Speculation: Mathew Barzal Contract Discussion

[Costigan77]

I see Point mentioned a lot as a comp, but the Islanders need Barzal a lot more than Tampa needs Point. Barzal has all the leverage. This also doesn't take into account that Tampa is a more desirable place to play.

I don't want to scroll and/or look at the bull**** about taxes.

The kid is going to be a millionaire. Grew up in a middle class family of non millionaires.

He was in the NY Times for fashion.

Not in the Tampa Bay Times. Not in the St Pete times.

Please stop with this argument. Believe it or not...the Gold Coast is one of the top places to live on the island. As most of the Islanders do....with the exception of the call up who are now going to be put up in the lofts right by the mineola train station. Before you rip those......please let the surgeons and doctors for NYU/Winthrop know how much of a mistake they are making living there.....you know, because they could be in Tampa.

If game 1 of the ECF was a day later, we may (yes may) be talking a different tone.

The island is not a dump. For 22k in prop taxes I pay....I find that thought ignorant. The coliseum is not an issue....despite what Wang and Garth used to say. It is actually revered. The new arena is much, much better than Tampa. (I'm sure you have been there based on your statements)

Tampa had one of the lowest ticket prices in the league. Also, one of the lowest season ticket holder percentages. They give away 40-60% of their tickets on a given night. Please stop with the Tampa nonsense. Tavares didn't go there. They are looking to dump Stamkos. Yzerman bailed. (Stop with the nostalgia)

Yes...they won the cup. Awesome. Congrats. Don't degrade where the Isles play...or were we live....for an idiotic point

 

[Costigan77]

If he’s willing to sign for 6.5 it would have already happened by now. I don’t see him getting less than 7.5...probably 8.

I see Lou clearing out that much to bring in everyone else.....

That doesn't mean he gives Barzal all of the space



When do people realize Barzal's only leverage is holding out and not playing?


Ok...go for it

How did that work for Drouin? (similar skill set, similar team). He is making 5.5 on a long term

 

[Bones45]

The island is not a dump. For 22k in prop taxes I pay....I find that thought ignorant. The coliseum is not an issue....despite what Wang and Garth used to say. It is actually revered. The new arena is much, much better than Tampa. (I'm sure you have been there based on your statements)

If you're paying 22k in taxes every year, you better LOVE THIS f***ING place.

 

[ScaredStreit]

I don't want to scroll and/or look at the bull**** about taxes.

The kid is going to be a millionaire. Grew up in a middle class family of non millionaires.

He was in the NY Times for fashion.

Not in the Tampa Bay Times. Not in the St Pete times.

Please stop with this argument. Believe it or not...the Gold Coast is one of the top places to live on the island. As most of the Islanders do....with the exception of the call up who are now going to be put up in the lofts right by the mineola train station. Before you rip those......please let the surgeons and doctors for NYU/Winthrop know how much of a mistake they are making living there.....you know, because they could be in Tampa.

If game 1 of the ECF was a day later, we may (yes may) be talking a different tone.

The island is not a dump. For 22k in prop taxes I pay....I find that thought ignorant. The coliseum is not an issue....despite what Wang and Garth used to say. It is actually revered. The new arena is much, much better than Tampa. (I'm sure you have been there based on your statements)

Tampa had one of the lowest ticket prices in the league. Also, one of the lowest season ticket holder percentages. They give away 40-60% of their tickets on a given night. Please stop with the Tampa nonsense. Tavares didn't go there. They are looking to dump Stamkos. Yzerman bailed. (Stop with the nostalgia)

Yes...they won the cup. Awesome. Congrats. Don't degrade where the Isles play...or were we live....for an idiotic point

Link for Tampa giving away 40-60% of tickets a night? That might have been true 20 years ago, it's not true anymore. The Lightning actually have built a strong fanbase (go WAY WAY back in my posting history and you'll see I didn't always think this).

Saying that more players want to sign and play in Tampa than for the Islanders isn't degrading Long Island...it's just a fact if you look at the past 20 years or so of free agency and signings. Name one big UFA signing the Islanders have had in the past 30 years? Just one? Personally, I can't.

For the record I've lived on Long Island and in Tampa, so I think that's a pretty decent amount of experience in each place. I currently live in Tampa yes but I go back to the Island to visit family and friends often. In no way am I degrading Long Island...but the stink of the Islanders isn't completely gone yet. For decades we were the laughing stock of the NHL and the Lightning over the past 15-20 years are one of the best run franchises. That's not degrading the Islanders, it's just true.

I've been to NVMC and Amalie each hundreds of times. NVMC is a dump...it's our dump and has a lot of history and nostalgia for us...but for a NHL player it's not enticing at all. Having good vision of the game in the stands has zero impact on the players, but lacking state of the art facilities does. Fortunately Belmont will solve all of those problems. Nobody's been to Belmont yet but I'm sure it's going to be great.

 

[EXTRAS]

C'mon, Matty. S*#t or get off the pot. Time to sign already.

 

[ScaredStreit]

I see Lou clearing out that much to bring in everyone else.....

That doesn't mean he gives Barzal all of the space



When do people realize Barzal's only leverage is holding out and not playing?


Ok...go for it

How did that work for Drouin? (similar skill set, similar team). He is making 5.5 on a long term

Drouin's career high in points was 53...Barzal career high in assists is higher. Drouin was the #3/4 center, Barzal is the #1.

You're really comparing Drouin to Barzal?

 

[IslesCLT]

I said this for a year before Tavares left, I argued that (most) posters on here not to count their chickens before they hatch just because he was saying sports PR 101. What do you expect them to say "we can't wait to leave", "we want as much as we can get"? Words by guys who have vast amounts of PR and say generic sayings like this really don't mean much. Business is business and personal is personal. This is a business decision on both ends...nothing more, nothing less.

So tell me again about the leverage this non-arbitration-eligible RFA has?

This is a COMPLETELY different situation than JT.

 

[Costigan77]

Drouin's career high in points was 53...Barzal career high in assists is higher. Drouin was the #3/4 center, Barzal is the #1.

You're really comparing Drouin to Barzal?

No.....you are comparing Barzal's "demands" to something relative to Drouin's

 

[Costigan77]

C'mon, Matty. S*#t or get off the pot. Time to sign already.

No it's not



Anyone realize the owners are re-opening the CBA??

 

[Quickdraw2828]

Yes...they won the cup. Awesome. Congrats. Don't degrade where the Isles play...or were we live....for an idiotic point

 

[Beacon Isles]

C'mon, Matty. S*#t or get off the pot. Time to sign already.

When you have time, you use it.

 

[lazycop]

When you have time, you use it.

(In a thick accent):

Don Lou: “When you have time you use it.
I like to drink wine more than I used to.”

Trotz: “It’s good for ya Pop”

Don Lou: “Anyway I'm drinkin' more.”

 

[ScaredStreit]

No.....you are comparing Barzal's "demands" to something relative to Drouin's

I'm not the one who brought up Drouin-you are. You said that they have a "similar skill set" and compared their situations. I merely pointed out that that's just not true. Barzal is much more talented than Drouin ever was and a team's #1 center is much more important than their #3-4 center. The more talent you have, the more vital of a role you play on a team, the more you're able to demand. That's common sense.

 

[Mr Misunderstood]

No it's not



Anyone realize the owners are re-opening the CBA??

Stop trying to educate the masses with pertinent information.

 

[CREW99AW]

Maybe we don't see the Barzal extension until training camp.


Mathew Barzal expected to sign bridge deal with Islanders worth $7M per year?

If they want to get this deal done and be in cap and roster compliance before placing Boychuk on LTIR, there is going to have to be some roster juggling. Some high-priced veterans (such as Andrew Ladd, Thomas Hickey, and Leo Komarov) could be waived in camp and sent down, freeing up $1.075M each in cap space before having to offset that amount by a minimum-salaried recall. Expected goalie Ilya Sorokin (who is waiver-exempt) could also go down and be temporarily replaced by a lower-salaried netminder on their season-opening roster before those transactions were reversed. Even more of those moves might be required to pull that particular strategy off.

Gross adds that deals are believed to be in place for goalie Cory Schneider (which had been reported back in October), defenseman Andy Greene, and winger Matt Martin. That money can’t be committed until they get Barzal signed and Boychuk transferred with the latter move happening right at the beginning of the season. As a result, it’s probable that those veterans will be in camp on PTO deals only.

 

[Quickdraw2828]

I think a two or three year contract is perfect. Without covid he might be signing a seven or eight year contract for somewhere around nine million.His game still isn't elite, so let's take a couple more years and see if he improves.

 

[EXTRAS]

Any news or info?

 

[CREW99AW]

Any news or info?

Just rumors from the media about possible salary/cap hit.
The only comment we have from anyone in the isles organization,came from Pulock after signing his $5m per extension. Pulock's saying he and Barzal talked and agreed to take reasonable deals that would allow Lou to keep this group together.
What's reasonable? $6.5m? $7m?

So long as it is less then 4 yrs,I am good.
I hate that Pulock's extension walks him into unrestricted free agency.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Just rumors from the media about possible salary/cap hit.
The only comment we have from anyone in the isles organization,came from Pulock after signing his $5m per extension. Pulock's saying he and Barzal talked and agreed to take reasonable deals that would allow Lou to keep this group together.
What's reasonable? $6.5m? $7m?

So long as it is less then 4 yrs,I am good.
I hate that Pulock's extension walks him into unrestricted free agency.

What's Pulock supposed to say though? I got as much as I can (which under the current circumstances he probably did and will be UFA soon)? Sometimes we read too much into things players say that come directly from PR 101.

 

[CREW99AW]

What's Pulock supposed to say though? I got as much as I can (which under the current circumstances he probably did and will be UFA soon)? Sometimes we read too much into things players say that come directly from PR 101.

What do I expect Pulock to say? How about " This deal is good for both me and the team."
How about saying something along the lines of " I am excited about next season."

Pulock has zero reason to invent a conversation with Barzal.
Several source have tweeted or written about those $6.5m-$7m.

https://nypost.com/2020/11/04/mathew-barzal-cloud-hangs-over-islanders-after-ryan-pulock-deal/
But according to Pulock, Barzal is looking to make it work in order to build on what the Islanders started this past season.
“We talk, obviously we’re good friends. We talk,” Pulock said on a Zoom call Wednesday afternoon. “We both obviously want to make it work so that we can keep everyone together. I think that’s the main goal. We want to win together, we want to keep this team together.”

 

[ScaredStreit]

What do I expect Pulock to say? How about " This deal is good for both me and the team."
How about saying something along the lines of " I am excited about next season."

Pulock has zero reason to invent a conversation with Barzal.
Several source have tweeted or written about those $6.5m-$7m.

https://nypost.com/2020/11/04/mathew-barzal-cloud-hangs-over-islanders-after-ryan-pulock-deal/
But according to Pulock, Barzal is looking to make it work in order to build on what the Islanders started this past season.
“We talk, obviously we’re good friends. We talk,” Pulock said on a Zoom call Wednesday afternoon. “We both obviously want to make it work so that we can keep everyone together. I think that’s the main goal. We want to win together, we want to keep this team together.”

I get your point but I heard the same sorts of things for the year before Tavares left...he was "different" and taking things a step further. Players say what looks best for them and their team because that's what they're supposed and should do. In reality it shouldn't carry much weight whatsoever.

 

[CREW99AW]

I get your point but I heard the same sorts of things for the year before Tavares left...he was "different" and taking things a step further. Players say what looks best for them and their team because that's what they're supposed and should do. In reality it shouldn't carry much weight whatsoever.

Tavares was an impending ufa. He left after 9 seasons. In 9 seasons,his team had made the playoffs 3x and never advanced past the 2nd round. Tavares had good reason to be soured on the direction of the franchise. I don't blame him for being frustrated. I do blame him for not being honest,not saying that he needed a change and that he was gonna walk as soon as he became a ufa.

Barzal is an rfa. His teams have made the playoffs 2x in 3 seasons, including a recent ECF appearance ,where he told the press he and his teammates were having a blast. Sorry,but I don't find their situations at all alike. There is nothing indicating Barzal has grown frustrated . That he thinks they aren't competitive enough or that the arena situation is weighing on him.

 

[YearlyLottery]

Tavares was an impending ufa. He left after 9 seasons. In 9 seasons,his team had made the playoffs 3x and never advanced past the 2nd round. Tavares had good reason to be soured on the direction of the franchise. I don't blame him for being frustrated. I do blame him for not being honest,not saying that he needed a change and that he was gonna walk as soon as he became a ufa.

Barzal is an rfa. His teams have made the playoffs 2x in 3 seasons, including a recent ECF appearance ,where he told the press he and his teammates were having a blast. Sorry,but I don't find their situations at all alike. There is nothing indicating Barzal has grown frustrated . That he thinks they aren't competitive enough or that the arena situation is weighing on him.

Tavares may have had good reasons, but that is not what 99.99999% of this fanbase was posting once this organization hired Trotz and Lamoriellot to negotiate his contract. Whether or not Barzal gets traded it does not matter to me. Why? Because Tavares should have shown everyone that the crest matters more than the name on the back. Trotz and Lou are actual adults and will make the right decision.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Tavares was an impending ufa. He left after 9 seasons. In 9 seasons,his team had made the playoffs 3x and never advanced past the 2nd round. Tavares had good reason to be soured on the direction of the franchise. I don't blame him for being frustrated. I do blame him for not being honest,not saying that he needed a change and that he was gonna walk as soon as he became a ufa.

Barzal is an rfa. His teams have made the playoffs 2x in 3 seasons, including a recent ECF appearance ,where he told the press he and his teammates were having a blast. Sorry,but I don't find their situations at all alike. There is nothing indicating Barzal has grown frustrated . That he thinks they aren't competitive enough or that the arena situation is weighing on him.

My point was that we should take what players say publicly worth a grain of salt, not that their situations are the same or that Barzal is leaving.

 

[CREW99AW]

My point was that we should take what players say publicly worth a grain of salt, not that their situations are the same or that Barzal is leaving.

Barzal is a UFA in 4 yrs. Isles ,able to spend 10% above the cap during the off-season have roughly $12m to fend off any offersheet.

I just don't see how fans can compare UFA Tavares situation with rfa Barzal's.

Also, Barzal has not come out and said he is willing to sign a reasonable deal,that allows the isles cap space to keep this group together. Pulock is the player who is saying that he and Barzal have talked and each was looking to sign deals that allowed the isles room to try and keep this group together.