I’d bring up Koivula before I’d bring up Fritz. I like him but he has a low, low ceiling. Koivula has potential.

Other than that I agree

Yeah, this post was meant to be somewhat realistic - I’d rather have koivula than fritz but fritz actually brings speed , grit, and decent playmaking abilities. At times he’s really good and he would definitely be an upgrade over brassard. He also plays on the pk, which also factors into their decision.

I have a bad feeling wahlstrom will be sent down due to Lou lamoriellos loyalty to slow vets

Haven't been watching the Isles, but, is Dobson going to end up staying for the year? Met him this summer. Super great kid.

He will most likely be with the team for the entire season. My guess is he'll play around 45-50 games, I hope its more though. They don't want him playing 30+ min a game in juniors and they feel that he has nothing left to prove in the Q. That being said, it's been frustrating seeing him as a healthy scratch for 6 out of the 8 games - they are easing him in and im sure there will be injuries soon. His underlying metrics were very, very good in his 1st two games.

what are the chances they loan him to team Canada in December

I highly doubt it, I believe they want him to be under the islanders control, working with the trainers and getting stronger.

I’d dump Martin way before I dump Ross. Ross brings a lot more to the table.

you're right, but Lou/trotz both like his "intangibles" - such BS lol

Martin's intangibles aren't BS, lol. Martin is the heart and sole of the Islanders, and exemplifies what it means to be an Islanders. He may not be the best player, and maybe he's not the player he was in his first stint with the Isles, but he gives 110% and works hard EVERY shift. There is a reason he, Cizikas and Clutter are "the best fourth line in hockey" and it's not because they are superstar players.

Martin never wanted to leave, but Snow in his infinite wisdom (Sarcasm) didn't offer him a contract and needless to say, the Isles **** the bed the 2 years he was gone. The guy LOVES being an Islander and I wouldn't be surprised if he's resigned to a cheaper deal (Johnston like) when his current deal his up.

My frustration has more to do with Lou lamoriello prioritizing intangibles over skill and needing to have 7 4th line quality players on the roster.

For the most part, when Martin, cizikas, and clutterbuck are together, They are effective but cizikas is the one that drives that line. So far this season Martin and clutterbuck have not been good - Trotz brought that up in an interview after practice and Martin was a healthy scratch 3 games in a row, I personally hope he’s not re-signed and clutterbuck is bought out, but if he’s given a 1 year 700 k deal it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

You can't have a team of all skill players, you need guys who bring heart and grit to the team as well. Those intangibles, as you call them, are just as important as having a guys that can score 100 points a season. We saw that when Martin left and Clutter was hurt, the team has NO ONE to protect the Barzals and Tavares' of the team. Since Martin was brought back and Clutter got healthy, teams haven't been able to run over Barzal without having to pay for it later.

If Martin is willing to take a 1-3 year deal in the 1-1.5m range he'll be back (there is a reason Lou brought him over from TOR). Johnston is a Martin clone from a few years ago, having him as a backup for Martin (when he is out of the lineup) is a nice thing to have, but Martin is the heart of this team (always has been) and if he isn't brought back the Isles will feel it on the ice.

Honestly, I'd rather see Clutter bought out and Johnston take his place on RW and roll with Martin-Cizikas-Johnston/Komarov as the new fourth line.

I know a lot of people attribute the Isles success last season to them bringing in Trotz, and rightfully so... but I also think a big part of the turnaround was Lou bringing in guys like Filppula, Komarov and Martin... gritty guys who play more with heart and work ethic than skill.

You can’t have a team of all skill players, but the route the islanders are going (not enough skill players) isn’t the best move either. The islanders as currently constructed cannot compete with teams like Boston and Carolina who have a ton of grit and intangibles, but a lot of speed as well. The islanders have lost their last 6 games against the hurricanes (including playoffs) and the the last 5 against the bruins.

Agree to disagree on Martin. I do believe he’s been good for this team, but his age (and lack of physicality so far this season) should be a good reason to move on. I would go with Johnston-cizikas-Fritz next season. Johnston skates better than Martin and has more offensive upside and fritz brings speed, grit, and playmaking abilities. A lot of fans hate on fritz, but he is underrated and he would bring a lot to the 4th line. The islanders just have a lot of bad contracts which prevents him from being up with the team.

My problem would be if the islanders sent back wahlstrom to keep both Martin and Johnson on the 23. The islanders don’t need 7 4th liners on the roster.

We are gonna have to agree to disagree on all this, I think. The Isles have a TON of talent and skill in the minors... Dobson, Wilde, Wahlstrom, Bellows (yes he still counts), Holmstrom, Koivula, etc... that eventually will add that skill up front. This team won last year on Grit and hard work, that can't be discounted. Yes, they absolutely need more offense, I'm not denying that, but we are already starting to see that happen this year... Beau is off to a good start, Barzal is heating up the last few games, Bailey is off to a good start, Dobson and Wahlstrom have looked amazing in the games they have played... that's more than enough skill and talent at the top, but in the bottom 6 you need some grit and toughness.

Wahlstrom won't be sent down, I can't see them justifying that demotion in any way, shape or form... I can see dal Colle being the casualty if someone needs to go, which wouldn't be a total loss. dal Colle has turned into a nice 3rd line player, but I don't see him being the Top 6 guy they envisioned him being, and as you pointed out, we have enough bottom 6 guys. Yes, I'd prefer someone like Komarov or Ladd being the one to go, but if the casualty for Wahlstrom staying up is dal Colle, I'm okay with that.

And I know a lot of people on here criticize Lou/Trotz for the love of Vets, but let's not forget they did waive a bottom pairing veteran defenseman (Hickey) who Lou just gave a brand new 4 year deal to, to keep Dobson on the roster. Yes, they are playing Boychuk over him more than they should, but they did cut a Veteran to keep a rookie... so it's not against them to do something like that for Wahlstrom.

One last point, if you remember, I was one of the people clamoring for Fritz to take over the 3C or 4C (move Casey up to 3C) spot in the offseason, so I am a fan of his. But I just think, at this point, others have passed him by on the depth chart. Koivula is now targeted for that 3C spot next year and Johnston seems to have secured his spot on the 23 man roster... I can see them doing Martin-Cizikas-Johnston (if Clutter gets bought out) with Fritz as the 13/14th forward next year. I just don't see them NOT re-signing Martin.

I agree on most of what you said with the exception of Martin lol - I’m fine with wahlstrom and Dobson being the additions this season; Dobson helps with the transition game and he’s solid defensively. Wahlstrom shot is elite and he’s the only player other than barzal that can creat his own chances. I just have a feeling he’ll get sent down because he’s waiver exempt. I pray I’m wrong. Dobson’s underlying metrics have been at an elite level (small sample size) so I really don’t get why they haven’t played him. Let the kids play.

Yeah, I don't understand why they aren't playing him either. Only things I can think of is, they have a few teams interested in Boychuk and are trying to play him as much as possible to showcase him for those teams. OR, they are working with Dobson on training, conditioning and adding on some muscle, as he is listed at 6'3 and 184 lbs, which is on the slight side for someone 6'4. Where as Wahlstrom is 6'1 and 211 lbs, so he is more developed physically.

As for Wahlstrom being sent down, I understand your concerns but I don't see it. He was literally on the cusp of making the team out of camp and they moved Bailey back to LW to make room for him coming up eventually. I think with the way he is playing they can't justify sending him down. He was going to be up by Nov/Dec anyway, the Eberle injury only expedited the call up that was coming.

I understand easing Dobson in and helping him develop physically, but sitting him for 3 games is unacceptable IMO. Of course id rather sit boychuk, but the toews-mayfield pairing has been struggling big time so I would take out mayfield if that’s what it takes to get Dobson in.

Brian Compton just said Casey is taking line rushes with Martin and clutterbuck + Cole bardreau is playing as well ?. If wahlstrom is scratched for kuhnhackl I’ll lose my mind lol

Ok all is good , wahlstrom is in the lineup

Dobson is scratched for the 4th game in a row.

I think we are just going to have to get use to seeing Dobson in the press box for the foreseeable future, whether we like it or not.

On the other hand, this is why I think Wahlstrom is here to stay. They could have called up Bardreau instead of Wahlstrom to sit on the bench and use guys like Khuhnhackl, Komarov and Johnston to fill in for Ebs... but they chose to call up Wahlstrom to play, because I think they knew he was ready to be an everyday NHLer.

Dobson is playing tomorrow. They have wahlstrom with bardreau and dal colle. I see they’re trying to put the kid in the best position to succeed

Where did you see that Dobson was playing tomorrow?

Trotz told Andrew gross everyone will play this weekend

Ah, gotcha. Didn't see that. Thanks!

I have no doubt wahlstrom will be back in BPT soon - he only played 7 min tonight. For some reason trotz doesn’t trust him although He was solid ;his xG% was 62% while dal colle and bardreau were under 35%. He created chances with players that can’t generate offense, which is pretty impressive.

I think you're making something where there is nothing. That whole line, dal Colle-Bardreau-Wahlstrom, played less than 10 minutes... maybe Trotz felt with it being a line made up of young guys and AHLers (Bardreau) he'd limit their ice time some, and give some of the other lines more ice time. My point is Wahlstrom has now played 4 games and it doesn't appear Ebs is coming back anytime soon, which means if Wahlstrom plays 5 more games his ELC can no longer slide and becomes active for this year... I don't see the Isles burning a year of his deal in the AHL.

As much as we all want to see Wahlstrom and Dobson as fixtures in the lineup, the team is HOT right now. They just won their 5th straight game and the team is actually starting to score... how about we hold off on the doom and gloom about who Trotz is and isn't playing, because clearly, whatever he is doing, it's working right now.