If I were you I would spend less time worrying about the Rangers needing a 2C and more time worrying about your 1C... The Rangers are set at centre with Zibanejad, Strome, and Chytil, as well as Morgan Barron maybe as soon as next season. Barzal is unsigned for next season and would anyone be surprised if he signed an offer sheet with any other team? Seriously, you should be worrying about your Isles centre position and not the Rangers at centre!

Barzal is an RFA and even if he did sign an offer sheet, isles would match.

Brock Nelson is on pace for 32 goals 63 points as our 2C , has the best defensive impact on the team , and is tasked with shutting down opposing team’s top lines. We’re good at center, thanks!

Stromes underlying metrics say otherwise. Panarin is like Crosby and Tavares, they have the ability to make anyone on their line produce at a high level. Many rangers fans don’t want him re-signed for that reason. They know it’s mostly panarin. Strome is going to get a ridiculous contract this summer, whether it’s from the rangers or another team. I think he’ll get traded before the deadline

I’m a troll what can I say

Pulock is also an RFA... Maybe a team will offer him $8 million for 7 years like NYR did with Trouba? Maybe a team will offer Barzal $12-13 million for 7 years? I don't believe the Isles have $20-21 million in cap space next season, but at least you have Brock Nelson to be next seasons 1C!

Metrics smetrics! Strome had no one to pass the puck too on the Isles and the Oilers never put him with McDavid or Draisaitl. Strome also put up very good numbers last season centring the 3rd line with top 6 wingers and centring the 2nd line after the trade deadline when Hayes was traded. I'm also fine if NYR trades him, I'm sure Gorton will get a lot in return and we've got lots of centre talent about to become NHL ready. But NYR could fit everyone in under next years cap if they trade Smith (maybe with Andersson) and buy out Staal.

Lmao

Barzy is staying an islander. Ask Brock is on pace for over 30 goals

Why is Barzal and Pulock not signed yet? Do you really believe team(s) who's grass seems greener are not going to target them this offseason?

I think strome is a very good offensive minded 3C (he’s pretty bad defensively) but he’s not a top 6 center. He’s filling that role with one of the best players in the league. I only brought up rangers prospects/players because the that other guy commented. I really dont care.

Rangers could probably get a 2nd and a B prospect for him at the deadline. The thing is any team that trades for him is not putting him on the 3rd line, he won’t play top 6 minutes on a contending team

Pulock is one of very few players in the NHL who grew up an islanders fan and Barry trotz helped him develop into a solid top pairing defenseman. Not really worried about him signing an offer sheet - also Pulock would be smart to wait till the end of the season to sign a deal considering he’s defending extremely and putting up points at a pretty impressive rate while shutting down opposing team’s top lines.

There is nothing that another team can throw at barzal (realistically) that the islanders can’t match. Sure if a team wants to give him 14 million , isles couldn’t match that. Barzal will probably sign for 10 x 6 or 10.5 x 7

Contending teams have top 6 wingers playing on the 3rd line and Gorton resigns Strome if he's not offered a 1st and a good prospect.

I don't see how the Isles could fit them both in under next years salary cap.

I have done the math and they can both fit without any problems. Leddy will be traded (5.5 mill) , Martin (2.5 mill) and Greiss (3.33) come off the books. Top 4 D pelech-pulock, toews-dobson. Pulock will sign for 6-6.5 mill x 5 years.

Lol there is no chance you are getting a 1st and a good prospect. Maybe a 1st from a desperate team. I’d honestly rather NYR re-sign him. This year is likely an outlier (contract year)

I have no problem at all with NYR resigning Strome if Gorton is not offered a 1st and a prospect like Lemieux, like he got in trade for Hayes. And for the record, Strome is a good defensive centre.

If the salary cap goes up to $83 million like it's projected, the Isles will have about $18.5 million in cap space. Figure $17 million if they want to have cap room to recall players if there's an injury and that's for 10 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 goalie. Even if Leddy is traded, it's going to be real tough fitting them in under the cap. Impossible if one or both are given an offer sheet.

I’m not even saying it because he’s on the rangers, go look at his metrics’s. I think analytics are a little more accurate than our eye test. Strome has one of the worst xGA( expected goals against) on the rangers, so does trouba.

A lot of NYR players are analytics darlings (mostly for their offensive skill sets)so to disregard analytics is ignorant IMO.

Hayes is a good two way 2nd line center.

You are so wrong it’s not even funny. It’s evident you don’t know anything about the islanders future plans. Even if they did get an offer sheet from both (highly unlikely, you just want it happen) , it’s as simple as burying leo komarov in the minors.

The rangers had to buyout shattenkirk contract for 1 year of cap relief after signing panarin. So the rangers can maneauver adding 11.6 mill but the isles can’t? Enjoy shattenkirks 6.1 mill on your payroll next season!

Hypothetical even if barzal got an offersheet for 11.5 mill (he’s worth between 10-10.5 so it would be a million dollar overpayment, his comparable is Aho who got 8.5 x 5) and pulock signed for 6.5 , isles would still have 800,000 in cap space with an 83,000,000 cap, and that’s with a 22 man roster (12 f , 6 D, 2 G, 1 extra F, 1 extra D. That’s with burying komarov and buying out clutterbuck.

Metrics smetrics analytics don't apply to Strome for the reasons I've already given... Had no one to pass the puck too in Strong Island and he never played with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins, in EDM. Until he came to the Rangers Strome had absolutely no one of quality on his line that he was centring. Judging Strome by his anal-ytics prior to joining the Rangers is flat out ignorant - bordering on perverse. In 100 games played with EDM he was only a minus -5, playing against lines much better than the line he was centring. Look at the talentless wingers he was stuck playing with in EDM... He should have been at least a minus -50 in those 100 games! That's why metrics smectrics don't apply to Strome until he started playing for the Rangers.

Either way the Islanders are going to regress next season.

Ah yes the islanders are going to regress next season. I heard that during the middle of last season and all summer. It seems like it’s more of a defense mechanism when opposing fans are losing an argument rather than truth. You wanting the islanders to regress and that actually happening are two separate matters and any argument that you present would like be filled with confirmation bias because you just want to be right.

It’s already over a 100 game sample size that the islanders are playing at this level, they are not going away anytime soon. the islanders just added Noah Dobson to already one of the best D cores in the NHL

“Analytics don’t apply to strome because I don’t want them to and it doesn’t support my argument” seems rational bud. We’re really using +/- to evaluate a player in 2020? XGA is an isolated metric so it doesn’t matter who he plays with! He’s not good defensively on the rangers and he’s never been good defensively at any time during his career. By the way, he played with anders lee and Brock Nelson, who are both top 6 players , so not sure what you’re talking about.

Analytics is just information, it’s nothing complex and it applies to every player whether you like it or not

Possibly... Even without Leddy, Greiss, Clutter****, Komarov (whom NYR wanted to sign when he was a UFA), etc, the Isles (like NYR) are a young team who's players are mostly trending towards improving rather than declining. Also Trots is a great coach, so even without said mentioned players the Isles might not regress. But dude! Barzal and Pulock should have been signed already because if left unsigned into the offseason, it's very possible they will both be given offer sheets that will be very difficult for the Isles to match.