@GreenLanternJet
Clone Tavares 24 times. #Isles
CR WDSOURCED
@VMG1014
Find someone to take a prospect or 2 (not Strome) for a legit NHL defenseman
@mdamore4
Explore trade for G. Ideally, Ryan Miller, but an injured 38 yr old & an inexperienced 23 yr old is a bad mix. Find happy medium.
@JM_from_NJ
Trade grabner and a prospect for a d-man and bring up Strome. Try to pry away Hiller or another goalie.
kear20
Would trade for Hiller of Anaheim for either Bailey, Bouchard or Grabner, trade for Tim Gleason maybe for a draft pick...
@Android311
A veteran defensman
Ok... lets play a game. I'm putting something together: Play GM and give me 1 TWEET of changes to make for the #isles after 24 gms? Go...
@Pjmcentee
acquire Gretzky, maybe Bobby Orr, hire Al Arbour, relive the dynasty years
@yuhas9797
Attempt to upgrade the defense
@TravisReilly
Fire Carkner & Boulton into outer space, stop scratching Nelson. Try and trade for a solid D man. #Isles
@christriants
I'd go into the locker room, line the players up, and tell them "turn around." Problem solved.
@MichaelWillhoft
As GM: hold a press conference, show up wearing a shirt that says #FreeStrome, refuse to answer questions, watch the world burn.
@Tartmaster
Honestly there's no easy fix. Nothing you can reasonably do to fix the situation without giving up way too much.
@libretti91
what I would do as GM is fire jack capuano as soon as possible and put a squirrel behind bench because it can probably do better.
@SDoreson
Trade for Ryan Miller, bring up Strome, trade for Top 4 Defenseman.
@NYIslesFans
PRAY
@DJ_Bly
sit tight and review after home stand. However, vet presence is req on back end. Ness, Hickey, Donovan too similar-
philosophy/desire by the Islanders can be seen just this year when they dealt impending UFA and fan favorite Matt Moulson for the elite-level forward Vanek, despite that there was severe risk of the former Buffalo Sabre wanting to go to free agency.
Don't be foolish to think the Islanders were making this deal naive and dull to that fact. After all, isn't this the team the could not keep Ryan Smyth? This team that saw other players go to free agency. Let us be serious now.
However, also don't think the Islanders were not ready to offer competitive cash either for Vanek. As I said on twitter to Newsday's report of a lowball offer of 7 years and 50 million, that is not the case according to an NHL source. Same goes for the NY Post report of 7/49. However despite words from the source that both are incorrect and the offer was "enormous", I am unable to get the numbers actually offered. Since the amount and conjecture on offers really does start to get moot when Vanek himself has said money has less importance and also that he wants to see what free agency will bring.
However, as I mentioned, this was a considered scenario and anticipated by the Islanders.
1. if Vanek did agree to a deal, they had the elite forward they coveted.
2. If he desired free agency, despite the picks the Isles gave Buffalo, they now had a player who should reap B-level help for now and perhaps A level one or two prospects given by a playoff contender who was aiming to "win now" at all cost.
Now let us address the Matt Moulson factor....
So there seems to be this assumption by fans and even the media at large that he is someone the Islanders could/should sign for the long haul.
Not so fast.
Moulson on the Sabres is no longer a point a game player. He was on the Islanders, making him hyped by fans to the gills. But seems that almost 25-27% was an increase in playing with Tavares. He is 30 years old, and considered by some to be past his peak numbers and output. After all, the peak realm for hockey players are in the 26-30 year range.
Yes, Vanek is 30 also, but there are substantial differences. Vanek is a better skater, better 5 on 5, defensively able, and a higher head for the game. It's the difference between a player who is capable to chalk up numbers on weak teams (add in P.A. Paranteau as another example), and a player who has the skill-set to be able to chip in on better teams, to which the islanders are hoping to be in the next year or two, despite this years step backward. Vanek is a point a game player on any team.
I am sorry to say, despite Moulson's wealth of good vibrations and the fan favoritism, there were issues with his play that tends to get swept under the rug by fans and media all too often. Maybe because we like to attach some dynasty comparisons because of the friendship with JT, or the comparable to those of yesteryear. Whether it was in the latter half of last season where the 2nd line had to come up big instead, or how he was out-muscled/out-played in close games of consequence like the playoffs. Or how even this season he fell of the first line.
Yesteryear was a different day and age, and this is the cap era. So here is the bare truth that most fans are not going to want to hear....
Ladies and gentleman....
The Islanders were not going to swing big money at Matt Moulson leading to be a likely scenario he would seek free agency just as PA did. This is why they swung this deal, to have a guy they felt was worth swinging big money to, in Vanek. And if they failed, they had an elite forward instead of a B+ forward to attempt trade off those picks he cost for players/prospects that could bridge the time-gap.
There you go. There it is in a nutshell, like it or not.
Would the Islanders be willing to deal a core player? No. Moulson wasn't going to be locked up with the big money he and his agent were expecting. There was going to be disappointment, no different than what happened with PA and Streit. Then they would be gone for nothing.
I will go one step further....
If the Vanek deal had not happened, I have NO doubt that Matt Moulson, especially with no playoff spot to be attained, would have been traded by this deadline.
Sorry folks. If you look at the Islanders key players and core guys locked up longterm, they are under 30 or A-type players.
This is why the trade was sought, and likely had Moulson as a chip back when they were chasing Bobby Ryan (and another other forward) The players who can play well NOT just on weak teams but on rising teams is coveted and they are willing to pay the big money for.
All this does not help or assuage the fact of the awful season or glaring deficiencies that need to be filled on this team. But just maybe the Islanders were looking for the home run, but also willing to accept the extra bases as both plays with Vanek had potential to put points on the board....
Unfortunately Isles fans are left with perhaps a player, a prospect or two, and a pick AND the many gaps the team has yet to fill.
Patience might be a virtue, but Isles fans should be recognized for some sort of sainthood.
by B.D. GALLOF