News from Around the AHL/NHL/KHL 2020-21

[danteipp]

With respect to expansion, a lot will depend on performance this season, health/injuries, internal prospect-player development, etc.

My gut is the Isles protect Mayfield's cap-friendly contract over Leddy, even if Leddy remains the better and "more important" player on the depth chart.

It is just the better outcome for the team and financial flexibility going forward. Especially if Aho and Bolduc progress, then it is a much easier call.

That said, I assume a lot of teams will use the 7-3-1 strategy, so the chances of Leddy being selected will be a bit lower with probably numerous quality defensemen exposed.

Most of whom will be a mix of cheaper cap hits or under team control for multiple seasons, which will (presumably) fit into Seattle's long-term plans.

Because of more teams potentially using the 7-3-1 protection scheme format, I also believe that if the Isles want to expose a pricey forward, like Eberle, Seattle might be a taker.

Odds are there will be less scoring options out there, so maybe it is a move where both teams benefit.

It will be something to keep an eye on throughout the season. At least the Isles appear to be in better shape this time, versus last time, and I assume Lou won't botch it like Snow.

 

[Throttle]

I heard they were likely going to re-align to minimize travel completely. So they'll come up with the easiest travel schedule for all teams that allows them to maximize games in a quick period of time. It's always interesting where the line is when it comes to travel for the NYC Metro area. Do we get Boston and Buffalo or do we get Philadelphia and Washington D.C.? If we get Philadelphia and D.C., who is Carolina, Florida, and Tampa Bay getting included in theirs?

In the RTP, the league paid the bill. In this season, teams will want to minimize travel aka cost as much as possible.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Everything I’ve been hearing on hockey central and 31 thoughts regarding the Canadian teams, is an all Canada division, and that they will play each other.

The US has been mentioned for division realignment, but it hasn’t been really mentioned whether they would only play within your own divisions or have inter division games.

personally I say, play only within the division. Playing each divisional opponent 8 times would be awesome. The only downside is the proposed divisional realignment has us in the strongest division. (Based on last years point percentage)

IMHO, the Canadian division will get redundant quickly. Any within division-only play is going to get old, quick. That's why I'm hoping the US teams play at their arenas and travel, or have hub cities/divisions where teams rotate between them through the course of the 50-56 games.

 

[IslesNorway]

With respect to expansion, a lot will depend on performance this season, health/injuries, internal prospect-player development, etc.

My gut is the Isles protect Mayfield's cap-friendly contract over Leddy, even if Leddy remains the better and "more important" player on the depth chart.

It is just the better outcome for the team and financial flexibility going forward. Especially if Aho and Bolduc progress, then it is a much easier call.

That said, I assume a lot of teams will use the 7-3-1 strategy, so the chances of Leddy being selected will be a bit lower with probably numerous quality defensemen exposed.

Most of whom will be a mix of cheaper cap hits or under team control for multiple seasons, which will (presumably) fit into Seattle's long-term plans.

Because of more teams potentially using the 7-3-1 protection scheme format, I also believe that if the Isles want to expose a pricey forward, like Eberle, Seattle might be a taker.

Odds are there will be less scoring options out there, so maybe it is a move where both teams benefit.

It will be something to keep an eye on throughout the season. At least the Isles appear to be in better shape this time, versus last time, and I assume Lou won't botch it like Snow.

I've said all along they should not go the 7-3-1 route but the eight skaters route instead. That way they will either lose a big (and bad) contract or lose someone insignifcant.
You protect Mayfield, Pelech, Pulock, Barzal, Beauvillier, Nelson, Pageau and one of Leddy, Lee and Eberle. No need to protect them all and if some team wants them, then it help us out of cap trouble.

 

[The Real JT]

I've said all along they should not go the 7-3-1 route but the eight skaters route instead. That way they will either lose a big (and bad) contract or lose someone insignifcant.
You protect Mayfield, Pelech, Pulock, Barzal, Beauvillier, Nelson, Pageau and one of Leddy, Lee and Eberle. No need to protect them all and if some team wants them, then it help us out of cap trouble.

I like your list but I don't see Leddy's deal being attractive to Seattle. With that in mind, why not go 7-3-1? To be fair we don't have 7 eligible forwards worth protecting. That could give us flexibility for a trade.

8 skaters vs 7-3. I think it comes down to which of the following players are you willing to lose?
Leddy
Aho
Lee
Eberle
Bailey
Bellows
Koivula
Cizikas (UFA ?exempt)

This coming season should make the decision easier.

 

[buud]

I like your list but I don't see Leddy's deal being attractive to Seattle. With that in mind, why not go 7-3-1? To be fair we don't have 7 eligible forwards worth protecting. That could give us flexibility for a trade.

8 skaters vs 7-3. I think it comes down to which of the following players are you willing to lose?
Leddy
Aho
Lee
Eberle
Bailey
Bellows
Koivula
Cizikas (UFA ?exempt)

This coming season should make the decision easier.

if we would have kept Toews, we pretty well would have been forced to go 4 & 4. but with Toews gone, we can go 7 & 3.

Lee Bailey Barzal Beau Nelson Pageau Bellows
Pulock Pelech Mayfield

we lose either Eberle or Leddy, which will probably be necessary, given raises to Pelech, Beau, and Sorokin will be forthcoming.

 

[gordie43]

if we would have kept Toews, we pretty well would have been forced to go 4 & 4. but with Toews gone, we can go 7 & 3.

Lee Bailey Barzal Beau Nelson Pageau Bellows
Pulock Pelech Mayfield

we lose either Eberle or Leddy, which will probably be necessary, given raises to Pelech, Beau, and Sorokin will be forthcoming.

not that I would be thrilled to loose eberle, but if things play out like they should, wahlstrom should be ready to slot in.

 

[beach]

if we would have kept Toews, we pretty well would have been forced to go 4 & 4. but with Toews gone, we can go 7 & 3.

Lee Bailey Barzal Beau Nelson Pageau Bellows
Pulock Pelech Mayfield

we lose either Eberle or Leddy, which will probably be necessary, given raises to Pelech, Beau, and Sorokin will be forthcoming.

Trotz and Lou love Leddy. He'll be protected. If he is not, SEA will definitely grab him as he'd have one more year left on his deal and would then come cheaper at renewal based on age.

 

[beach]

I've said all along they should not go the 7-3-1 route but the eight skaters route instead. That way they will either lose a big (and bad) contract or lose someone insignifcant.
You protect Mayfield, Pelech, Pulock, Barzal, Beauvillier, Nelson, Pageau and one of Leddy, Lee and Eberle. No need to protect them all and if some team wants them, then it help us out of cap trouble.

Although it might make sense to do so, Lee will not be left unprotected.

 

[MJF]

I like your list but I don't see Leddy's deal being attractive to Seattle. With that in mind, why not go 7-3-1? To be fair we don't have 7 eligible forwards worth protecting. That could give us flexibility for a trade.

8 skaters vs 7-3. I think it comes down to which of the following players are you willing to lose?
Leddy
Aho
Lee
Eberle
Bailey
Bellows
Koivula
Cizikas (UFA ?exempt)

This coming season should make the decision easier.

I’d be happy to have Leddy , Eberle AND Bailey all get claimed

 

[The Real JT]

Trotz and Lou love Leddy. He'll be protected. If he is not, SEA will definitely grab him as he'd have one more year left on his deal and would then come cheaper at renewal based on age.

You might want to rethink your position.

If you believe they'll protect Leddy and Lee, then your list would be:

8 skaters: Pelech, Pulock, Leddy, Mayfield, Barzal, Beau, Nelson, JGP, Lee.
Well, that's actually 9 so be prepared to lose one of those forwards or go to a 7-3 list and be prepared to lose Mayfield.

Leddy is a better player but his cap hit and Mayfield's bargain deal will leave Leddy exposed IMO.

Too early of course to know for sure. There could be trades, injuries or an outlying over/underperformance that alters the list.

 

[Satan'sIsland81]

if we would have kept Toews, we pretty well would have been forced to go 4 & 4. but with Toews gone, we can go 7 & 3.

Lee Bailey Barzal Beau Nelson Pageau Bellows
Pulock Pelech Mayfield

we lose either Eberle or Leddy, which will probably be necessary, given raises to Pelech, Beau, and Sorokin will be forthcoming.

There is no way we are protecting Bellows over Eberle. That is absurd.

 

[CREW99AW]

I still think Varly goes in expansion.

I agree on Thompson, felt silly being critical of him when last year our top 4 was homegrown talent.

I have been underwhelmed with the development of Nino, MDC and even Strome. Three top 5 draft picks. I think all have spent time in Bridgeport and none have lived up to their draft day billing.
That Sound Tiger coaching staff has to take some of the blame.

 

[CREW99AW]

There is no way we are protecting Bellows over Eberle. That is absurd.

Isles will desperately need Seattle to take one of their more expensive contracts to help ease next off-season's cap crunch.

I would love that player to be Eberle. Or even Lee.I love Lee, but that 7 yr/$49m deal isn't gonna age well. Someone posted that Lee & Ebs both have poison pills built in their contracts. For the 2021-2022 season Lee will make $9m and Eberle $7m.

Expose them both.I doubt Seattle takes either.

 

[danteipp]

If I had to make a prediction right now, I would say Aho might be the "wildcard" with respect to the Isles protection scheme chosen.

A couple years ago, Aho and Toews waged a fairly close battle in camp and preseason games, before Toews ultimately claimed the spot.

Aho should be NHL ready, is signed to a cheap contract for two seasons and has some offensive ability.

This is purely speculation, based on his talent and opportunity playing in a Trotz system, but he could force the Isles to make a tough call.

Thankfully the Isles (should/hopefully) have a year to make a call. The NHL playing next season will be critical for lots of teams, so they have as much data as possible to get the decision right.

 

[YearlyLottery]

I have been underwhelmed with the development of Nino, MDC and even Strome. Three top 5 draft picks. I think all have spent time in Bridgeport and none have lived up to their draft day billing.
That Sound Tiger coaching staff has to take some of the blame.

Strome came up though and impressed his first season and a half. I have not hated how our prospects have come up from Bridgeport to be quite honest. Toews is another player who came up and impressed instantly.

Guys like MDC were never impressive. MDC did not make Team Canada either and that was before he hit Bridgeport. Nino was scoring quite well in Bridgeport but Snow was messing around with him promising him the NHL role and then just traded him.

In many cases I think we saw guys like Quine who came up in a pinch, produced quite well, and then our awful coaching staff threw him on a line with JT and decided that was where he should go.

I am not saying that the Bridgeport coaching staff is perfect, but some of these guys the Islanders drafted were just busts and some of them looked good coming out of Bridgeport and then Cappy/Weight ruined them.

 

[CREW99AW]

Strome came up though and impressed his first season and a half. I have not hated how our prospects have come up from Bridgeport to be quite honest. Toews is another player who came up and impressed instantly.

Guys like MDC were never impressive. MDC did not make Team Canada either and that was before he hit Bridgeport. Nino was scoring quite well in Bridgeport but Snow was messing around with him promising him the NHL role and then just traded him.

In many cases I think we saw guys like Quine who came up in a pinch, produced quite well, and then our awful coaching staff threw him on a line with JT and decided that was where he should go.

I am not saying that the Bridgeport coaching staff is perfect, but some of these guys the Islanders drafted were just busts and some of them looked good coming out of Bridgeport and then Cappy/Weight ruined them.

I am not asking for the Bridgeport staff to be perfect. Just be competent when asked to develop top forward prospects.
In 9 nhl seasons, Nino has topped 50 pts one time.
MDC is a big body, that doesn't do anything particularly well. Not an nhl goal scorer, not a bruiser.
Strome's the most productive of the three and I am wondering how much of that is getting to ride on Panarin's coattails.

 

[buud]

i think the reason that we haven't seen many prospects develop exceptionally well, is twofold. both scouting and development were average.

WERE. i can almost see the environment change, since LL & BT came aboard. i am not certain that either of them earned accolades of being best, but i do think they operate far above average. consistently.

they are undoubtedly the best combo in a while. i am enjoying this!

 

[MJF]

i think the reason that we haven't seen many prospects develop exceptionally well, is twofold. both scouting and development were average.

WERE. i can almost see the environment change, since LL & BT came aboard. i am not certain that either of them earned accolades of being best, but i do think they operate far above average. consistently.

they are undoubtedly the best combo in a while. i am enjoying this!

I’ve been saying it for years. The Islanders haven’t sent a forward prospect with top 6 potential to Bridgeport in years. Any stud forward we draft is going straight to the NHL or spending minimal time in the AHL.

 

[Tahoeblue]

if we would have kept Toews, we pretty well would have been forced to go 4 & 4. but with Toews gone, we can go 7 & 3.

Lee Bailey Barzal Beau Nelson Pageau Bellows
Pulock Pelech Mayfield

we lose either Eberle or Leddy, which will probably be necessary, given raises to Pelech, Beau, and Sorokin will be forthcoming.

I really would love to see what Bellows can do. We all know now why he wasn't on the playoffs roster. How will he react and how hungry will he be after the incident and not playing any meaningful hockey in 9-10 months? Can he slot in on the left side with JGP? Playing with a speedy center who can win draws, play against favorable d pairings and a player who is not afraid to shoot. It would nice to get a definitive answer this year if he would be worth protecting.

Not sure if he is a BT or LL type of player.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

I really would love to see what Bellows can do.

I think a lot of people probably know, but some maybe don't want to admit it.

See also, Josh Ho Sang.

 

[19 in a row]

I've said all along they should not go the 7-3-1 route but the eight skaters route instead. That way they will either lose a big (and bad) contract or lose someone insignifcant.
You protect Mayfield, Pelech, Pulock, Barzal, Beauvillier, Nelson, Pageau and one of Leddy, Lee and Eberle. No need to protect them all and if some team wants them, then it help us out of cap trouble.

Teams will choose the 8 skaters plus goalie over the 7-3-1 only if you are protecting 4 or more defensemen. There is no benefit unless you protect at least 4 D as you can already protect 3 D under 7-3-1 . I know you are just trying to expose big contracts but that also takes away the Isles chosing who they prefer to keep out of that group So in your scenario if they are going with 8 skaters it would have to be Barzal, Beau, Pageau, Nelson, Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield, and Leddy.

Things can change, but IMHO if they go 7-3-1 , there is no way you protect Eberle over Bailey. In an 8 skater scenario, Bailey, Eberle and Lee would likely all be exposed.

There is a chance that they would want to keep Leddy over Mayfield in a 7-3-1 , but if the draft were today I tend to agree with your first 7 skaters in both options (Barzal, Beau, Nelson, JGP, Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield). Things will change between now and then but the 7-3-1 vs 8 skaters to me boils down to whether you want to protect Lee & Bailey and one other forward (7-3-1) or Leddy (8 skaters). I would not be surprised to see Eberle exposed in both scenarios, but we will see..

 

[IslesNorway]

Lee is protected by his contract. No team would touch that with a ten foot pole. Mayfield's on one of the best deals in the entire league and has tremendous trade value for that alone. He has to be protected.

 

[PK Cronin]

 

[MJF]

Good god that's actually worse than the original fish sticks jersey, if such a thing is even possible.