The New York Islanders Sign Free Agent Forward Anthony Duclair to Fortify the Top Six

The New York Islanders Sign Free Agent Forward Anthony Duclair to Fortify the Top Six

the New York Islanders have signed a top six forward as a free agent it’s at reasonable terms and the player has played for Patrick W before we’ve got all that and a lot more on today’s locked on Islanders podcast you’re locked on Islanders your daily podcast on the New York Islanders part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and welcome everybody to the Tuesday edition of the lockon Islanders podcast part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day I want to thank everyone who makes lockdown 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 fanuel make every moment more as playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started we have got a lot to discuss on today’s show 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 email us at locked on 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 it is that’s on your mind you could also follow the show on X lockon Isles and you could follow me gil Martin on X at ice Wars nyr vsny will keep you up to date on all things Islanders all year long during the offseason that’s firings firings free agency the draft and trade rumors and uh we’ve got a little bit of almost all of those things on today’s show and it’s always great to talk Islanders hockey with you game time or anytime so the big news and there was a lot of news today uh today was the start of or Monday was the start of NHL free agency and to the surprise of many people the Islanders actually made a couple of moves the big move was the signing of free agent forward Anthony duclair duclair inking according to cat fredley because remember the Islanders never actually include you know release their the details of the contracts that they sign with any player or coach or front office person but Anthony duclair according to cap friendly signs a 4-year 14 million ion doll deal with the New York Islanders that is three5 a million doll per year aav so that’s the cap hit and to be honest with you this is a solid deal for the New York Islanders and look I am not going to sit here and say that Anthony duclair takes the Islanders from a fringe playoff team to a top Stanley Cup contender he doesn’t but does he make this team better this year absolutely every dayers you’ve heard me say time and time again that this team needs to add two top six forwards ideally in order to in order to get its offense and power play closer to where we want it to be well they added one and and maybe again the key word here is maybe uh they have already added another if you basically count the you know the addition of sov who the Islanders signed earlier in the off seon I if you put him in the equation then all of a sudden you’re talking about a team that that you know would have two new top six forwards now whether or not zlov pans out at the NHL level after playing well in the uh KHL that remains to be seen but duclair he is a player who adds experience but he is also still in his prime 28 years old and they sign him to a four-year deal that takes him through the the age of 32 maybe 33 since he will actually turn 29 next month end of August uh but still you are getting the rest of his prime before he really starts to slow down he’s been in the league for 10 years his career high in goals 31 in 74 games for the Florida Panthers in 2020 2021 he has gone over 20 goals also in 20 15 2016 uh with Arizona and this past year 24 goals in 73 games in time split between San Jose and Tampa Bay in 10 years he is already played for Arizona Florida Ottawa the Rangers the Blackhawks the Blue Jackets the Sharks and the lightning and now you’re going to add the Islanders to that list basically speaking the stability of having a four-year deal with the Islanders is definitely part of the reason he was willing to take a little less money in order to sign with the New York Islanders now we do not know if there is a modified no trade clause or a no trade clause attached to this deal those details have not yet been divulged but essentially you are getting a Bonafide second line to top six forward who can give you 20 to 25 goals maybe even more with the right chemistry for the price you want to pay a third line Winger at 3.5 million per year compare that to Anders Lee who is now clearly a bottom six forward at this stage in his career and is earning double double what Anthony duclair is earning and is very very unlikely that Lee would match duclair’s productivity if they both stay healthy and both play the same number of games again JG Paso third line Center earning five million a year that’s significantly more than Anthony duclair and yet you’re G to get a lot more offensive productivity out of duclair and the scouting report on an duclair uh talks about his game maturing in recent years he is fast so he definitely adds the speed that the Islanders have been needing in their lineup uh he’s fast on his skates has a quick release and can play either Wing he is a left-handed shot but he could play left wing he could play rightwing he is capable of creating his own shot or setting up teammates great hands and has gotten stronger as he is ressed in the NHL his play away from the puck is getting better with each passing season and look no Illusions here Anthony duclair was not signed for his defense okay but keep this in mind that last year in 56 games with San Jose who had one of the worst goal differentials in league history he was only a minus 12 and then when he went to Tampa Bay for 17 games he was a plus4 so I don’t think we’re going to see a defensive liability he’s not great defensively but he can be responsible defensively and that is certainly welcome and then you add this there is no doubt that Patrick W was one of the big reasons that Anthony duclair signed with the New York Islanders here’s the quote he gave to the media Monday after his signing when you have a coach that wants you that’s all you want and he said that the fact that W was behind the bench for the Islanders was a huge factor in his decision to sign with the team now he played for the Quebec REM Parts in the Quebec Junior League under Patrick W and scored 116 points in 118 games between 2011 and 2013 he basically said my job is to bring speed and offense looking at the roster we have good players up front and a lot of skill I look forward to amplifying that forward group he has also played in the past with JG Paso they played together for Ottawa during one season and they even killed penalties together because of his speed duclair can indeed kill penalties even though he may not be the soundest defensive player out there but you know what the Islanders penalty kill certainly needed a a boost and trying duclair there and maybe you know having his chemistry with JG pageo may very well improve the Islanders PK got no where to go but up right but overall given the limitations the Islanders had with cap space given the the problems that this team had and still has I mean officially or unofficially I guess but according to cap friendly the Islanders have $1,625 of available cap space right now and that does not include resigning Simon Holstrom Rous LAN coov and Oliver walstrom all of whom are restricted free agents yeah you could throw in Dennis chowski although he’ll almost certainly be headed down to the AHL again but you know the Islanders cap space is small or non-existent and yet L larell was able to add an important top six forward to get this team younger faster and more skilled so overall you know L lamello kind of created the limitations that the Islanders have right now with the cap space but he also did very well given those limitations to add to the roster and we’re going to talk a little bit more about Anthony duclair we’re going to talk about another signing that the Islanders made they brought in a new coach they uh also we know the first two games of the Islanders season so a lot of stuff happening today plus we’ll have our Islanders birthday of the day A Center who is uh pretty darn good on the second power play unit and was with the Islanders in the very late 2000s and very early 201s let’s see if you can guess who that is we’ve got all that and a lot more coming up on today’s locked on Islanders podcast today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel I love sports I love them so much I never want them to stop but as the playoffs wind down we get fewer games and sports aren’t sportsing like I want them to but FanDuel lets me keep the 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can’t miss analysis 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 duclair is a Bonafide in my mind second line Winger and I mean on a good team that’s where you put him but because he has enough speed he’ll keep up with Matthew Barz should be effective there and if he can develop chemistry with Bary and B I expect him to play on the top line and I would hope he will give the Islanders somewhere between 50 and 55 points you give me give me 20 five goals and 25 assists minimum maybe 22 and 28 whatever it is get me to 50 points 55 is really good and 60 would be ideal deal you give me that for $3.5 million a year for four years I am very happy with that and look it means that the Islanders now have a forward who while ideally not a first line guy can play on that first line without hurting the Islanders look no offense to the guys who played on the first line last year they were not top six forwards Hudson fashing who I am a fan of not a top six forward at this stage in his NHL career Casey cikis not a Top Line forward not a top six forward he filled in admirably in a pinch but he is not the guy you want on your Top Line Pierre angal not a Topline guy really not a top six guy the Islanders have tried him there other than his initial run right after being traded he has not really proven himself to be top six Tinder uh Andrew Lee at this stage in his career really not a top six guy anymore so to me you now have a top six guy legitimately and assuming Kyle palmary does not slow down get hurt whatever you’ve got five top six forwards on this roster and if COV can come in in and become the sixth again is it Elite no are the Islanders suddenly one of the five best teams in the Eastern Conference or uh you know a top cup Contender no but they’re better than they were a week ago and that to me is something that L larell was able to do without breaking the bank without having to buy anyone out and take on a cap hit later now there are limitations as a result of this as I mentioned the Islanders barely have a million dollars worth of cap space to me this tells me they are unlikely to sign Oliver walstrom or if they sign him they will then trade him they are probably not going to sign rousan is off and if they do he may be headed to Bridgeport again or they could trade him they’ll probably resign Simon Holstrom for most of that million dooll cap space that’s left and it tells me that barring a trade where you move out some cap space Matt Martin Cal Clutterbuck not coming back to the New York Islanders next year uh Sebastian AO probably not coming back unless Lou larell moves out some money and and and he probably will have to move out some money anyway because there will be no depth unless someone goes on ltir you just won’t have the the uh ability to call someone up from Bridgeport even at this minimum salary and have them uh added to the lineup unless someone is on ltir if everything stays the way it is right now so again any of this could change at any time but as of right now it looks like this is the team that the Islanders are going with and hopefully duclair helps the power play he can help the PK he can help the first line uh can Bo and Bary with duclair on their Line Take It Up A Notch and maybe be even better than they were this past year when you know B Bary was a point a game guy Bo Horvat scored more than 30 goals I I think it is possible if indeed they do develop chemistry so we’ll see whether or not you know that ends up happening but I I I think overall this was a solid move by L larell and by the New York Islanders meanwhile the Islanders also announced that they have resigned defenseman Mike Riley and Riley signs a one-year deal with the Islanders and that deal is essentially Accord again according to cap friendley a one-year $1.25 million deal I like this Riley was solid in his role second uh Power Play unit third defensive pairing gives you a little skating ability uh again I think it’ll be either him or Samuel baluk battling for that final left defense spot assuming everybody else stays healthy and stays in the lineup because you have pelic and Romanov on the left side as your top two but again uh I like the idea there’s no long-term commitment here for either player and you you’re basically helping the team with some of the things they need help with so uh liking that move by L larell as well and I I think it’s again a small step in the right direction for the New York Islanders to be adding these players at this time and do I expect any other signings I’ve heard rumors oh Shane Pinto long island native Islanders are kind of looking into that nothing and I do mean literally nothing can happen unless the Islanders move out some salary so yeah they could trade for somebody but somebody’s got to be moved out in order to get somebody moved in now keep in mind during the offseason you can exceed the salary cap by up to 10% but before the season actually starts you got to be back down and under the cap so there is a small amount of flexibility and it gives L time even as late as training camp or the end of the uh you know exhibition season put a guy on waivers make a trade find somebody you know maybe you add a late round draft pick or you just uh get future considerations whatever it is there are still a couple of moves that can be made and time to make them but if you’re talking about a major addition unless there’s a major subtraction we’re not going to see that this off season all right more to get to on today’s show the Islanders did hire a new assistant coach which they had promised and we also know the first two games of their schedule this year we’re to talk about that and a lot more coming up on today’s locked on Islanders podcast lockon 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 the day with our local experts Plus plus National shows covering every League find locked on sports today now available on the free Fire TV channels app so we mentioned on yesterday show every dayers know that Doug Huda will not be back with the New York Islanders so he is now history uh as far as his present tenure with the Islanders well the first thing the Islanders announced early on Monday morning was that Tommy albolene has now been hired as an assistant coach so it’ll be Patrick W as the head coach John mlan Tommy Alene and Ben wad de Rosier those are your three assisant coaches now for the last eight nine years Alene has been working as a coach with the Swiss national team he was an assistant at the world championships the World Junior Championships and at the Olympics he also spent eight seasons in the Devils organization as an assistant both with the big club and with their farm club at that time which was the Albany River Rats I I think it should come as no surprise to anybody that albolene spent a lot of time he played 18 seasons in the NHL and a lot of that time was spent with the New Jersey Devils 12 of those seasons and all of them took place while Lou larell was of course the general manager so overall the New York Islanders are bringing in a new assistant coach and look hopefully here is a guy who can improve what this team is doing on the PK what this team is doing defensively and can work with Patrick W to make the Islanders give up fewer than the 3540 shots a game they were giving up too often early and Midway through last season and again let’s just get the penalty kill up to the middle of the pack it doesn’t have to be top five or top 10 but get me to 14 or 15 or 16 something around there I mean more than that better than that is certainly welcomed and great but not so uh you know not essential but you can’t be 32nd out of 32 teams and be historically top 10 alltime bad on the PK so good luck to Tommy Alene Lou hiring another one of quote unquote his guys and let’s hope he W and Company work well together and help this team team improved now the NHL also announced the home opener for all 32 teams the full schedule will come out on Tuesday today but uh as of now we know the first two games of the Islanders season the season will open October 10th when the Islanders host the Utah Hockey Club that’ll be the first game of the season for the Islanders it will not be however the first game all time for Utah since they moved from Arizona where they were the coyotes the Utah Hockey Club will host the Blackhawks two days prior on October 8th now the second game for the Islanders will be on October 12th they will head to Dallas and be the opponent for the Dallas Stars home opener so mark your calendars October 10th Islanders regular season hockey resumes uh October 12th first road game of the year and uh we are both you know looking forward to both of those games as we get closer time now for our Islanders birthday of the day we are a day late on this but Monday was the 38th birthday of former Islanders Center Rob shrimp native of fton New York 510 185 pounds first round pick of the Oilers back in 2004 uh made his NHL debut with Edmonton in 0607 but never really established himself as an everyday player joined the Islanders for the 09 200920 season had seven goals 25 points in 44 games that year came back the following year 10 goals 22 points in 45 games moved on the following year in 2010 20 uh was dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers and then played a lot in Europe before his hockey career professional hockey career ended after the 201728 season shrimp had good speed was part of The Islander second power play unit could pass defense wasn’t necessarily his strong point only played 114 career NHL games 20 goals 54 points 26 p minutes did not appear in any playoff games in his NHL career one of his better games as an Islander though January 12th 2010 at the old barn the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Islanders hosting the Red Wings uh Jimmy Howard the goalie for the Red Wings Chris Osgood the uh former Islander also played uh and the Islanders had Dwayne rolison but in this game with the score one- nothing Islanders Rob shrimp our Islanders birthday of the day scores late in the first period assisted by Bruno jery and then early in the second period an unassisted goal a two-goal night for shrimp Islanders Come Away with a six nothing Victory a 16 save shut out for Dwayne rolls and for Rob shrimp our Islanders birthday of the day two goals he’s a plus two and he scored on both of his shots while playing 13 minutes and 21 seconds Islanders again shutting out the Red Wing six to nothing before a crowd of 12,254 at the Coliseum look let’s be simple here again I don’t think these moves make the Islanders an elite hockey team but given the restrictions that Lam Morello had he did an admirable job of adding speed skill and getting this team a little bit younger bringing back a a useful role player did not give either one of these guys that dreaded seven-year deal for too much money with the no trade clause that has hampered this team’s ability to improve so long so overall I think Lula amarell did a judicious job and we’ll see whether or not this team is good enough to make the playoffs and if they do make the playoffs whether or not it is before game 80 881 or 82 have they made themselves better yes have other teams around the Eastern Conference in the division also made themselves better this off season absolutely so it’ll be interesting to see how much better the Islanders get and what they’re able to do in the coming season but look we’re going to discuss all the draft picks all the permutations of this all throughout the next few weeks so lots to discuss here on the lock on Islanders podcast uh tomorrow on the show we’ll talk a little bit more about Anthony duclair what he’ll do what he won’t do where he’ll fit in and what it means for some of these other players on the Islanders roster we’ll have all that and more coming up tomorrow so until then have a great day everybody stay safe and of course let’s go Islanders

The New York Islanders signed free agent forward Anthony Duclair to a four-year deal worth a total of $14 million. Duclair adds speed an skill to the lineup and at 28, is still in his prime. Duclair played junior hockey under Patrick Roy and Roy’s presence behind the bench was a major reason he signed with the Islanders. We discuss what Duclair adds to the Isles lineup and where he’ll fit in.

The Islanders also re-signed defenseman Mike Reilly and added a new defensive coach in Tommy Albelin to replace Doug Houda and we now know the first two games of the Isles schedule for the 2024-25 regular season with the rest of the schedule to drop on Tuesday.

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

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