How Should the New York Islanders Free Up Cap Space Ahead of the NHL Draft and Free Agency?

How Should the New York Islanders Free Up Cap Space Ahead of the NHL Draft and Free Agency?

the time is Drawing Near and the New York Islanders still have to free up some cap space but who are the best players to move and what’s the best way to do it we’ll break it all down for you today all that and more on today’s locked on Islanders podcast your locked on Islanders your daily podcast on the New York Islanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team every every day welcome everybody to the Thursday edition of the locked on Islanders podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I want to thank everyone who makes lockon Islanders your first listen every day don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast so you can get new episodes as soon as they drop today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply we have got a lot to discuss as we get closer and closer to the NHL draft and free agency but first if there’s something Islanders related on your mind if you have a question a comment maybe a topic you’d like us to discuss on a future episode you can email us at lockon Islanders gmail.com and if you leave your first name and where you’re from we’re happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever’s on your mind you can also follow the show on X at lockon is and you could follow me gil Martin on X at ice Wars nyr vsny we’ll keep you up to date on all things Islanders all season long and during the offseason that means hirings firings trade rumors free agency and the draft and if it’s happening to the New York Islanders we’ll have it for you here on the lock on Islanders podcast it’s always great to talk a little Islanders hockey with you game time or anytime we are rapidly approaching the draft and free agency the draft Friday and Saturday free agency Monday we know a couple of things heading into this very important next 10 days or so for all 32 NHL teams but especially the New York Islanders we know that Patrick W wants some changes to this roster wants players who fit his system a little bit better who can be positionally sound on defense and be smart with the puck who can be aggressive on the puck on the four check and use a little more speed to get to the puck carrier and force them into mistakes and then Counterattack off those mistakes we know that this team and every dayers you’ve heard me say it for a long long time this team needs to get get younger faster and more skilled we know that this team needs at least one but realistically two top six forwards one to play on that Top Line with Matthew barzal and Bo Horvat and then one to fit on the second line along with Brock Nelson and Kyle palmary we also know the Islanders don’t have a lot of cap space to fill either of those needs and we know that goal scorers and offensive-minded players in particular they cost a lot of money we also know the Islanders have not ever in their history signed a big ticket Elite free agent on the unrestricted free agent Market it just hasn’t happened there’s been many reasons for it over the years I don’t expect it to happen this year either so realistically that means that if you want to get that top six goal scorer or two trade is really the best option out there for Lou larell and the New York Islanders you want to get better you got to trade and the way that L larell has typically done things is you trade for a guy with usually a year or maybe a little less than a year if it’s at the trade deadline left on their contract they come to Long Island they integrate into the team they see how good Long Island is place to live nice Community close-knit team great facilities and then they sign a lengthy extension usually for too much term too much money and a no trade clause and that has been true of team of players like bohor Vette who is a top six legitimate guy and Pierre engal who you know they tried to put in the top six but realistically he is a third line type of player when push comes to shove both those guys got you know the long extension the no trade clause or modified no trade clause and on we go if l larell wants to make a trade and again I think or if he wants to sign a free agent is ult as that would be for the Islanders got to free up cap space and remember the Islanders have a little more than $5 million right now in cap space and yet you know they still have to see if they’re going to resign their own guys you know they sign Kyle mlan that was a step in the right direction you still have to sign Sim Holstrom you still have to see whether you’re going to resign Oliver walstrom rousan iskakov uh Sebastian AO you still want to see if you’re going to resign Mike Riley there are guys out there Robert borzo who you got to make a decision on you have 5.8 million in cap space assuming you even sign two or three of those guys you don’t have enough space to go out and land the big fish the two players who have been mentioned the most as far as trades are concerned are JG pasio and Anders Lee these are the guys who the the team could part with without doing too much damage now Pou useful guy on the third line penalty killer Faceoff specialist good defensively his offensive contributions have really diminished over the last two or three years there has been a steady downward trajectory to his offensive production he’s got a $5 million cap hit he’s on the books for this year and 2025 2026 he’s on the wrong side of 30 the odds of him bouncing back offensively not great you buy out out pageo you save 2.5 million Andrew Lee $7 million cap hit for the next two seasons he would also be a buyout candidate you’d save 3.45 million if you buy him out out of those two I think you can get more for pageo in a trade Lee because he makes more money and only gave you 20 goals is slow a foot I I I think you’re talking about a situation where Anders Lee just doesn’t have a lot of trade value unless the Islanders either M retain salary and or sweeten the deal for the other team the buyout window closes June 30th which is Sunday at 5 o’clock Eastern time so the I owners have between now and Sunday evening to decide what to do as far as the buyout goes keep in mind you want to make a trade rather than a buyout if you can but do the Islanders have what other teams are looking for in a trade the Islanders don’t have a very deep Prospect pool we know that they’re right near the bottom we also know that they they just don’t have you know guys who a lot of teams would be interested in who they would want to part with you have you want to get the biggest return for your buck trade Brock Nelson that would be the biggest return for your buck as far as uh you know ammunition other guys you could trade Casey cus available but not going to save a lot of money trading Casey he’s a heart and soul guy I don’t think that’s the best way to go and then you know you have Adam pelic and Ryan Pollock but both of them have full no trade Clauses through the end of this coming season so they would have to wave those and also I do think that they are a little on the overpaid Side based on their health and productivity over the last couple of years and then you know Kyle palmary again you trade Nelson or or palmary you’re trying to add because you don’t have enough top six forwards those guys are top six forwards so yeah you you could trade Kyle palmary or Brock Nelson but you better get a big return especially for Nelson because without the big return you’re subtracting in the very area you’re trying to add Kyle palmary I think would make more sense to trade now he’s got a $5 million cap hit Brock has six I don’t think pal Mar will equal that 30 goal Mark again he’s on the wrong side of 30 he has had trouble historically staying healthy although he did play all 82 games this past year so you know overall I I if you’re going that way you know pal Mar might make sense but again you you you want to uh make sure you get back more than what you’re giving up and that is always part of the issue so we’ll we’ll sort of break down what I think the Islanders should do but that lays out the situation and I’ll tell you right now plain and simple upfront straightforward the one thing I don’t want to hear from Lou larell over the next two weeks it takes two teams to make a trade we tried to make an offer but there was nobody there to accept it we uh you know we we will not make a trade unless we feel it will improve this team and then he sits on his hands and nothing changes I could tell you right now that’s not fair to Patrick W that’s not fair to the players on this team and that’s not fair to the fans of the New York Islanders who deserve a team that is doing everything it can over the short term and longterm to build a winner I will discuss what I think L larell should do we’ll break that down we’ll have that and a lot more coming up on today’s locked on Islanders podcast including a draft profile of eigor uh chernishov and for Islanders birthday of the day a goalie who won well three Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders as the backup to Billy Smith we’ll talk about that and a lot more coming up on today’s locked on Islanders podcast today’s episode is brought to you by game time game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier and prices on game time actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch they have killer last minute deals all in prices and you get their lowest price guarantee so game time takes the guest work out of buying MLB tickets my favorite feature on game time is the view from your seat you go on the app and you get a panoramic view of what you’re going to see from your seat before you purchase the tickets so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive take the guest work out of buying MLB tickets with game time just download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code l c k e d o n NHL for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day have to turn down the volume with all that shouting make the switch to locked on sports today a free 247 sports streaming Channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming locked on sports today brings you can’t miss anal is opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so what should the Islanders do I think they should trade JG Paso if they have to throw in a pick to get it done one of the two seconds I don’t want to have to go there but I’d rather do that than retain salary because you want to free up as much cap space as you can I would make that deal uh move on from Paso I like JG Paso he’s a useful player he’s a good player but right now based on where this lineup look what it looks like where the depth is where the strengths and weaknesses are to me he’s Expendable and then I would try to trade Anders Lee but if I couldn’t find any takers I would buy out the captain and that’s not a knock on Anders Lee as a person it’s not a knock on what he’s meant to this team over the years but at this point in his career Anders Ley is not worth anywhere near the $7 million a year he’s getting paid and when you need cap space you can’t have guys who are not living up to their where their production doesn’t match the cap space Andrew Lee is no longer a top six forward he is a third liner or fourth liner realistically a third liner 20 goals solid in that respect uh for a third liner for a second liner kind of on the low side you can’t keep up with the barzel and and and Horvat of the league anymore you’re getting diminishing returns and he’s got two years left on his contract I would even throw an Oliver walstroms rights in a trade if I could uh to give Wall-E a chance to succeed somewhere else and maybe to entice a team and maybe save that second round one of those second round picks but to me I would try to trade them both I think you’ll get a taker for Paso and then if you can’t get a taker for Anders Lee as a last resort buy him out you do that you’re freeing up about eight8 point .3 million in cap space and then you can build from there uh you could add one really good player it would give you about what 1213 million total cap space you’d still have to resign your home strums and your uh you know those guys who you want to keep give you room to add one really good player if you could pull off that trade or two sort of middle middle kind of guys uh who you know like a duclair uh you could add two second line type guys plug one of them into the first line and go from there so uh to me you got to do something the one thing you can’t do is sit and rest on your laurels and say I’m happy with this core Lou specifically did not say that this time when he spoke to the media and I think that’s important but now he’s got to actually do more than just say it or not say it he’s got to do something about it we’re going to see what happens by the way uh you know every day or yesterday on the show we broke down the Athletics ratings for where the Islanders were for centers Wingers and defenseman well goalies came out now and like I said yesterday the Islanders really set at goalie and the athletic agrees they ranked third in the league in goendale ranked them quality wise in the 95th percentile saying they were still high on elas aokin as a franchise caliber goalie despite the drop off in his performance last season and barley one of the best backups in the league both are signed long term and both they said are huge reasons why the Islanders keep making the playoffs uh even with the gaps obviously in the other aspects of their lineup so by the way the only two teams ahead of the Islanders at number one the Winnipeg Jets at number two the New York Rangers behind them Nashville Boston Vancouver those were your top six but uh good to see the Islanders ranking third and I think that that’s about where they belong and if soken can have a bounceback season I I I think realistically you can get the Islanders back past the Rangers and maybe even past the Jets but uh right now the onew punch of uh soken and varlamov one of the best in the league and again as I said earlier this week on the show every day as you know one of the ways the Islanders can improve without changing their roster not that that’s enough but a big component you want to make the playoffs even if you do bring in that goal scorer Ilia soken must bounce back and be elite again he doesn’t have to match the the season he had two years ago where he was the second in the vzna voting but get back to being a top five goal League because he didn’t play like it this past year lots of reasons we’ll talk more about it in a future episode we talked about it in the past but realistically that is one of the keys to the Islander success going forward we have got more to get to on today’s show we will talk about draft prospect eigor chernishof plus we have our Islanders birthday of the day all that and more coming up on today’s lock on Islanders podcast lock on has launched the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel on YouTube and now it’s also available on Amazon Fire TV and the free Fire TV channels app locked on sports today is here for you 247 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every League find locked on sports today now available on the free Fire TV channels app so we continue our look at some players the Islanders could pick with the 20 th overall draft choice again we’ll keep doing this until draft day or if the Islanders trade the pick uh today we’re going Russian here uh we go with eigor chernishof a 6’2 192 pound Winger uh playing right now in the KHL for Moscow Damo uh played in 34 games had three goals Four Points nine penalty minutes was a minus three played in 10 playoff games but you know those numbers granted they don’t jump off the page but here’s a guy who played very well at the junior level in Russia and then moved up and did well played a regular shift for in the KHL against adults he is big he is powerful at 62 192 and is good oneon-one he is he is not overly physical yet but he knows how to use his size and his body to create offensive opportunities he knows how to control the play and has a lot of different Tools in his toolbox his compete level and his shot are probably two of the stronger aspects of his game is skating Puck skills and hockey sense are kind of rated in the average range he is a power forward and it’s not the only way you know he can push his way toward the front of the net and get the job done got a quick release which all always helps the shot but it’s not you know that that driving to the net thing is not the only aspect of his offensive game that gets points on the board and you know he’s got he can he can for check well he can get open he works hard he just looks already like a pro hockey player G to be a top nine player how he develops I think is going to be important it’s going to take time for him power forwards usually take a little bit longer than other players to develop because if you’re going to play that style in the NHL you need to be a little bit bigger you know you could play that style in juniors or in college or sometimes even in the AHL but you need more size to do it in the NHL I’d say he’s three years away from the NHL at this point uh the NHL player that a lot of Scouts have compared him to is Elia Mev but uh I I think he’s probably a top six more like a second line guy if things really break well for him he can get to be a top liner if they don’t break well for him he could be a solid third liner he’s 18 he’ll turn 19 in November let’s see if he could be a future New York Islander again a guy who could shoot the puck and create some offense and add some size and physicality as well I think he’d be a good pick for the Islanders at 20 but again we’ll see what Lou larell does and I think you know one other thing the fact that the Islanders do have a number of Russians on their team whether it’s Romanov or uh soken and vley and potentially hopefully uh you know that that that uh they keep a Skov all of that helps as well all right it is time for Islanders birthday of the day and uh Friday will be the 64th birthday of former Islanders goalie roley Milan the mon New Brunswick native third round pick of the Isles in 79 made his debut in 8081 for the Islanders was part of the last three Stanley Cup teams that the Islanders had was with the team through the beginning of the 8485 season later played for Minnesota La briefly one game for the New Jersey Devils and then briefly for the Canadians played through the 9394 season although his last NHL year was 9192 played in 291 regular season games had a career 364 goals against average and an 883 save percentage but remember most of his career was played in the 80s which was the most open offensive part of hockey and malanson again sort of a forgotten part of those three Islanders Stanley Cup winning teams one of his better games for the Islanders October 15th 1981 Islanders at the Coliseum hosting the Vancouver Canucks Glenn hanin the goalie for Vancouver Ry malanson the goalie for the Islanders and in this game the Islanders were outshot 41 to 36 but Roy the goalie making 40 saves that’s a 976 save percentage and uh only gave up one goal to Blair McDonald in the second period two goals by Wayne Merrick in this game two goals for Mike bossy Islanders beat Vancouver by a final score of 4 to1 and again a 40 save effort for Roland malanson and uh always good to talk about him he was just a a great goalie who started out as the backup to Billy Smith when they traded Chico R and then eventually sort of split time with Billy Smith before getting traded and uh you know he played well uh during parts of his NHL career and uh he is our Islanders birthday of the day I want to thank everyone who makes locked on Islanders your first listen every day every dayers tomorrow on the show we are going to take one last look at the Islanders before the draft and uh make sure you tune in to us on uh X and also we’ll be doing some short videos on draft day and I’ll basically also be talking on lock on NHL and we’ll be wrapping up you know talking about the Islanders pick and analyzing it we’ll get some videos up on YouTube make sure you join us for extensive Islanders and NHL Draft coverage here on the locked on podcast Network until tomorrow have a great day everybody stay safe and of course let’s go Islanders

With both the NHL Draft and free agency just a few days away, we discuss the best ways for the Isles to free up cap space in order to make some moves to make this team better.

Lou Lamoriello has to find ways to improve this team and that will mean trading away or buying out some players on the current roster to free up cap space. But who should go and should the Isles use trades or buyouts?

Plus, where do the Isles goalies rank in the league and we continue our draft profiles with Russian winger Igor Chernyshov.

All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.

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