Now That the New York Islanders Have Signed Anthony Duclair, What Will the Line Combos Look Like?

Now That the New York Islanders Have Signed Anthony Duclair, What Will the Line Combos Look Like?

so with the addition of Anthony duclair the one question a lot of people are asking what are the Islanders line combinations going to look like we’ll address 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 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 everybody 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 and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply we have got a lot to discuss on this July 4th and happy birthday America and happy 4th of July to all those celebrating 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 in a future episode send us an email lockon Islanders gmail.com is the email address 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 o follow the show on X at lockon Isles and you could follow me gil Martin on X at ice Wars nyr vsi we’ll keep you up to date on all things Islanders all season long and all offseason long that’ll include raing the draft picks hirings firings trade rumors free agency it’s taen into the New York Islanders we’ll discuss it here on the lockon Islanders podcast and it’s great to talk Islanders hockey with you game time or any time so the buzz obviously the last few days has been about the signing of Anthony duclair and I guess the big question now is since the Islanders don’t have much cap space left about a million dollars give or take they can’t add another player not even you know their own restricted free agents or unrestricted free agents they can add one uh at you know that price of roughly a million dollars depending on which source you look at so you know they may be able to bring back Simon Holstrom or rousan iskakov or I mean Oliver walstrom I still think ends up being traded somewhere but realistically the Islanders cannot sign a new player unless they free up some cap space the buyout window is closed that’s not happening so basically it’s either the Islanders trade away a player to free up cap space or this is the roster that we’re going to see and it brings up the question what are the Islanders line combinations most likely to look at uh look like and the reason I bring this up is that the daily face off which is a great website that basically gives you line combinations BAS on the lineup that started the most recent game well they just updated their information on a lot of teams based on what happened in trades and free agency and the like and here’s what they put together for the Islanders although I don’t agree with it all um but here’s what they put together Top Line Bo harvette Anthony duclair Matthew barzal I agree that as of now barring a new acquisition that is the most likely Top Line and I think it makes sense duclair has enough speed to keep up with barzal you’ll have barzal setting up Horvat and duclair for goals you’ll have you know two out of the three forwards on that line are speedy and all three of them are capable of scoring 20 or more goals and probably duclair definitely that they’re capable of scoring 30 as of right now daily Faceoff says the second line is Brock Nelson Pierre angal and Kyle palmary the third line they say is JG Paso Andre Lee and Simon holmstrom and the fourth line would look like cekus mlan and fasion so I don’t think this is what it’s going to look like first of all they left off sov which clearly if you were paying attention uh during the pre- and post-draft press conferences by Lam Morello you know that Lou said he didn’t sign he did not sign Maxim sakov in order to play in the AHL now that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to make the team but it does mean that they are looking to get him on the roster and if he doesn’t implode he’s going to start the season in the NHL he is a guy who scored more than 30 goals in the KHL which is not an easy thing to do as of right now in my mind the second line most likely to be out there is Nelson angol excuse me Nelson tlov and pal Mar I think that is your most likely second line and again it gives you two guys in Nelson and palmary who scored 30 goals in the NHL and Maxim sakov who scored more than 30 in the K let’s even say that uh translates to 20 as he adjusts to life in the NHL that’s still a much more solid second line than if you put angal up there now the third line again everybody’s talking about J pageo being the most likely guy to be traded you know we’ve been hearing these rumors for more than a year now with regard to Pou and yet every day I check the news I check the rosters JG Pou remains a New York Islander and he still got some time left on his deal uh so he’s not going anywhere right away now again he could be Trading today although I doubt they’ll make a move on July 4th but as of right now JG Paso two years left on his contract at a cap hit of $5 million Anders Lee I agree again other rumors about him but I agree if Lee stays on the roster it would be Pou and Lee but the third spot in my mind on that line probably belongs to Pierre angal uh maybe it’s a battle between engal and Holstrom if they resign Holstrom remember he is a restricted free agent we’ll see if they resign iskakov could he compete with uh Holstrom if they bring him back as well and engall for a spot on the third line yeah he probably could I have a feeling just Based On A Feeling now not specifically saying it’s going to be this way but I have a feeling that the Islanders will not be resigning uh ishkov that he’ll either be traded his rights will be traded or he will be heading back to Russia to play in the KHL again nothing has been decided yet no announcement has been made that’s just my gut feeling based on the Islanders present salary cap the way this roster is being constructed and for what it’s worth the way both the coach in staff and management I.E lul La Morello have treated iskakov so far he really has nothing to prove by going back to the AHL he was an AHL Allstar each of the last two seasons not a point per game guy in the AHL but still clearly the best player on a struggling Bridgeport Islanders team last year uh and we’ll see whether or not not he is back but as of right now to me you’re looking at a a third line of Pou Lee and enval as the most likely and then you have your fourth line and that leaves Casey cikis Kyle mlan you got Hudson fashing you may have Oliver walstrom if they don’t trade him I think they will heck it could be rousan coov if they bring him back uh there are a lot of different options here on that fourth line Julian gotier is a long shot although again I think he’s back in the AHL but as of right now the daily Faceoff projects cekus mlan and fashing uh again keep in mind no cap room right now to bring back Matt Martin No Cap room right now to bring back Cal Clutterbuck and I’m not saying they should bring back those guys at this stage and where the Islanders are at so to me if the season would start today and the Islanders make no other moves you’re looking at Horvat duclair barzal Nelson COV palmary Pou Lee enval cekus mlan fashing subject to reigning or any other moves that are made and the defense pair doson and monov pelic and poock Mayfield and Riley with the seventh defenseman being uh obviously Samuel buluk so that’s sort of how it’s looking as of right now in my mind uh I’d love to hear your input uh please feel free to uh make a comment here on the YouTube page or send an email lockon Islanders gmail.com what you think again assuming that there are no other major signings what do you think this lineup should look like it will be interesting to see uh and again Patrick W look you still have training camp you still have guys battling for positions you still have Matt maio and William dfor uh guys who you know have showed something in the AHL but have yet to prove them m themselveses in the NHL maybe they played a game here or there maybe they didn’t those guys will get a look in the preseason and we’ll see what happens but as of right now uh that’s how I see the lineup we have got a lot more to get to on today’s show what is this team still need let’s talk a little bit about that uh and then we’ll also talk about the team over the last couple of days has signed a bunch of players to fortify organizational depth brought in some players for Bridgeport we’ll break down those signings and oh yes for our Islanders birthday of the day a player who is with the Islanders from the early 2000s all the way through the 2010 2011 season uh let’s see if you can guess who this two-way forward is we’ve got that and a whole 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 the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch they have killer last minute deals all in prices and you get their lowest price guarantee so game time takes the guesswork out of buying tickets my favorite feature on game time is the view from your seat you go on the app and before you purchase the tickets you’ll get a panoramic view of what you’ll see from that seat 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 so again create an account and redeem code l o c k 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 dreaming channel programed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming lock on sports today brings you can’t miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so what does this team still need I I think that is a big question that needs to be addressed and I look at this lineup and I still do see some areas that could use Improvement and you know to me more than anything yeah another top six forward to me would be ideal whether that moves duclair down to the second forward line or keeps him on the first it’s not likely to be you know Mitch Marner or a guy who’s gonna break the bank but get me another player similar to Anthony duclair a solid top six even you know a solid second line guy and it really UPS the ante and I’m not saying I don’t believe in Maxim to blov because I I have no idea how he’s going to pan out in the NHL and that to me is the point it would put a lot less pressure on him if he starts out on the third line and you bring in another polished goal scorer on the second line and again when I say polished goal scor 20 to 25 goals minimum consistently preferably someone with a little more speed all of that to me would make a lot of sense again you got to trade away in order to bring in but you know we’ve talked about Lee or pageo or you know some people have mentioned cus as a possible trade uh potential trade candidate whoever it is that you’re dealing away I I just again think another top six forward would be ideal for this team the Blue Line to me right now the top seven is more or less set as I mentioned Romanov Dobson pelet poock Riley Mayfield baluk as your number seven if Balou develops and gains a little bit more confidence he probably could surpass Riley as the sixth guy or maybe they have a rotation of some kind depending on whether you want a bigger guy like like baluk in the lineup against a more physical team or you want a quicker guy like Riley in the lineup again these are decisions that Patrick W will have to make once we see how uh baluk looks in training camp and in practice and during the regular season but looking at this forward unit there is still a need without question for a little more grit a little more sandpaper and I’m not saying you need a guy who is only going to fight but I think you need a guy who is capable of dropping the gloves and defending teammates when necessary and I think you need a one or two more guys to to just make it harder to play against uh there are too many guys that are like okay Pierre angal Simon Holstrom they are both just not physical they have other attribut like speed uh that you like engal has that Long Reach Holstrom is you know able to play well defensively and positionally they they do bring things to the table I’m not going to deny that but when you’re looking at your bottom six you want a little more grit a little more size and a little more nastiness it doesn’t have to be a goon but I want I I want a little bit more grit Kyle mlan gives you some Casey cikas certainly gives you some Hudson fashing is not quite in that mold although I guess he can get the job done but I would like at least you you’re losing most likely Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin if they’re not coming back and I don’t think they should come back based on their age and the decline in their play and the cost and all all of those things but if they’re not coming back I want at least one more guy in this lineup who will stick up for his teammates who will make the Islanders tougher to play against who will add a little grit and determination to the lineup and I I just want to see a little bit more of that it would also help in my mind if there is a penalty killer out there right now I mean Pou and cikis would be two penalty Killers as far as forwards go Holstrom would certainly be a third if he’s back are you gonna play Bo Horvat on your second PK unit I I mean he certainly is capable of doing the job but you know I don’t want him getting all tired out on the PK if you could find a bottom six guy who can fill that role maybe Hudson fashion can fill in maybe uh Kyle mlan can fill it but to me if you get a guy who is both physical and who can kill penalties you’re are adding something to this team that I think it really does need and the PK let’s face it the PK does need a boost and hopefully the addition of Tommy Al Alene rather as the new defense and penalty killing coach will help this unit but boy oh boy uh last year was historically bad and again adding a guy who can do that who can kill those penalties and add a little sandpaper to me makes just a heck of a lot of sense if I am the general manager of the New York Islanders so we’ll see we’ll see how this all plays out I I again I don’t necessarily think we’re going to get more moves uh but if we do it’s got to be money out to bring players in and when I say money out it’s contracts out for contracts in we’ll see whether or not L LA morelo has anything else up his sleeve because again the Islanders are a better team than they were a week ago but they are not so much better than the other teams in the Eastern Conference that also made moves that I think they moved from Fringe playoff team that is somewhere between let’s say 6th and 10th in the conference to a top five team in the Eastern Conference and you know still got work to do because that’s what you want to be and I think it really does require again moving some players out to get better players in whether or not that’ll happen remains to be seen all right we’ve got more to get to on today’s show the Islanders signed a a slew of players who are expected to bolster Bridgeport we know what they struggled with last year plus we’ll have our Islanders birthday of the day that and a lot more coming up on today’s lock on Islanders podcast lockon has launched the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel on YouTube 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 the Islanders made some moves but these are moves that really have a bigger impact on the AHL Islanders the Bridgeport Islanders than they do on the NHL Islanders on Tuesday the Islanders added two more players to the roster they are Frederick carlstrom and Mark G gome now callstrom 25 he is a center it’s a one-year deal at the NHL minimum of $775,000 and it’s a oneway deal so he’s going to get that 775 whether or not he play plays for Bridgeport or New York and look he is originally a third round pick of the Dallas Stars back in 2016 he is a Swede he has played the last three years in the AHL with the Texas Stars and his best year was last year 72 games 21 goals 44 points he does have eight NHL games under his belt one assist in those games and at 62200 you know he could be a guy who is your 13th or 14th forward and you know could be a a candidate for the bottom six but again I would expect barring a really strong showing and training camp especially since he’s a center and the Islanders have both Casey cikas and Kyle mlan who are capable of being fourth line centers that you know that’s more likely to be his role as for gatc a one-year deal uh but it’s a two-way deal so he’ll make the league minimum if he’s with the Islanders but he will also make less than that if he’s down on Bridgeport and remember if either of these players play for Bridgeport their cap number will not count against the Islanders so 62200 four years at the University of Connecticut was a free agent sign with Van couver in 2022 uh played 106 games over the last two years with the abbottford Canucks 12 goals 16 assists so 28 total points in you know basically what is one if you’re doing full seasons one and a half a little less than that uh again uh probably not a candidate for the NHL Islanders but certainly somebody who could help the Islanders depth organizationally Wednesday the Islanders added three more players to AHL contracts that is Justin Gil Bryant pinho and defenseman Wyatt newow Gil 21 years old uh fifth round pick and again older guy 21 years old playing in the Quebec Junior League last year and you know he had his moments let’s let’s not kid ourselves there but being overage you kind of take some of what he did with a grain of salt where he you know he uh he scored in 65 games 40 goals 58 assists but again he was the oldest guy on the team and that certainly does put a little asterisk at least next to his production Pino he was with Bridgeport last year finished second on the team with 34 points he’s 29 years old not a prospect but certainly a useful veteran NH uh AHL player and then new power uh was the best defenseman for University of Connecticut in 2020 also was their team captain in 2019 2020 spent last year with Grand Rapids the Griffins of the AHL had one goal seven points in 34 games so I would be surprised if any of these three are with the NHL Islanders other than as injury fill-ins but they certainly are hopefully going to help Bridgeport which as we know has struggled mightily in the last year or two and you certainly want to develop a winning culture throughout your organization so hopefully these veteran guys give us some good hockey down on Bridgeport and as you know every dayers we cover Bridgeport we have our weekly Farm report throughout the AHL season so make sure you join us throughout the year for those and we will keep you updated on what’s going on on the farm time now for our Islanders birthday of the day and tomorrow Friday will be the 44th birthday of former Islanders Winger Trent Hunter the Red Deer Alberta native originally a sixr pick of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks back in 1998 but made his NHL debut with the Islanders in the 2002 playoffs and became a full-time Islander in ‘ 0304 stayed with the team through 2010 2011 and then finished his career with the LA Kings hung him up after the 201122 season his best year 2 five goals 51 points in 2003 2004 in 497 career NHL games 101 goals 236 points 209 penalty minutes add four goals Five Points in 14 playoff games all of those coming as an Islander one of his better games with the aisles how about November 19th 2003 Islanders visiting South Florida to take on the Panthers Rick deep Petro the goalie for the Isles Roberto leango the former Islander in between the pipes for the Panthers and our Islanders birthday of the day Trent Hunter got the scoring started at the 509 Mark Eric kons and Shawn Bates with the assist that made it one- nothing Islanders with the score already three to one Islander well two to one Islanders excuse me Hunter sets up baates for a goal in the second period Adrian a coin the other Helper and then in the third Hunter his eighth of the Year from Bates and Jason Blake Islanders beat Florida by a score of four to one and in this game Trent Hunter our Islanders birthday of the day two goals an assist he was a plus three and he had three shots on goal and played 14 minutes and 57 seconds did not have the gamewinner that went to Matias Tander Rick De Petro 26 saves to earn the win and the New York Islanders get a strong three-point night from Trent Hunter he is our Islanders birthday of the day I want to thank everybody who makes locked on Islanders your first listen every day every dayers tomorrow on the show we’ll have the latest Islanders news notes and happenings plus uh we will again take a deeper dive into the impact of the signing of Anthony duclair plus will’ll eventually uh coming shows start talking about each of the Islanders individual draft picks and what they mean to the team and where they’ll fit into the organization so make sure you join us for that we will be here all off seon long bringing you the latest Islanders news notes and happenings until then have a great holiday happy 4th of July stay safe and of course let’s go Islanders

Now that the New York Islanders have signed winger Anthony Duclair, what will the team’s new line combinations look like? We take a look at the possibilities and I make my predictions as well.

Plus, what else should GM Lou Lamoriello look to add before training camp opens for the 2024-25 NHL season to make the Isles a better team? We discuss the team’s needs up and down the lineup.

And the Isles signed five different players designed to bolster their AHL farm team, the Bridgeport Islanders. We’ll break down those signings and discuss their impact on the organization.

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

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