Isles match for Barzal at $9m

Islanders match pretty easily

Are you open to retaining salary on Smith?

Isles have 8.1 in cap space, they have to move some pieces to match.

Wouldn't be opposed to it. Couldn't resign McKegg and could prob retain a mil?

Pretty sure Lou said he’d match almost any number on Barzal, it’d prolly have to be like 11 for him to consider just taking the picks and Barzal isn’t worth 11 mil.

Fair. I just don't think the Isles have the space for it at the moment, Lou would have to move some pieces around.

Even if Lou could/would do it, I think there's value in forcing his hand.

Isles are expected to shed cap this offseason. Leddy is almost certain to get traded, Komarov is likely to get traded, and Lou is also going to put at least one of our eternally injured vets (Boychuk, Ladd, Komarov) on LTIR. The Isles still have to do a lot to ahed cap, yes, but expect them to have done all that by the time an offer sheet comes in. It’s also worth noting that teams can go way over the cap during the offseason. Lou could sign Barzal to a 10x8 kind of deal on the first day he could, and then worry about clearing the cap space later.

Interesting offer for oilers very worthy of consideration not certain I’d pull the trigger on it but good job

Agreed with all of this, but I think its a win / win for NYR if they sheet him. Either they get him and have a stacked top 9 or they force the Isles to sweat a bit. They have to move a LOT of pieces around not only for this year but for next. That's where they're in trouble. Sorokin, Dal Colle, Pelech, and Beauvillier all expire next year too. Going to be interesting to see how Lou does it.

Ranger fans be wanting to go straight to cap hell, lol. Going to be some interesting contract decisions in NY the next several years.

While it’s technically possible for the Rangers to force their division rival to sign their guy to a bad contract, there’s a reason most GMs don’t do stuff like this. Once one person does it, everyone will do it. You guys just got Lafreniere. Between now and the end of his ELC, you’ll have to sign Kravtzov, Kaako, Buchnevich, Shesterkin, Fox and Miller’s contracts, all with Kreider, Panarin and Trouba in the books. Can you fit all those guys in? I’d say yes, but if NYR normalizes bad faith offer sheets, expevt a team like NJD to offer sheet you guys when you’re cap strapped. This sort of thing hasn’t been normalized yet. Maybe it will some day, maybe even this offseason. But there’s a reason why it hasn’t yet.

Just because you extend him an offer doesnt mean its an offer sheet. The Player has to want to accept the contract. The Islanders can go 10% over the cap for the summer bur will need to be compliant to start the season

Haha, I agree. I was just told by a buddy of mine to look into the Barzal situation with the Isles and I got carried away, that's really all this is to me. I don't think this is something that'll be done.

As for fitting those contracts in, I think the Rangers are going to be fine in terms of signings. After next year Hank, Staal and Smith come off the books which frees up 35mil, I think the Rangers get everyone signed (if they don't do something like sign Barzal lol) for well under.

Would be a weird situation if forcing hand offer sheets became normalized, huh...

And MB won't want to come to the Rangers, he saw how Isles fans treated JT when he left. This won't happen, a buddy told me to look into it and I got carried away. I think they keep him, I'm interested to see what they do though, as they are in deep RFA trouble next year.