If isles trade pulock (highly unlikely) it would have to be for a top 6 winger with term, like a nylander or ehlers. The value is there on this trade, but it just doesn’t make sense for the NYI to do this.

The guy you get at #4-#6 may well be better than Ehlers or Nylander (Elias Pettersson?) plus you get your next #3 LhD for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure that draft pick vs. forward with term would be a disqualifying discrepancy. But yes, I agree with you that the chances of the Isles trading Ryan Pulock are <5%.

The only way I could see a trade like you proposed happening is if one of wilde/grant Hutton prove that they can make a significant impact at the NHL level by the end of this season (highly unlikely).

It is tempting though - holtz/Raymond will be very good players.

I think this makes more sense for the Islanders if they were expected to be a middling team by season's end, especially considering that Larsson's next deal will look very similarly to what Pulock's does today. The value is for sure there, but this is a team looking at - or beyond - the second round of the playoffs, not one trying to quickly patch the ship before taking another run at it all.

Furthermore, the Isles having very little in the way of a defender that could step into Pulock's role as a top-pairing righty next season. Dobson's probably looking at the second pair next season and maybe Wilde is on the bottom pair? I haven't seen anything from Mayfield that suggests he can manage that top pair, which forces NYI into expensive UFA options like Barrie. Not the end of the world given how much salary comes off the books over the next couple seasons, but fitting an expensive Barzal under all of that too makes it unnecessarily tricky.

Dobson will probably be the #1 D by the end of next season after he adds some muscle during the summer. He's been solid in almost every game he's appeared in this season, but I don't think he should start off on the top pairing next season. I think NYI should be patient with wilde, I actually hope they send him back to saginaw and then let him develop in the AHL next season. ELC slides to 2021-22 season. I think he'll be a solid 2nd pairing Dman and run PP1 eventually, but he has to work on his play away from the puck.

I am rooting for Dobson to develop in such a manner, but what's the solution - if the Isles don't keep Pulock - for the #1RD position until Dobson is ready for it? Just because he could be there by the end of the 2021 season, doesn't mean there exists a solution for the Islanders now or for the onset of 20-21.

The smartest course of action is to resign Pulock and keep him to the end of 2021 or to the midst of 21-22, and then trade him on his next contract for proper top-six wingers.

Through the first half, the Islanders outscored only Columbus, New Jersey, Ottawa and Detroit, so they might really be tempted by the opportunity to get a big offensive gun.

Noah Dobson could be the next Cale Makar (hope, hope), in which case Pelech-Dobson, Toews-Mayfield and Larsson-Wilde might be a viable defense even if they decide to trade Nick Leddy.

Please note that I try to make two kinds of trades: those that I think make real-life rational sense (like veterans for future assets), and those I view as "wishful thinking." This construction definitely falls into the latter category. This isn't a Toffoli-for-a-second-and-third-and-I'm-going-to-defend-my-reasoning-vociferously kind of trade; it's a hopeful ideation.

I agree with you, trading pulock is not going to happen. He'll probably get 6-6.5 x 5 (taking him to his age 30 season, setting him up for another big payday), but there's definitely a good chance he gets traded in a few years once wilde is ready.

Next season, the D core will be pelech-pulock, toews-dobson, Aho-mayfield, boychuk 7 D. Leddy will be traded.

Those are pretty solid predictions, including the Leddy prophecy. Still -- can't I interest you in a slightly used Jacob Larsson?

Ducks get the first or second pick in one of the lotteries, we'll be back in touch.

Or the Ducks could draft Drysdale instead...

With pelech and toews as the top 4 LHD + needing to trade leddy to create cap space + needing to give Aho playing time because im sure they don't want to lose him to group lV UFA --- I can't see isles trading for a LHD lol

The problem with Drysdale is that he might not be available when the Ducks make it to the stage. Could be gone by 5th behind Lafreniere, Byfield, Raymond, and Stutzle. If New Jersey ends up with the #3-5 picks, he'll definitely be gone.

A definite strategy. But I'd rather have the immediate gratification.

That's why this post involves the NYI late-round pick: the opportunity to draft either Schneider or Justin Barron. And then there's that early second-rounder, too.

I think Schneider goes at around #16 fwiw. His name is coming up a lot more in draft circles. He's a strong, complete defender, and Barron seems to be the guy slipping into the 20s.

Yeah... I'll pass from ANA, i don't trust Pulock on a top pair of a cup contending team WITHOUT TROTZ/NYI'S SYSTEM and trading a likely top line winger within a few years (or C if we go with Stutzle) who would fit in perfectly with our age group for a guy who will probably end on the second pair... Pass from me...

Pulock was very good before trotz became head coach - he’s not a product of the system.

My visceral feeling (i.e., I have no empirical evidence to back this up) is that once they're out of the top 10, defensemen tend to drop anywhere from 5 to 15 spots from where they are projected to go due to GMs' preferences for forwards in the first round. Barron and Schneider were initially ranked 13 and 14, so I expect at least one of them to slip a little in the mid-season rankings and then a little further in the pre-draft final rankings and then a little further on the actual day. Guys who move up like Travis Sanheim tend to be the exception rather than the rule (although a couple of guys predicted his rise to #24).

Interesting deal to be sure. A pick in the 4-6 range net the Isles a really good scorer who could step in next season. However, moving Pulock puts a lot of pressure on Dobson to develop quickly and we lose the lynchpin of our defense.

Definitely a creative way to plug holes on both teams, but I just think its too much of risk for the Islanders. Besides, the Ducks could get Drysdale with that pick. Might be better doing that in the long run.

That's a good strategy, and probably the one the Ducks will have to follow, but it postpones Anaheim's contention for a couple of years, by which time Getzlaf's window will have closed and Henrique's and Fowler's will be closing. I want my playoffs NOW!!

I know its tough, the same dilemma the Blackhawks have right now....

The Ducks are weird because I didn't really see their fall coming and when it did, it was really bad. I still feel like they're only a piece or two away from being competitive again, but then I look at the production they get out of their top players and it makes me rethink.

A little unrelated but do you think they should've gone harder after Faulk?

In the near term, yes. But in the long run, it will turn out okay.

My understanding is that Carolina wanted Ondrej Kase, and that was the sticking point. Eventually, the Hurricanes gave up Faulk for a high-first-round C prospect (Bokk), a third-pairing defenseman and an irrelevant draft pick. Factoring in Edmundson's expensive ticket and lack of fit in Raleigh, I think they might have been better off with Jacob Larsson, Isac Lundestrom and whatever else was needed, but then Anaheim wouldn't be getting the choice draft pick they will be enjoying in June. In short, Faulk might have made Anaheim a playoff team this year and probably make them a playoff team in the future, but the Ducks' long-term success is probably better the way things are.

I'd pass. We need a franchise forward and that pick could very well net us that. Pulock is a good player, but he's not an elite #1D imo (which is really what we need). I don't think he's worth the swap, not even close.

Not surprised NYI fans think the deal is close, but wouldn't pull the trigger. They need players who can help out now, not futures. They're in a good spot to contend this season. Love how that team has been developed over the years and they've got a proven winner coaching them. They should be adding players, not subtracting.

Well, now that the mid-terms have come out, you're proven right again. Schneider at #8 NA, Barron at # 20 NA.

I'd love for Anaheim somehow to swing a trade for something around #25 and take Barron there.