I'm still not sold with Zajac being on the top line, to me he's just a slight upgrade from Komarov, although he did look much better on that line than Komarov ever did. The Coburn deal was pointless in my opinion he's not any better than Hickey or Aho. There were better defenseman that were an actual upgrade available and a few of them were even on waivers for free.

I think Zajac is a massive upgrade over komorov. Zajac can take faceoffs and komorov can barely handle the puck or do anything for that matter. The Coburn deal doesn’t hurt it’s only a 7th rounder.

No the Coburn deal doesn't hurt, but it was a pointless trade when he's not an upgrade,

It can never hurt to have enough defense especially in the playoffs.

I feel there was still a lot better ones out there, they had the cap space to take on more than a guy like Coburn though.

Who do you think they should’ve got?

In the limited time he's been there he has done well I think. Keep in mind, there's no way he's fully comfortable with the system after only a few days. He wins crucial faceoffs, which is a skill Barzal doesn't have at the moment, and can play solid defense. I wouldn't mind seeing him and Palmieri swap places in the lineup, but I'm still waiting to see how they play once they've had real time to learn the system (like during this 3 day off period).

Personally, I would have jumped all over Mete on waivers. I'm surprised some team didn't. He's having a rough year in Montreal but that doesn't mean he wouldn't shine in the Islanders system. Nobody in the North knows where their own blue line is so you can't fault him for that.

Senators claimed him so it wouldn't have mattered if the Isles tried to, the waiver order is the inverse of the standings, Lou likely knew Mete wasn't an option.

Face-offs aren't as big of a deal as fans think. I believe it was mike johnston who said that only 3 of the last 10 teams in the Stanley cup finals had a FO % over 50%. This team will not go far with zajac at lw. He needs one of beau/palmieri/wahlstrom

agreed, but lou and trotz value size over skill. Mete >>>>>> greene

We're in trouble if Coburn gets more than a game or 2 in the playoffs.

Oh did they, must have missed that thanks.

It's not just gross%, it's heavily situational (ie "crucial faceoffs). If you just read a little bit more you'd have seen that I qualified my statement by saying he has had limited time to play with the team and that I wouldn't mind seeing him and Palms switch spots.

Additionally, Wahlstrom being on the top line would necessitate Eberle moving to his off-wing or really shaking up the rest of the lines, so I don't see Trotz putting him up there for extended minutes.

I saw what you said, I just don't think learning the system on Barzal's line is beneficial to the team. I have a feeling trotz see's zajac as the long term solution at 1lw

Isles fans love to overvalue old defenseman who can barely skate.

Dobson to the bench?

— LI Sports Fan (@LIsportsfans) April 12, 2021

*LOL* Oh God I hope not.

Whenever you have a chance to sit a 6’4 smooth skating D you gotta do it lol

A Greene-coburn pairing ha! The sens wouldn’t even do that.

Honestly I was hoping they'd trade for a faster d-man to replace Greene. I still don't think he's got the legs to skate with the faster teams, like Tampa for example. It doesn't matter how sound you are defensively after they've already blown past you.

If you watch the Greene-Dobson pair closely, Greene’s lack of mobility is a big reason why that pairing gets hemmed in. He cannot evade pressure, so he gives Dobson a suicide pass or throws it around the boards which usually results in a turnover. He only brings value on the PK.

I thought hickey did really well in his 6 games this season. I would love to see a hickey-Dobson pairing. The problem is Lou/trotz likely value coburn over hickey 🤦🏼‍♂️

I would’ve traded a 5th for mete or Hutton

Yeah Hutton would have been another option. I don't mind Greene in most situations, I just don't want a repeat of last years ECF. Tampa made him look like he was standing still.