2 weeks Ago
The Islanders had a game on Tuesday, but that’s not where everyone’s focus lies now. They are missing the playoffs for the second time in four seasons, having won just three playoff games in the years sandwiched between those two trips to the lottery. You all have questions about what’s to come after the season finale on Thursday.
Advertisement We’ll start this mailbag with questions about a crowded defense corps, who might be traded, future contracts for Noah Dobson and Alex Romanov, and lots of questions about Lou Lamoriello and his future here. Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length. Where do you estimate Dobson and Romanov coming in on their new contracts this summer in terms of AAV? — Anton N.
Despite Dobson’s lousy season, he still has some value as a 25-year-old top-four defenseman. Maybe we’re not looking at an eight-year extension worth $10 million per any more, given his performance this season, but perhaps a 4- to 5-year deal worth $7.5 million to $8 million instead.
If the Islanders can get medium-term under $8 million AAV, that’s probably a win for them. I could see them going long with Romanov, whose game still has lots of room to grow. If they went to 6 to 7 years at around $6.
5 million to $7 million AAV, that might be a decent deal for both sides. Anything on the shorter side probably comes in around $6 million AAV for Romanov. The defense needs a facelift at the forwards.
Who do you see the Islanders moving in the summer? — Doug F. I can hazard a guess at who the Islanders will try to move and who they might end up moving, since those are different groups. Scott Mayfield is the main defenseman they’ll try to move but with five years left on his deal and a full no-trade clause, that seems like a non-starter.
Same with Ryan Pulock, who also has five years left and a full NTC for the next two years. Adam Pelech might be the one veteran that the Isles could move. He has a 16-team no-trade list and four years left.
But of those three, Pelech is probably the one you want to keep, so that’s a complicating factor. There would be many suitors for Dobson or Romanov, though it’s hard to see them getting equal value back from trading either one, much less equal value on defense to fill their spots. Advertisement Any rumblings on a possible Tony DeAngelo extension? He’s been a pleasant surprise in an otherwise brutal season for the D corps.
Still relatively young too. — Helder C. DeAngelo has been pretty good, with his usual offensive production (19 points in 33 games) coupled with acceptable defensive work and, maybe most important, zero off-ice issues.
Considering he was ready to retire when he returned from the KHL without a job in January, a one-year extension for minimal guaranteed money might be of interest unless he’d like to take a shot at seeing what the other 31 teams say. What is the direction of the D corps? It feels like between Dobson, Romanov and Isaiah George, they have a decent base to go along with the elder statesmen. With the additions of TDA, Adam Boqvist and Scott Perunovich that may or may not be short term, there are too many guys in the room.
— Christopher Z. There are, and if you’re reading between the lines on acquiring two guys who are restricted free agents (Perunovich and Boqvist), you might see that Lamoriello is committed to moving at least one of the over-30 group out. The likeliest way to do that is by buying out Mayfield.
The fact that he’s barely played while healthy the last two months is a sign his time could be up, and there’s no realistic way to trade him with that contract. Moving Pulock, Pelech or Dobson would be tougher to replace. Here’s what I’d think next year’s D corps looks like as of now: • Romanov-Dobson • George-Pulock • Pelech-DeAngelo • Perunovich We’ll see how many of those I get wrong! If they retain Lou as GM, what reasons do you anticipate them using to justify keeping him? — Sean C.
I think Scott Malkin genuinely likes Lamoriello and believes in the job he’s done. Malkin isn’t the only owner, but he’s the decision-maker, so even if it’s only that reason, it’s his call. Advertisement My understanding is Lamoriello operates on a year-to-year basis, and he’s been the one to make that call in previous years.
Not sure if that’s the case now, but if the Islanders were preparing to make a change, it likely would be well beyond the planning stages now. If he stays — and I’ve gotten no indication he’s leaving — it’s also likely because Malkin and his fellow minority owners (Jon Ledecky, John Collins, et al.) couldn’t put a succession plan in place in a realistic time frame.
Is there a “plan” for post-Lou? (Seems like there should be?) — Allison D. There surely is, but if it’s not happening this offseason then it’s probably quite fluid. We have to see who’s available next summer that may not be now, where the team goes next season, all kinds of variables.
It doesn’t take a deep insider to tell you that Malkin and the owners have talked about it plenty. You just aren’t putting it into action before Lamoriello is told what’s going to happen, and if he’s running the show for another year, no owner is going to undermine their GM that way. What do you make of the Anthony Duclair comments from Patrick Roy and the decision to send him home ? Any chance this becomes a larger issue over the summer? — Zach S.
Unfortunate from Roy, but I think even Duclair knows this has been about as bad a first season as he could have had. Not much to be done about the groin injury, but he wasn’t effective in the least after his return when the Islanders needed a top-sixer to chip in. I would think Duclair will be back and ready to go in September.
There’s really no other options besides Duclair asking for his contract to be terminated, so we’ll see if a few months away clears the slate for everyone. How would you address the AHL developmental needs? It seems Bridgeport is consistently towards the bottom of the league, and though they have signed some AHL veterans, we have few, if any, prospect developments. William Dufour seemed like the next top-six-type forward to develop, and he fizzled out at the AHL Level, as did Aatu Raty.
Is it drafting or development? — Garrett F. Raty could have been decent for the Islanders, but he was traded. Hard to call him a bust of any kind.
Dufour was a fifth-round pick — that’s basically a scratch-off lottery ticket. The big errors were the high picks. Kieffer Bellows in 2016, Oliver Wahlstrom in 2018.
But I digress. Bridgeport just finished a historically bad season and while the AHL Islanders don’t have much to work with, four home wins is abysmal. The organization needs better prospects to develop and those are seemingly coming.
Calum Ritchie will be here in September, with Quinn Finley, Danny Nelson and Cole Eiserman likely coming in 2026. We’ll see who’s in charge then and what sort of plans change for those kids. Even without making changes now, once the Islanders find a new GM in the future, the scouting and development teams will need a thorough examination.
I think things will be different. Would the Isles have Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal together next year or have them 1C and 2C? And Ritchie as 3C? Since it’s easier to acquire wingers, split them and have Casey Cizikas as 4C? – Gina B. I think so.
Barzal certainly could become the No. 2 center if Ritchie (or an unnamed addition) can’t win that job, but I think the ideal alignment has Barzal on the wing with Horvat. You’re also assuming a J-G Pageau trade that may or may not happen.
I think, if Ritchie starts in the AHL or on the wing, you’re looking at Horvat/Barzal/Cizikas/Kyle MacLean down the middle at the moment if you trade Pageau. Without knowing whether Ritchie is a sure thing to make the roster and play center, I do wonder if the Pageau situation gets kicked down the road a bit. Advertisement With Pierre Engvall and Mayfield being buyout candidates, do you think Engvall did enough at the end of the season to give him another chance, or do you see Lou pulling the trigger on one or both of those, followed by a couple of trades? Do other GMs hold the upper hand on Lou due to knowing how he operates and the dire need of the team to upgrade? Will other GMs make him overpay to unload or acquire roster players? — Steven J.
I do not, no. Engvall showed the last 20 games what he needed to show the previous 140 or so. That’s not enough for me, especially when the Islanders still don’t have enough on the wing in the bottom six.
I’d rather buy him out and take a shot on a free agent. There’s lots of teams that are desperate to unload players this summer, so I doubt teams are targeting Lamoriello. If he’s set on trying to trade Engvall or Mayfield then yes, he’ll need to add assets.
If he’s looking to remake the roster, he’s one of a handful of GMs trying to do the same thing. In terms of off-ice operations, where are the Islanders on par with the league, and where are they lagging? And how do you see it impacting on-ice performance? – Anonymous Under Lamoriello, things are kept pretty quiet, as you know. The Islanders have one of the smallest executive teams in the league: two assistant general managers, a normal-sized scouting staff and very few advisors or other people at the decision-making level.
It’s Lou’s show. In terms of analytics, the Islanders have a five-person staff and contract for outside data collection and analysis, as many teams do. They don’t lag behind there.
The biggest difference between the Islanders and other teams is just the size of the hockey operations. And it all depends on who makes the final call — you can have the smallest front office in the league, and if you’re making good decisions, it doesn’t matter how many people there are. (Top photo of Noah Dobson: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images).
