Let the kids play

“Let the kids play” then why would you trade the isles top prospect who has a good shot at making the isles and 2022 1st for a position they don’t need.

raty probably wont play this year for one. although they have center depth, they need more high speed scoring which miller brings to the top 6. by let the kids play, i mean the kids that tore it up with the bottom six minutes they had this year such as wally and bellows. i mention in the description that the lines should pretty much be rolled which is my justification for keeping bellows on the third line.

Lou doesn't trade his guys so I don't think there's a chance Raty gets traded, he had a D+1 seasons similar to Anton Lundell and he was great in his 8 games in the AHL. JT Miller wants between 8 and 9 mill on his next contract. Miller had a career year, its highly unlikely he scores at the same rate on the isles. Nelson has had a lot of success as the isles 2C, it just doesn't make sense to move him to accomadate a declining J.T miller.

Blues decline. They have no need for another forward

Trading that much for JT Miller as a rental is an overpay; doubling down on that overpay by giving him a long-term extension that starts with his age-30 season might be doubling down on that. You've given up what could be the Islanders' two best prospects (assuming that whoever they pick at #13 is better than anyone else in the system other than Raty) and retained 2x$2.5M on Josh Bailey to do that - you're really putting the team in a short term position to maybe be a little better but they're going to have *nothing* in the cupboards to add at the deadline, or to replace the aging guys on a heavily over-30 team.

I can't see Palmieri getting a 1st in that deal - I think you need him to rebuild value this coming season because you're selling him as damaged goods after last season's struggles.

As long as Lou is the GM, I don't see him trading Cizikas. Rumors from last summer had Seattle offering him much more money in terms of AAV but he took the longer term deal to stay on the Island, and Lou doesn't strike me as the type of guy who isn't going to just renege on that one year later.

I might argue that bringing back Chara & Greene in 22-23 would be just as disastrous as relying on Salo & Aho as your LD2/3 this season - Salo probably can be sheltered as LD3 but Aho shouldn't be brought back as anything beyond a 7th D.