Lamoriello and Trotz speak

[The Winter Soldier]

If Babcock had to choose between Seattle and the Islanders? I think he, or any coach, would prefer Seattle.

You still haven't told me why the Islanders are a sought after destination. Why exactly? They've been dismal for years, even with a superstar. Their defence is awful. They've got a GM who likely took the job for the nepotistic opportunity it'll give his son. BTW, this HOF GM didn't really do a great job at his last team either and made some bad, bad decisions during his last couple of years in NJ.

I think that you keep point to Lamoriello as a positive just to troll leafs fans. He's aged badly.

Funny what I call a hockey discussion with a poster, even one like you without anything to back up a position, you call as trolling which is against site rules I will remind you. Really, the inference that the Isles are a horrible organization now with 2 great owners what I can observe, and the credibility Lou adds since coming aboard, are not too subtly hidden in your narrative. Nevertheless:

You are the one that said

Seattle is a way, way better option for any coach.

It is you that needs to back up this position. I don't have to back up anything since I did not post this. So if you can, try to explain why a Stanley cup winning coach that could coach almost anywhere in the NHL when an opening arises, would choose to coach an expansion team of all teams if this is the case.

 

[Jester9881]

Buffalo offered more, Buffalo had Eichel (A franchise centre!). Babcock chose Toronto.

No they didn't, Eichel was drafted after he was hired..... and that doesn't take away from the fact that he's getting paid more than Nathan Horton.

 

[Brobust]

Don't delude yourself into thinking he's signing in Toronto. He's told your city to screw off more times than I can remember.



It makes perfect sense. If the man doesn't want to move his family around, where else offers him this many opportunities? If for whatever reason the Islanders fire him, he's got two other NHL teams, NHL HQ and the NHL network (AND ESPN) all within driving distance so he wouldn't have to move. That was my point.



They will have a thinned out crop to pick from because of more teams, plus GMs will have a better handle on how to run it. There is little chance they have the same result and you know it.

LOL, at no point did I mention that I think Tavares will sign in Toronto. You guys are really on edge.

Again, the whole New York pitch sounds to me like Toronto fans convincing themselves that everyone wants to play in Toronto. I guess it's reasonable when you do it, but we're maniacs when we do it.

There's really no logic to your last point. There are still a ton of bad NMCs, still teams in cap trouble, and the expansion draft rules will always make it very difficult for teams to protect all their top four defencemen.

 

[IslandersFan17]

Buffalo offered more, Buffalo had Eichel (A franchise centre!). Babcock chose Toronto.

Babcock was hired May 20th, 2015 I believe and the draft isnt until June, so no the Sabres didnt have Eichel at that point in time.

 

[Brobust]

No they didn't, Eichel was drafted after he was hired..... and that doesn't take away from the fact that he's getting paid more than Nathan Horton.

They already had their draft position set, so that's just semantics.

BTW, what's your point about Nathan Horton? The market for Babcock was set by other teams, Toronto didn't even make the highest offer.

 

[Brobust]

Babcock was hired May 20th, 2015 I believe and the draft isnt until June, so no the Sabres didnt have Eichel at that point in time.

True, the Sabres might have drafted Strome. There was a lot of uncertainty at the 2nd pick in that draft.

 

[sabremike]

Babcock was hired May 20th, 2015 I believe and the draft isnt until June, so no the Sabres didnt have Eichel at that point in time.

This is technically true, but by that point we knew we had the #2 pick and it was obvious Eichel was headed to Buffalo. The big difference was that the Sabres were essentially Hiroshima the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on it, so it wasn't exactly a dream job.

 

[Isles Junkie]

I guess you missed the post about Trotz having a lot more input on roster building and that every player on the team would be one that Trotz approved of. That would be a incredibly attractive perk for a coach.

What could the Islanders offer that's even close to that? Nothing.

Mat Barzal and John Tavares*

I'm not entirely sure, but i think it's a very safe bet to say that those 2 players are better than anyone who will play for Seattle for several years.

And who says that Trotz would have GM powers & build the team anyway? Oh I'm sure the GM would consult with him, but the same would probably happen no matter what team he lands with.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Oh I agree that Lou is overrated. However, he’s a hell of a lot better than Garth Snow.

I said this in a post about 3 weeks ago.

Lou in his early NJ years, hall of fame executive. 3 cups, with a budget team. Really only a handful of GM's could have turned a Mickey Mouse(a Gretzky reference) organization into one of the model franchises in the NHL.

Lou's latter years in NJ. Bad, bloated, made some questionable signings. Should have rebuilt. No question it was not pretty when he was booted upstairs. No sugar coating it here.

His 3 years in Toronto, mostly good. The Andersen trade, the Rielly and Kadri signings were highlights. The lowlights the Martin and Zaitsev signings. But most of all he brought structure to the team. Was able to manage diverse and strong personalities in Dubas, Hunter, Babcock, Shanahan amongst many voices. This was his greatest talent. Hard to argue 2 playoff appearances for a team not to make the playoffs in over a decade.

Now this is his final chapter. Like all 3 decade hockey execs, you will get the very good, with the bad, mixed in with some good. I think this is a fair synopsis of his career. The final chapter is with the NY Isles now, it is being written as we speak. Which one will it be of the 3 to choose from above?

I do know right now he is off to a very good start. He has bought instant credibility to the Islanders, In one quick swift action he has gotten rid of Snow(long overdue) and Weight(I am less hard on him, but the Isles can do better) and now pending on what happens coaching wise, and JT wise, with the draft and trades to come. We shall see what Lou can do with this team. I would not bet against him. What he said to Shannon and McCown in one of his rare interviews after being hired in NY should give Isles fans hope.

Basically it went like this. The game has changed, answering a question posed to him about bringing a Devils style to NY. The rules now predicate the game being played with skill, speed, and intelligence. He is going to bring in players that fit this mantra and a coach that can get the best out of these players, not the other way around. I took this as a very progressive approach. One you would not associate with Lou from his past. So I can't wait to see his moves. If this is true, this will not be a Lou like team most recall. But as Lou reminded Shannon and McCown the Devils one year scored the most goals in the NHL too. It wasn't all defence.

 

[LeafsNation75]

This is technically true, but by that point we knew we had the #2 pick and it was obvious Eichel was headed to Buffalo. The big difference was that the Sabres were essentially Hiroshima the day after the atomic bomb was dropped on it, so it wasn't exactly a dream job.

From what I remember around that time is some people still considered Buffalo to be a better job for Babcock since everyone knew the Sabres were getting Eichel.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I'm curious just how much control Lou had with the Leafs. Because how much he wants is ALL THE CONTROL. However not letting him be too overbearing is probably the right way to go. Get the best of him and don't let the penny pinching miser come out

Lou had approval to make whatever trades and free agent signings he thought would make them better, however I would guess Brendan Shanahan also had some in put given that he was Lou's boss.

 

[DickSmehlik]

True, the Sabres might have drafted Strome. There was a lot of uncertainty at the 2nd pick in that draft.

You forgot to include the sarcasm emoji in that post.

 

[LeafsNation75]

True, the Sabres might have drafted Strome. There was a lot of uncertainty at the 2nd pick in that draft.

Everyone knew after McDavid that Eichel was guaranteed to go 2nd overall and there was no chance it would have been Dylan Strome.

 

[Brobust]

Everyone knew after McDavid that Eichel was guaranteed to go 2nd overall and there was no chance it would have been Dylan Strome.

Sarcasm. For those pointing out that Eichel hadn't been drafted yet, as if that meant something.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Sarcasm. For those pointing out that Eichel hadn't been drafted yet, as if that meant something.

I had guessed it was sarcasm on your part. Although it was true that others did point out the Sabres about to be drafting Eichel as a reason why Babcock would choose them and not the Leafs,

 

[Foppberg]

A thread being derailed into a Leafs thread?

Shocking.

 

[CountKong]

Ok, so didn't even bother to read what I wrote. Or maybe you can't comprehend. Since teams aren't allowed to contact coaches under contract, how will a coach even know a team is interested?

Secondly, you accuse me of speculating when I offer common sense things that Seattle would do to make them more lucrative. Yet, here you are spouting off uninformed nonsense for pages and pages.

Greetings!

I'm not choosing sides, I just wanted to play devil's advocate for a second. Would it really be that far fetched for a team to contact a GM under contract. You know, just two guys sitting in a bar talking, about hypotheticals 0f course. I feel as if a lot of shady dealings happen in this league and get shrugged off by the NHL.

That being said it will be interesting to see what his choice is, one way or the other!

 

[Brobust]

Funny what I call a hockey discussion with a poster, even one like you without anything to back up a position, you call as trolling which is against site rules I will remind you. Really, the inference that the Isles are a horrible organization now with 2 great owners what I can observe, and the credibility Lou adds since coming aboard, are not too subtly hidden in your narrative. Nevertheless:

You are the one that said It is you that needs to back up this position. I don't have to back up anything since I did not post this. So if you can, try to explain why a Stanley cup winning coach that could coach almost anywhere in the NHL when an opening arises, would choose to coach an expansion team of all teams if this is the case.

Trolling?

I've presented reasonable arguments. You've presented nothing.

We'll see where Trotz signs, but I think you'll disappear from this thread when that happens.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Trolling?

I've presented reasonable arguments. You've presented nothing.

We'll see where Trotz signs, but I think you'll disappear from this thread when that happens.

What facts have you presented? And where did I say Trotz would 100% sign with the Isles? Notice the thread title.

For the 3rd time. You posted

Seattle is a way, way better option for any coach.

You have to back up this statement. Not me.

 

[Strait2thecup]

I can’t even believe TWS has gotten himself so far in leaf fans heads that they still religiously reply to his posts. This shit spills into every f***ing isles thread between Lou and Barzal

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Trolling?

I've presented reasonable arguments. You've presented nothing.

We'll see where Trotz signs, but I think you'll disappear from this thread when that happens.

Here's what I would like to present.