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Lou Lamoriello Named New York Islanders President Of Hockey Operations

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The New York Islanders have officially hired former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello as their new President of Hockey Operations. In fitting Lamoriello fashion, the press release includes a note that he will “have full authority over all hockey matters with the organization.” It had already recently been reported that Lamoriello spoke with John Tavares as a representative of the Islanders, something he will continue to do now that he has been officially announced.

Lamoriello was pushed out of his role as GM when his contract finished, with the Maple Leafs instead turning to Kyle Dubas to lead their team going forward. Mark Hunter, Lamoriello’s assistant GM, also left the team this morning, though there is no indication yet if he’ll join his former boss in New York. For now, Lamoriello will come into a front office that had been run by Garth Snow, who will likely now move to a different role within the organization. Snow has a long-term contract with the club still that is reportedly difficult to buy him out of, but there is no question who will be running things going forward.

Lamoriello’s son Chris is also with the organization as an assistant GM, and will likely be retained under his father. As for the rest of the group, there’s no telling how it will be restructured.

For the Islanders, this can only be seen as a positive moving forward. The team desperately needs to find some success in the next few years, and their future depends on how negotiations go with Tavares. Either they’re going all-in with their franchise center to compete right away, or building around Mathew Barzal and the rest of the team’s young players. Lamoriello has experience in both from his days in New Jersey and Toronto, and understands the challenges fully.

Lou Lamoriello Will Be Hired By New York Islanders

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Though the rumors have been floating around for some time, Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) now confirms that Lou Lamoriello will be hired by the New York Islanders to run their hockey operations. Lamoriello was recently removed from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM position when his contract expired, and immediately linked to the Islanders as a potential destination. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Lamoriello has also already spoken with John Tavares as a representative of the Islanders.

It’s still not clear how the front office will be structured for the Islanders, as current GM Garth Snow still has several years on a contract that is unlikely to be bought out. Instead of firing their long time executive, Snow may take on a different role while Lamoriello is given the keys to the franchise. Chris Lamoriello, Lou’s son, is already in the front office as an assistant GM.

The Islanders have one of the biggest summer’s in franchise history coming up, with Tavares likely determining the direction the team takes over the next several years. If he were to re-sign, the team would be dedicated to competing for the Stanley Cup over the next few years as he remains at his top performance. If he instead spurns the only team he’s ever played for and hits the free agent market, the team could instead look to rebuild around rookie sensation Mathew Barzal and open a large window of contention a few years down the road. Barzal is an exceptional talent in his own right, but without Tavares the team doesn’t look good enough to really contend as currently constructed.

There’s also the fact that the team is expecting their new arena to be ready for the 2021-22 season, a year that the franchise will want to make as successful as possible as they try to reinvigorate their fan base. The Belmont Park location has other hurdles in its way (including a potential NHL work stoppage), but having Tavares in the fold would certainly make the team feel more comfortable as they head into their next era.

Lamoriello is technically under contract as a senior advisor for the Maple Leafs, but there was little doubt that President Brendan Shanahan would let him move on if he found another opportunity. In a similar situation to his exit from New Jersey a few years ago, it didn’t take long for another organization to come calling.

Poll: Should The Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Paul Stastny?

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There is much to be proud of if you’re a Winnipeg Jets’ fan, but while most fans are paying attention to their play in the Western Conference Finals. And while the Jets find themselves down 3-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg will need to find a way to win three in a row. To do that, they will need success from multiple lines, including the success of the team’s second line, including Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and trade deadline acquisition Paul Stastny.

When the team traded for Stastny for prospect Erik Foley, a 2018 first-round pick and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick, they got a steal. Stastny has stabilized a powerful young line next to Laine and Ehlers as the line has helped guide them through the playoffs. Just against the Nashville Predators alone in the playoffs’ second round, Stastny practically beat the team on his own, putting up five goals and five assists in seven games. He has been effectively shut down by Vegas in four games as he’s only managed one assist, yet the veteran has been key to their playoff future.

The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin recently wrote a story wondering what the chances Stastny has of returning to Winnipeg next year. The unrestricted free agent is 32 years old, a point where long-term deals start to look questionable as many players in their 30’s begin to decline, especially with speed being emphasized by many teams. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, the free agent options at center will be very limited this year after the Islanders’ John Tavares, making Stastny the likely second-best free agent on the market. With many teams in need of a center, he could easily get a big deal and while maybe not as high as the $7MM a year he’s been making recently, but he should easily fetch $5MM per year with his next deal and if the team has to overpay to keep him, it could go as high as $6MM per year.

Then the question is whether Winnipeg can afford him. While the team has ample cap space at the moment, the Jets also have 14 players on their current roster who will either be restricted or unrestricted free agents. Many of their restricted free agents like Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev, Joel Armia and Josh Morrissey should get solid raises, while others like Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck should get major contract extensions, likely taking up a large chunk of their available cap space, leaving little or no room for Stastny. Add to the fact that Laine, Kyle Connor and Tyler Myers all will need new contracts in one year, that leaves little wiggle room unless general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can pull of a clever balancing act to keep everyone happy.

So, should Winnipeg try to keep Stastny around next year or just let him go?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Blue Jackets Unlikely To Add At Center This Summer

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It was another strong regular season for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017-18. The team had its second-best finish with 97 points behind the strong efforts of all-world goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, blossoming young defensemen like Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, rookie forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and game-changing acquisition Artemi Panarin. Yet, the Jackets were again ousted in the first round and still have yet to advance past that stage of the postseason in their 17-year history. In evaluating what area Columbus needs to improve in next season, some will point to poor special teams or a lack of shots on net. However, the major issue this season was the center position, where everyone not named Dubois had a disappointing campaign. The scoring depth, defensive ability, and face-off success of the group was all lacking this year. Entering the off-season with more than $13MM in salary cap space, many think the Blue Jackets should make a competitive offer to John Tavares or even Paul Stastny or Tyler Bozak in an effort to solve their problems down the middle. As The Columbus Dispatch’s Steve Gorten describes, that is unlikely to be the case.

While on surface level Columbus seems to be in fine shape regarding the salary cap, Gorten feels that GM Jarmo Kekalainen needs to tread carefully when contemplating adding salary to the current roster. In the short term, the team already faces several free agency dilemmas. Restricted free agents Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Ryan Murray are in need of new contracts and the team is surely to be interested in retaining several impending unrestricted free agents such as Ian Cole, Matt Calvert, and possibly Thomas Vanek. The team’s long-term considerations are more pressing though; Columbus will need to pay Panarin, Werenski, and Bobrovsky after next season, all of whom will command significant contracts in both term and salary.

Given these spending limitations, both this year and in the future, signing a top free agent center is unlikely to be the right move for the Blue Jackets. Instead, Gorten suggests that Columbus stand pat and wait for their current centers to rebound from down seasons. 23-year-old Alexander Wennberg showed 60+ point potential last season, but injuries and long stretches of poor play kept him to just 35 points in 66 games this year, the first season of a six-year, $29.4MM deal. Health may be all it takes to get Wennberg back into that true #1 center range and the 2013 first-rounder may still make his contract look like a bargain and could even end up being a superior player to Dubois. For his part, Kekalainen has trust in the young forward, telling Gorten “I’m 100 percent confident with Wennberg that he’s going to have a great year next year.” What Kekalainen may be more focused on is improvement in the bottom-six, where the Jackets need a return to form from veteran Brandon Dubinsky. The 32-year-old is midway through a six-year, $35.MM deal but did not play to that level this season. Dubinsky was held to just 16 points in what was easily the worst season of his career. A buyout at this point in the contract would be very costly to Columbus, who are left to hope that he can bounce back. Gorten also suggests that the depth down the middle could be substantially bolstered by a prospects like Lukas Sedlak, Alexandre Texier, or Jonathan Davisson taking a step forward in their development, while there is also the off chance that the Jackets could land a potentially pro-ready pivot like Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Isac Lundestrom, or Barrett Hayton at pick #18 in the first round.

Even if all of that doesn’t work out, Columbus will also have options like Jenner and captain Nick Foligno, who they have hesitated to leave at center full-time, but are more than capable of playing the position if necessary. Rather than handcuff themselves with a free agent contract that could cause problems down the road, Gorten seems right in his take that hoping for the in-house options to step up their game seems to better suit the Blue Jackets this off-season.

Dubas Has Many Decisions To Make In Toronto

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Just a couple of days into his new job and people are starting to see the challenges ahead for Toronto Maple Leafs new general manager Kyle Dubas. To start, the 32-year-old GM has been with the organization for four years and must deal with older, more experienced personnel, including 55-year-old Mark Hunter (at least for now) and 55-year-old Mike Babcock.

While Dubas has been given the keys to one of the most famed and loaded franchises, Dubas must also make his mark on the roster and lead the team to that next championship level. Many big decisions will come up just in the next few months including locking up his young players for the future, while building a winner in the one-year window before those deals kick in.

The first big decisions the GM will have to deal with is deciding if one or any of their unrestricted free agents will be brought back, including James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov. Both van Reimsdyk and Bozak are expected to get significant raises this summer when they sign new contracts and would be very challenging to bring back. Bozak in particular is valuable as the team is not nearly as strong at the center position as they are at the wing. However, Komarov could be a possibility if he encounters a dry market and the Maple Leafs believe he can still be of help. However, with great depth and a GM who is well aware of what type of players the team has at the AHL level, letting all three walk away is a legitimate possibility.

However, James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Dubas will want to put his own brand on the Maple Leafs, so expect multiple changes. Among those possibilities, includes a potential run at John Tavares or a defenseman like Dougie Hamilton. However, Mirtle points out that a player like Nikita Zaitsev could become one of those changes. With a partial no-trade clause kicking in next year and Zaitsev’s limitations with the puck, this might be a good time to move on from him if they don’t feel he will be a good fit in the future.

The defense might be the key to Dubas success. Often labeled as the team’s failing this season, a change might be necessary, but with limitations to long-term deals, the most likely way to upgrade the blueline would be through a trade, although it’s unlikely Dubas would move Mitch Marner or William Nylander to make a major upgrade.

Goaltending could be an issue too. Despite the solid performance by backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney this year, Dubas might look to trading the 34-year-old veteran netminder. With Garrett Sparks dominating in the AHL (1.79 GAA, .936 save percentage with the Toronto Marlies) and the real possibility the team could lose him to waivers at the start of next season, the team must decide whether it’s time to give Sparks the No. 2 spot.

While a decision on Roman Polak might be an easy one, Dubas is well aware that the defenseman is a personal favorite of Babcock and does the young GM throw the veteran coach a bone and bring him back? In the end, nothing will be easy for Dubas, who will be scrutinized more than any general manager in the coming months.

 

San Jose Sharks Could Look Very Similar Next Season

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Many have felt for some time now that the San Jose Sharks could be a team to watch in the upcoming off-season. It’s not often that a team can have the depth and talent of a contender with almost all of their key players locked up and also have an immense amount of cap space, but that is the exact situation that the Sharks are facing this summer. Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are all elite players under contract, while reliable pieces like Mikkel Boedker, Justin Braun, and Brenden Dillon have term remaining as well. Yet, the Sharks will still enter the off-season with nearly $15MM in cap space and few holes to fill. For that reason, some have speculated that John Tavares or John Carlson could be headed for San Jose or that the team could load up on other second-tier top free agents.

However, the Sharks are actually somewhat limited in what they can do this summer. A side effect of having so many players locked up is that San Jose actually has little flexibility in terms of straightforward roster management on the free agent market. The Sharks have just nine free agents total, unrestricted and restricted, far and away the fewest in the league as most teams generally have about twenty. Entering the off-season, they will already have 38 of their 50 maximum contracts already in place for next season. Assuming that key restricted free agents like Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, and Dylan DeMelo return, that number is already up to 41. It is almost fortunate that top prospects Josh Norris, Scott Reedy, and Mario Ferraro all chose to return to their college teams or that number would be even higher.

Regardless, the Sharks will be left with less than ten slots to add new players unless they start to trade away or buyout existing contracts. If long-time leader and fan favorite Joe Thornton re-signs, there is one less. If deadline addition Evander Kane, who has fit in very well in San Jose, decides to stay put, there’s another one. If the Sharks land a player worth immediate ice time at #21 in the first round of the NHL Draft, that’s yet another spot filled up. No team wants to enter the season with so few contract slots that their hands are tied when the opportunity to make a trade to improve the roster comes around. San Jose also doesn’t want to sign too many multi-year deals with players like Couture, Pavelski, Timo Meier, and Joakim Ryan in need of extensions next season as well.

As such, the Sharks actually seem likely to make only one or two free agent additions this summer – as they did last summer – unless major trades open up some more space in the organization. Could one of those additions be a Tavares or a Carlson? Sure, but if those players choose to go elsewhere, San Jose instead seems far likely to stick with what they have and go into next season with flexibility. Don’t expect the drastically different Sharks roster that some have predicted – it may only lead to a letdown of expectations this summer.

Islanders Must Decide Whether To Hand Team To Lamoriello

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While there is some talk between the New York Islanders and former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and current senior adviser Lou Lamoriello, there remains many questions about what role the 75-year-old executive would be looking for if he would opt to leave Toronto in favor of the Islanders. While New York still has Garth Snow holding down the general manager’s position, that means very little.

In fact, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that if the team wants to bring Lamoriello in, they have only one option available to them, and that is to let him take over the franchise. Regardless of what title they choose to give him, Lamoriello will want final say over personnel decisions. And if the Islanders aren’t ready to give him that, then there is no point to meeting with him.

The scribe reminds everyone that when he took over in New Jersey in May of 1987 as team president, it only took him four months before he forced out general manager Max McNab from that same position and took over general manager duties. Don’t expect things to be any different. While he is rumored to be friends with Snow, nothing is much different now. If he wanted to stay in an advisory role, then he could stay in Toronto.

Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that it’s logicial that ownership is likely ready to offer Lamoriello the keys to the Islanders. New York’s ownership has already said they are evaluating ways to improve the Islanders, a team that has reached the playoffs four of the last 12 years. While that doesn’t necessarily mean the team intends to fire everyone, it’s very likely the Islanders are ready to make a significant shakeup. However, Gross adds that Lamoriello is well known to make changes and things may be no different with the Islanders if he signs on.

The other hope, of course, is that these moves might be a last minute attempt to convince star center John Tavares to stay with the Islanders, rather than leave for another franchise when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in less than two months.

Poll: Should The Predators Consider Moving On From Pekka Rinne?

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While it’s only been two days since the were eliminated and a reactionary rumor rarely makes sense, there is a lot of talk in Nashville that the team should consider trading goaltender Pekka Rinne now.

At first glance, that would seem insane. Rinne is the leading candidate to win the Vezina Trophy for the best goaltender in the regular season, but after a disappointing performance in the playoffs in which he was yanked quicker than any other goaltender in Game 7 playoff history, one has to look deeper. Rinne, who put up a 2.31 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 59 regular season games, definitely struggled once the postseason began, posting a 7-6 record with a 3.07 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 13 games. And at age 35, with one year left on his contract for $7MM AAV, this might be the best time to trade him. With several teams in need of a quality veteran goaltender such as the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres or the Philadelphia Flyers, the team might be able to get back a quality player, while freeing up needed cap room.

Nashville has other needs they need to consider as well. The team has the opportunity to extend the contract of star defenseman Ryan Ellis on July 1. The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan reports that the 27-year-old is open to playing out his career Nashville. However, it will likely take quite a bit more than the $2.5MM he is currently making, so cap room is essential. Add to the fact they will have to re-sign restricted free agent forwards Ryan Hartman and Miikka Salomaki. That’s extra money as well as the team’s need to sign restricted free agent goaltender Juuse Saros to a new deal.

On top of that, that extra $7MM could help the team make a big free agent splash to help them for their run next season, whether they attempt to add another top-four defenseman such as John Carlson, make an attempt to land John Tavares or go in a different direction.

Many feel that Saros might be ready to make that transition from backup to starter. The 23-year-old has been solid as the team’s backup for the past two years, putting up a 2.45 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 26 games this season. While only managing 114 minutes in four playoff games, Saros still performed admirably with a 1.06 GAA and a .952 save percentage in the playoffs. Considered the goalie of the future, why not now? Ideally, giving Saros one more year with Rinne as the starter makes sense, but if the team has to give Saros a lot of money in a bridge deal, the team might be paying close to $10MM for their goalie tandem, which is way too much.

Of course, making a move like this would be extremely risky, but The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin writes that if any team and general manager would consider trading a Vezina Trophy candidate as well as one of the best players in franchise history, David Poile would be the one. Back in June of 2016, Poile and the Predators did the unthinkable of sending star defenseman Shea Weber to Montreal in exchange for P.K. Subban. While the deal was somewhat shocking, the move looks better and better every day while Weber’s play has declined due to injury and age.

What do you think: Do you think the Predators should move forward and give the starting job to Saros or keep everything the same and try again next season?

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Offseason Keys: New York Islanders

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While the playoffs are ongoing, many teams have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the New York Islanders.

While the season for the Islanders started on a high note, especially on offense, the New York Islanders came back to earth in the second half as the Islanders limped to the finish line knowing they had no chance to compete for a playoff spot. Injuries to the defense as well as goaltending troubles haunted them for much of the year.

Sign John Tavares

Perhaps when the team was winning early on and the offense was one of the best in the NHL or when the team won their bid on the Belmont properties and started plans to build a new stadium there, the Islanders might have felt confident about re-signing star center John Tavares. However, after one stretch in which the team won just 17 of 55 games, the star may be ready to move on to a team that has a better shot at being making the playoffs on a more continuous basis.

Regardless, the Islanders didn’t even consider the idea of trading Tavares at the trade deadline to a point that there were few to no rumors flying around at that time. Do they have an idea that he has always intended to sign? Or is the team just hoping he will return to the franchise?

While most experts are starting to believe that Tavares is likely to move on, it also wouldn’t be that surprising if he opted to sign a long-term, maximum deal and stay on Long Island for the rest of his career. Regardless of his decision, the Islanders will either move forward with him or without him, then placing Mathew Barzal at the forefront of the franchise.

Upgrade their defense

The Islanders had few positives when it came to their defense. Looking like geniuses when they traded veteran Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames for a boatload of draft picks, the Islanders defense then faltered when Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan went down with injuries for large chunks of the season. Instead, the Islanders found themselves with few top-four defensemen for much of the season and struggled giving up goals.

While some of the goaltending play can be blamed as well, the defense is what struggled and with a number of their blueliners hitting unrestricted free agency, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey, the team has a few decisions to make as well as have to figure out how to upgrade it. Boychuk, when healthy is a solid top-four defender, but at age 34 and four years remaining on his contract at $6MM AAV, how much can they count on him? The team needs to either move some of its picks in trades for top veterans or sign some key free agents to fill some of those gaps.

Find their goaltender

While the Islanders are finally free of starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak’s long deal and are unlikely to bring him back, the next question is where do they go to find a new starting goaltender. While they do have two talented prospects in Ilya Sorokin and Linus Soderstrom, neither is an answer for this upcoming season. Sorokin has already said he doesn’t intend to sign with the Islanders under entry-level contract conditions, while Soderstrom is coming off season-ending surgery at the beginning of 2018. Neither would likely have been ready to jump into the NHL anyway.

That will force the team to either trade for a goalie, such as Washington’s Philipp Grubauer, or more likely find a stopgap solution on the free agent market, although the free agent goalie market is quite weak this offseason. Players such as Carter Hutton or Robin Lehner aren’t sure things. The team had some success with AHL goalie Christopher Gibson, but he eventually struggled as well. The team does still have Thomas Greiss under contract for two more years, but that isn’t a better option.

 

 

Latest On John Tavares & Free Agency

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While New York Islanders fans continue to watch the NHL playoffs and several of their players compete in the IIHF World Championships, there is something eating at the back of their mind. John Tavares remains unsigned, now into May. With less than two months remaining until the Islanders’ superstar captain can test free agency, chatter is beginning to increase once again even without much coming from the Tavares camp.

Recently, Craig Custance of The Athletic listed some teams who could potentially pursue the top free agent this summer. Today, another extremely well-respected hockey insider weighed in. During his latest “Bobcast” TSN’s Bob McKenzie responded to a listener question by explaining his thoughts on Tavares. Though he admits that it’s been quiet, McKenzie’s “gut” tells him that it’s more likely that the centerman ends up on the open market than re-sign with the Islanders.

That seems to be the prevailing idea lately, but one thing has to be made clear. Tavares himself has never wavered from the answer that he would love to stay in New York long-term. He has played it slow, and will review all options before making a decision. The interesting part of that decision is that the Islanders could make a huge splash elsewhere to try and keep their captain at home. With two first and two second round picks thanks to last summer’s Travis Hamonic trade, along with nearly $35MM in cap room for next season, the Islanders could potentially be the biggest spenders this offseason.

Even if Tavares leaves, there’s no reason to think the Islanders will throw in the towel. With another burgeoning superstar talent in Mathew Barzal just now showing how good he can really be, the team could build around him and compete next season. Even without Tavares the team should still have enough offensive talent, and an improved defense corps and goaltending situation could make them contenders in the Metropolitan Division.

Obviously, those chances would be strengthened with Tavares still in the fold. But though their decisions will be based on whether he comes back, don’t think the Islanders are undoubtedly heading for a rebuild should he decide to take his talents somewhere else.

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