I'm tired of everyone saying that Lou Lamoriello just falls in love with the types of players that won him his Cups in New Jersey in the 90s and 00s. He's not that old-fashioned that he's going to lean on the same strategies he's been using for over 30 years! He's going to adjust to what's helping his teams win in the here and now, in the 2022 NHL.
And looking at this past season's Islanders team, the answer is clear: MORE. ILYA. Let's hope he just doesn't take it to the extre-oh, no...oh no oh no oh no.
TRADES
-"Semyon"? Only shares one letter with Ilya! Get him OUT! Washington has zero goalies right now and probably could use one, right? Even if they're going to be signing Darcy Kuemper, they still have literally -zero- goalies under contract with any professional experience. Islanders eat a little bit of Varlamov's salary to make his contract more in line with a backup's cost, and to get a slightly better return.
-I like Richard Panik and think he deserves a spot to play. Tried to find a cap team that needed some depth forwards, and Panik can be an affordable option to replace the Sceviour/Brassard/Archibald part of the bottom 6.
-Not enough Ilyas. Here's one, even if he's 6th round pick from last year putting up nothing playing on a second division KHL team!! Josh Bailey moves on to one of the most cursed teams in the league, currently, and we send along Bode Wilde to make sure the vibes stay as noxious as possible. Chicago gives us Ilya #2 and one of the picks they got for DeBrincat because the idea of turning that into Bode Wilde is just too perfect to pass up.
-I think Toronto fans need something nice after how bad that Matt Murray deal was, and I remember that a) so many of them tried to trade for Scott Mayfield around the deadline this past season and b) it's legally required by the Canadian government to try and trade Justin Holl if you're doing a Leafs ACGM. This makes it easier for them - they upgrade Holl into Mayfield and save $555K (every dollar is extremely important for a team so tight to the cap) and they throw in a good prospect in Nick Abruzzese and a longshot in William Villeneuve to make up for the value gap between Mayfield and Holl.
SIGNINGS
-We need a goalie and and Ilya, and Washington did us a huge favor today by letting us kill two birds with one stone. Ilya #3 gets 2x$2M to rebuild some value as a backup keeping Ilya #1 fresh for the playoffs.
-Trading Josh Bailey opened up a middle-6 wing spot. Ilya #4 (Mikheyev) signs on for 3x$3.25M to hopefully turn Bailey's spot in the lineup from a passive playmaker into a shooter who can finish.
-Since we traded Scotty Mayfield, and Justin Holl is probably someone you want being a #7 D if possible, we get to bring Ilya #5 on board and give Ilya Lyubshkin 3x$1.8M. I think Lyub is a slightly lesser player than Mayfield, and the cap hit's a little higher, but this basically gives us another 2 years of of an inexpensive RD3 that you don't really need to worry about.
-We have another winger spot open on the 3rd line, and there are no more Ilyas. Nicholas Aube-Kubel, however, has a name like a French viscount and that impresses Lou enough to throw 2x$1.75M at a player I'm honestly shocked that the Avs didn't keep around (his QO was a pittance!)
This roster means that Lou has achieved his goals and cornered the Ilya market in the NHL - for now. He currently has his son Chris monitoring the following teams: Calgary (2019 3rd round pick Ilya Nokolev & 2020 7th rounder Ilya Solovyov), Arizona (2021 2nd rounder Ilya Fedotov), and Tampa (undrafted FA Ilya Usau). If another Ilya surfaces, these extra picks and hordes of AHL depth forwards the Islanders have amassed will be deployed to make sure that no other team exploits the Ilya Advantage.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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