I mean the Islanders lost their franchise player for free. Again, we might not be thrilled with some of the moves but at least we got something for Kane.
As for the Dahlin point, we don't know how the off-season would be different if we didn't draft him. I know a lot of people feel botterill would sit around and not attempt upgrade the defense, but we really don't know and it's dumb to criticize him for hypothetical non-moves.
The Islanders definitely did lose Tavares, but they still have Barzal who produced better than Eichel, have solid depth throughout their roster and have solid hockey management and coaching. Emotionally stun yes, a down turn next year, yes. But with the two first rounders this year, they could shape up just fine.
To your point on Dahlin, totally agree we have no idea what they would have done.
But realistically let’s say they had gotten the 3 overall, pick whoever, since nobody outside of svech and Dahlin are predicted to be ready for next year. So the ceiling is lower, and the timeline kicks down the road. And then you look at the d available and you realize, best case scenario you spent a boatload on de Haan, maybe. Or you trade O’Reilly for a top 4 d, basically extending the Scandella trade, just shifting talent, not adding.
It’s a rabbit hole from there on, but man, without the lotto luck, it’s really hard to see a pure positive that has come since Botts took over. In my mind, even if you think O’Reilly is Uber cancer, I think the best you can say is that Botts took a loss on talent for a year or two to protect the team long term.
Which could be good. Ehh, hard to be excited for this season, other than blind hope that rookies come in and dominate, and that the domination could only happen in a O’Reilly free zone.