Rumors/Speculation/Trade Talk - 2021-22 Pt. III - Free Agent Frenzy

[periferal]

I'll defend that deal - He overpaid Marleau to come to Toronto to mentor Mathews & Co. Dubas needed to trade him away bc of, well, we all know why and so far, it looks like Dubas made the error, not Lou. Lou brought adults in the room to guide those kids. If TOR just spent $5M on a D-man, everything is status quo, if not better...

What is this post...?

So Lou pays Marner for 3 years to mentor kids...Who 4 years later still haven't matured.

And Dubas gets the blame for needing to dump a 6M salary? Are you also blaming Lou now for dumping Ladd?

What a joke.

I like Lou, but he makes mistakes and the Marleau deal was one of them. We all know why he did it, but it didn't work out and hurt the team more than it helped.

 

[seafoam]

Isles linked to Saad, Tarasenko, and Palmieri. Assuming Parise is brought into the fold, I wonder Beauvillier is being shopped for a LHD.

 

[Macch]

Some of these deals & rumored deals... sheesh

Seems like we should prep ourselves for the next lockout

 

[dlawong]

And thus why I said, "Bailey + something" for a D-man.

Most likely a 2022 2nd round pick as Seattle already has too many roster players and probably prefer picks to bolster their future rosters. Other teams also would want either another good roster player or picks as Isles do not have enough high ceiling prospects other teams may have eyes on.

With Seattle, they probably will prefer Beau to Bailey as Beau is younger and will fit their future core better. If Beau goes, then there should absolutely no add unless they are willing to take a cap dump.

 

[periferal]

Most likely a 2022 pick as Seattle already has too many roster players and probably prefer picks to bolster their future rosters.

Heck -

Make it a 2023 pick.

 

[SI]

Heard that Blues did not like what has been offered so far and wants to hold on to him longer so he can prove that he is healthy enough to play in order to get better return on the market. This means Isles will need to either throw in a 1st round pick or return a top 6 forward. Will Blues like Bails enough or would Isles willing to part with him? Also I doubt Blues want to retain much salary so Isles will have to let someone else go (maybe like Casey) in order to resign Beau, Pelech, Sorokin and a replacement LHD for this year. This is especially true if they are also onto Palms and Parise???. I do prefer Tank coming here instead of Landy because he is better at scoring (if healthy) and his contract only last 2 more years so there will be enough cap room left to resign Dobson and Barzal down the road. However with Ebs, Bails both gone, should Tanks not able to play as expected then the goal scoring will suffer and with Casey gone the defense will also suffer. Think Isles need to get some insurance by acquiring a prospect with some scoring potential coming back either in the same deal or a different one.

Seeing that both 2022 and 2023 are strong drafts both with some high end players and Isles did not pick in 1st round last couple of seasons, I think Lou will be very reluctant to trade their 1st round away this year and will only reluctantly do so at trading deadline if absolutely required.

I don’t think a number 1 is coming back to the Blues for Tank. I can see them trying to convince Tank to hang around to prove he is healthy, But the player wants OUT and this could be Armstrong posturing heading to the free agency window to get the best deal for the team.

 

[Islander Prophet]

Im starting to lean more and more towards letting Cizikas walk. Tbh i dont mind Panik playing on the 4th line, he is cheap and plays well enough imo

im on the fence regarding Palmieri; I like him but not if it means we need to overpay

 

[periferal]

Of course it will never happen, but if Lou was willing to go north of 4.5-5M for Cizikas then he should go and sign Danault. He scores more than Casey and the dude can play defense - And is 2 years younger.

 

[Islander Prophet]

Of course it will never happen, but if Lou was willing to go north of 4.5-5M for Cizikas then he should go and sign Danault. He scores more than Casey and the dude can play defense - And is 2 years younger.

I dont even sign Cizikas at anything more than 3M tbh..

 

[IslandersFan17]

Again, four years, harddddddddd pass. Not at 37 years old coming off a down year.

 

[doublechili]

Some of these deals & rumored deals... sheesh

Seems like we should prep ourselves for the next lockout

I read that Zibanejad may be looking for 8x $10 mil on his next deal - insane if true! That was per the HB NYR blogger, FWIW.

 

[periferal]

I dont even sign Cizikas at anything more than 3M tbh..

3.5M is my max, but I agree.

 

[saintunspecified]

I really think this is a time for patience, and priorities. Some of the things that are getting thrown around right now are downright silly. 4 years on a 35+ y/o contract for Suter? No way. 4M+ for Cizikas? No. If Palmieri wants much more than what Eberle had left on his contract, *wait*. Take care of Pelech, Sorokin, and then be patient.

 

[SI]

3.5M is my max, but I agree.

This is the highest - I might even walk away at 3.5 as much as I love Casey.

I’d point to Lowry deal 5y/3 aav. The highest I’d go.

 

[doublechili]

At the end of the day I trust Lou/Trotz. They know not just the stuff that we know, but they also know their own locker room, the kinds of personalities and players they want to fit into the team's style, what we need to take the next step, and what certain players on other teams are like and whether they'd fit in with "Islander hockey". From a purely fantasy standpoint, we could probably make a deal with AZ to get Ghost and Kessel for Leo, Hickey, MDC and maybe a pick, and our PP would improve drastically. But would they fit in and be a net positive?

Random thought: we expect Parise to be announced on the 28th, but the funny thing is that he did walk on Lou in 2012 when he left NJ and signed with MIN. I guess Lou is more Michael Corleone than Sonny?

 

[duster19]

3.5M is my max, but I agree.

Bennett deal going to make it tougher.

 

[Satan'sIsland81]

This team has an issue motivating its top two highest paid players, then Suter gets added to that mix. Brilliant move Dallas.

And quite frankly I don’t think Dallas is close to contending. Suter at this point in his career should be looking to finally win a cup. He’s made more than enough money, if all he cares about is the term and money then I don’t want him.

 

[boredmale]

And quite frankly I don’t think Dallas is close to contending. Suter at this point in his career should be looking to finally win a cup. He’s made more than enough money, if all he cares about is the term and money then I don’t want him.

Could just be he wants stability that wherever he signs he will stay there till he retires

 

[Throttle]

And quite frankly I don’t think Dallas is close to contending. Suter at this point in his career should be looking to finally win a cup. He’s made more than enough money, if all he cares about is the term and money then I don’t want him.

This was my original issue with him - he doesn't seem like he's motivated to win. He's not sacrificing anything to 'win' - he's just playing and maximizing his cash - that's ok, but not a guy Isles want around.

 

[xECK29x]

This was my original issue with him - he doesn't seem like he's motivated to win. He's not sacrificing anything to 'win' - he's just playing and maximizing his cash - that's ok, but not a guy Isles want around.

That's my read too, he is looking to be made whole on that original contract, I'm not interested at all at any cost paying him until he is 41.

 

[Throttle]

Could just be he wants stability that wherever he signs he will stay there till he retires

At his age and end of his career, stability is a wild card for him. Look at all the guys in that late stage where life gets upended to seek to win or stay in the game.

 

[MJF]

...And what if they add Landeskog once Tarasenko is dealt?

End of day...Binnington stole them that Cup. They're an ok team, but if e wants to stand on his head again I guess anything is possible.

Waiting for the one year wonder to live up to the contract he anchored the Blues to is not a recipe for success.

 

[Throttle]

What is this post...?

So Lou pays Marner for 3 years to mentor kids...Who 4 years later still haven't matured.

And Dubas gets the blame for needing to dump a 6M salary? Are you also blaming Lou now for dumping Ladd?

What a joke.

I like Lou, but he makes mistakes and the Marleau deal was one of them. We all know why he did it, but it didn't work out and hurt the team more than it helped.

He gave him a 3yr deal as SJ only offered a 2yr deal. Seems like Marleau's contributions worked for the on ice production. TOR had plenty of cap space until...well, they signed JT and flubbed their own RFA deals. That was the end of Marleau and all of those moves were 100% on Dubas. Dubas felt the team didn't need Marleau (and also Babcock...) and years later, well, Dubas is/was wrong. Dubas needed to dump salary because HE spent it already. I mean you spend money knowing you going to be over the cap and have to move a body, gee that 38yr old making ~$6M might not have a market - yes, that's on him, not Lou.

 

[scott99]

And quite frankly I don’t think Dallas is close to contending. Suter at this point in his career should be looking to finally win a cup. He’s made more than enough money, if all he cares about is the term and money then I don’t want him.

Umm, they were in the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2019-20 season.

 

[TXNYI]

I dont even sign Cizikas at anything more than 3M tbh..

I'm sure Lou and Zeeker's agent have already talked ballpark. And with Lou protecting his linemates I still see him here and at center ice starting for the first game under contract for something somewhat reasonable.

But, saying that....if they both had a gentleman's agreement on a range and Casey looks at some of these inflated numbers and comes back way out of that range.....he and everyone else knows what Lou will do....he'll cut bait and won't look back. So, don't see Casey doing that unless he REALLY wants to get a couple more million dollars.