty play as fighting or hitting. To me it means winning the one-on-one battles for the puck along the boards. Something the Isles have not been good at for some time.

Also physicality in between puck touches. Kulemin always leaned on his men to slow them down, he's an excellent defender for that reason. I always hate playing Babcock teams because they slow down the play whether it's the Wings or Leafs. Trotz pointed out how much room the Caps had against the Isles and that's because once the puck wasn't on their stick they were free to roam and get open and find soft space. You need to be combative.

If you watch Barzal highlights you always see players stick him when he gets in their vicinity, which is why he's so impressive because he shakes them off. But our guys can do that to opposing team players too!

 

[CupHolders]

Also physicality in between puck touches. Kulemin always leaned on his men to slow them down, he's an excellent defender for that reason. I always hate playing Babcock teams because they slow down the play whether it's the Wings or Leafs. Trotz pointed out how much room the Caps had against the Isles and that's because once the puck wasn't on their stick they were free to roam and get open and find soft space. You need to be combative.

If you watch Barzal highlights you always see players stick him when he gets in their vicinity, which is why he's so impressive because he shakes them off. But our guys can do that to opposing team players too!

Absolutely... essentially borderline interference (aka good defense). But yes I always noticed how other teams consistently do that more than the Islanders.

 

[Kevin27NYI]

Absolutely... essentially borderline interference (aka good defense). But yes I always noticed how other teams consistently do that more than the Islanders.

/This should change under Trotz otherwise I'll be supremely disappointed. Also why I'm more optimistic than most on the impact of his coaching. I can't see why he won't get the most out of Pelech and Mayfields frames. They played better under Cap than Weight, would like to see how they do under Trotz.



I want more of this Mayfield and the physicality of the bottom 6 should inspire that kind of play.

 

[notDatsyuk]

This guy is over 30. His goals and points have dropped 3 straight years. Sign em up !!!!! We could have kept Chris Wagner at 1/2 the price and 1/2 the term. He is less tha 50 percent on faceoffs for his career . Just a little over last year . Woop de do. Hate this

Three years ago, when the Leafs were a mess, he was playing on the top line. Two years ago, on a better team, he was playing on the second line. Last year, with an even better team, he spent half the year on the second line, and half on the fourth line.

iI you consider that most of his faceoffs have been after the regular centre has been kicked out, or when killing a penalty, where he was sixth in the league in winning percentage (50+ win), it's not bad.

Still in the top ten among forwards in hits, and still one of the best on the PK.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Need to keep a Russian vet on the team in case Isles can bring Sorokin over and have a place for him to stay and feel comfortable I think like what they did for Barzal. This is the only reason you can explain the 4 year term. Once Sorokin settles, hopefully he will retire and be part of the coaching staff for the young Russians on this team. If he does not play well, they can always waive/buy him out down the road. He also lived in Finland so may help some of the Fins as well.

Also probably show the youngsters how to PK because he is actually quite good at it.

A gold, two silver and a bronze with the Finnish national team, and a KHL championship.

 

[GrandmaSlices51631]

/This should change under Trotz otherwise I'll be supremely disappointed. Also why I'm more optimistic than most on the impact of his coaching. I can't see why he won't get the most out of Pelech and Mayfields frames. They played better under Cap than Weight, would like to see how they do under Trotz.



I want more of this Mayfield and the physicality of the bottom 6 should inspire that kind of play.

See, if we had a stable middle pairing and set top-4 we could justify Mayfield being a regular #6, he brings the smackdown, no denying that.

 

[notDatsyuk]

The thing everyone misses about the Leo Komarov signing is that he has Russian and Finnish citizenship. He plays as long as the Islanders want him in the NHL at $3 million per year. When he passes through waivers to Bridgeport he will retire from the NHL and play the rest of his career in the KHL. It won't be $3 million, it will probably be mid six-figures tax-free, but it will be home for him.

He left the Leafs to play in the KHL because he thought the greater exposure closer to home (Finland) would help him get on the Olympic national team (which it did).

 

[Costigan77]

He left the Leafs to play in the KHL because he thought the greater exposure closer to home (Finland) would help him get on the Olympic national team (which it did).

Pretty sure he left due to the lockout....just like everyone else did

Fake news. Sad!

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Absolutely. Yes.

absolutely not. Man you are one unfair person. Imagine this: You are a good nhl penalty killer, and occasional scorer. You get injured, now some idiot thinks you stink because you were injured, but when you were healthy you played your role well. Well enough that the GM and coach loved you. He was scratched because he wasn't 100%

 

[PotvinsCups4]

I honestly don't get this signing, only way it makes sense is if we can somehow dump Cluterbuck, but I don't think we can even give Clutterbuck away at this point

I don't get how anyone doesn't get this signing lol. We were the worst penalty killing unit in decades!!!!!!!! Let that sink in. Then after letting that sink in, we also had a lack of leadership. Let that shink in. Well, guess what Leo K is known for, by our stanley cup winning GM? Penalty killing and leadership. Umm, what is there not to get? Seriously, wake up Isles fans. Do you understand, we had the worst penalty kill in DECADES

 

[boredmale]

I don't get how anyone doesn't get this signing lol. We were the worst penalty killing unit in decades!!!!!!!! Let that sink in. Then after letting that sink in, we also had a lack of leadership. Let that shink in. Well, guess what Leo K is known for, by our stanley cup winning GM? Penalty killing and leadership. Umm, what is there not to get? Seriously, wake up Isles fans. Do you understand, we had the worst penalty kill in DECADES

1. I believe tweaking the system was more the problem then the actual players on it(not saying we are an instant top 10 PK team that way but I do think it would be considerably better). It should be pointed out in the past 3 seasons we finished 4th best, 11th best and 22nd best PK(so as I pointed out last season was an anomaly)

2. 4 years? As I pointed out previously in this thread given our capspace I would much rather given him a shorter contract for more money

On a side note, Islanders seem to have a weird pattern they can never get the PP and PK on the same wave length, it usually feels like one is generally top half of the league and the other is bottom 1/3

 

[PotvinsCups4]

1. I believe tweaking the system was more the problem then the actual players on it(not saying we are an instant top 10 PK team that way but I do think it would be considerably better). It should be pointed out in the past 3 seasons we finished 4th best, 11th best and 22nd best PK(so as I pointed out last season was an anomaly)

2. 4 years? As I pointed out previously in this thread given our capspace I would much rather given him a shorter contract for more money

On a side note, Islanders seem to have a weird pattern they can never get the PP and PK on the same wave length, it usually feels like one is generally top half of the league and the other is bottom 1/3

1. Well apparently, LL doesn't agree with you, because he signed guys that are known for penalty killing. It was a combination of wrong players and wrong system. 2. When you have a glaring need, (the worst Pk in decades) you identify players to bring in that will help this problem, and LL did that. He identified LK as a player he had to have for this, and he did his best to get him. 4 years was only because we were in competition with other teams. 3. Um, our capspace is currently one of the best in the nhl. 4. If Leo K cannot play the entire 4 years, he is the kind of guy that would go directly home back to the KHL. meaning that if he quits, and doesn't report to a minor league assignment, he will quit and go to KHL, meaning we owe him nothing. This signing was brilliant, there is no risk

 

[PK Cronin]

1. Well apparently, LL doesn't agree with you, because he signed guys that are known for penalty killing. It was a combination of wrong players and wrong system. 2. When you have a glaring need, (the worst Pk in decades) you identify players to bring in that will help this problem, and LL did that. He identified LK as a player he had to have for this, and he did his best to get him. 4 years was only because we were in competition with other teams. 3. Um, our capspace is currently one of the best in the nhl. 4. If Leo K cannot play the entire 4 years, he is the kind of guy that would go directly home back to the KHL. meaning that if he quits, and doesn't report to a minor league assignment, he will quit and go to KHL, meaning we owe him nothing. This signing was brilliant, there is no risk

Brilliant is an overstatement.