Feels light to take on a 5 mill AAV dump. Add something else going to Chicago, maybe a draft pick upgrade or draft choice within the next two years

Casey Cizikas for a 2nd 😂

Yes, that’s a very good offseason for the Isles

But not so very good for Sabres

Sabres gave up one for someone worse. Seems pretty on brand lol

Why? That’s exactly what they need. They can’t defend.

Yeah...Kyle Davidson has put it out there 3 times now. It'll take a 2nd rounder if you want to them to take your dump. TJ, Dickinson, Zaitsev.

All three of those guys had multiple years remaining. Bailey has one and his actual salary is lower than his cap hit.

Acciari or Kampf cheaper or comparable free agents and better and younger

No need for encore performance

I'm not saying your wrong. Your absolutely stating facts. It just seems like KD's track record is...let's start the conversation with a 2nd or not have it at all. He hasn't taken on any other dumps. Even Khudobin...much larger trade, but still a 2nd. Again, not saying you're wrong. Just trying to put in so additional facts to show where KDs mindset is.

If Buffalo was interested, you’d be lucky to get a fourth or fifth round pick to just get that salary off the books. That’s about what he’s worth.

Cizikas has value. Takes a lot of tough matchups according to ARHockey.

I don’t doubt that he could be useful. But you’re not getting a good return for a guy that age making that much money for that long. Girgensons is putting up similar numbers for less money, and I don’t think they even want to move on from him. You might be able to convince me to give up the third round pick they got in return for Portillo, but that’s as good as you’ll ever get.

Dude they don’t play remotely the same role. Difference between a true center who wins his faceoffs and a fourth line winger is huge.

Girgensons is a Natural Center who gets used on the wing because they have other guys they like in that role. At this point Cizikas would be a fourth line center who kills penalties and wins face-offs. I kind of like the idea of a Jost-Cizikas-Girgensons line, and the Isles have a surplus of centermen and probably need to cut payroll. Let’s not pretend it’s not doing them a favor.

The isles aren’t even shopping Cizikas, and even when Girgensons was in his prime he wasn’t half the player Cizikas is today. Dude is fast, kills penalties and wins faceoffs at a very high clip. You would not be doing the isles a favor by “taking him.”

Not important in the grand scheme of things but TJ was a bowman trade. Your point still stands, but I think getting a 2nd outright for Bailey is a bit rich. I would do a 2nd swap (NYI for Tampa) and the third in 25.

They may not be shopping him now, but they will be shopping somebody. The isles have a center core of Barzal, Horvat, Pageau, and Cizikas, unless I’m forgetting somebody. Those four players also make almost 1/3 of the entire cap. I agree it’s more likely that Pageau is the guy being shopped this off-season, but his salary and term makes him even harder to move. The isles may not want to move Cizikas, but he may be the only one of those players they can move (that they would consider) without retaining money.

Barzal has moved to wing with Horvat. Isles r fine. Horvat-Nelson-Pageau-Cizikas.

I wasn’t even including Nelson in those cap figures. He puts it well over 1/3 of the cap to 5 players. Paying $5 million to a third line center does not sound like a great plan. But you go ahead and tell yourself the Islanders are totally fine.

The isles are in now way shape or form totally fine lol. I’m just trying to convey my opinion that contracts like Pageau and Cizikas aren’t the real issue. Tampa Bay won with Yanni Gourde and centering line 3 and I think Tyler Johnson centered line 4.

You can’t compare the Islanders to Tampa Bay. They are a long way from a Stanley Cup contender. It’s not sustainable to spend $35 million on four players either. I would imagine they want to keep Mayfield, and they have to pay Wahlstrom this summer. That money has to come from somewhere, not that $2.5 million from the Cizikas is going to be enough.

Islanders have Varly coming off the books, and will probably dump or buyout Bailey. Right now the islanders are spending 17.65 on Barzal/Horvat to play top line minutes. They are spent 13.50 on Nelson, Pageau and Cizikas. There’s nothing wrong with that imo.

Not saying they r as good as TBL, but the guys ur discussing have real value. Not trying to be overly critical of your opinion tho! I understand where you are coming from.

The injury to Wahlstrom might actually be a saving grace when it comes to the Islanders doing their budget. Since he’s been hurt he won’t be able to command quite as much as he otherwise would have, but Mayfield is going to cost a pretty penny. I doubt the Islanders can really afford to lose him either. I still think they will try to move Pageau, I just don’t know who is going to take that salary without dumping another of their own in return.