I agree with the idea of not selling your farm. But I think the Islanders need a defenseman with greater puck moving and skating ability than De Haan. Especially if paired with someone like Mayfield. Dermott would be the ideal fit IMO. $1.5M x 2 years and would cost around a 3rd round pick. He has crushed playing 17 minutes a night on a third pair and should be ready for a bigger role (Played less minutes last season but crushed it the two seasons before last and this one as well in a more limited role).

Decent idea, but maybe just signing Erik Gustafsson is a good way to fill out the 2nd pair

Not necessarily true regarding type of player they need. I think they need a strong two-way guy to play with Dobson. Dobson is becoming that, so playing him with someone like Ekholm or deHaan would be a great fit for him.

I'm very into bringing in Dermott, but I would put him with Mayfield. They'd be a nice pair. Dermott isn't nearly as good as Leddy but is a decent replacement and a great fit cap-wise.

Gustafsson seems like a guy that would never get along with Trotz.

True that

So i did change it but the issue now is that we had to give up another prospect and another pick. Does it make the team better? Yes it does. But idk if the whole thing is worth it bc its not just trading for dermott but also moving cap out.

I agree that Dermott isn't as good as Leddy, he doesn't provide the same amount of offense but defensively he is really solid. You won't need him to play PP either with Dobson and Pulock taking care of that. He might not even need to play the PK with Pelech and Greene being ahead of him as well. He can just be that solid utility defenseman that can fill in when needed but give you around 18:00 good minutes a night by playing smart and aggressive. He has the ability to play on the PK as well, but his strengths is the ability to move the puck, quickly and accurately, edge work and playing zero gap which forces a lot of dump ins and uncontrolled entries. He has a good and active stick, and usually makes the right decision as well. I am sure someone like Dobson will eat a lot more minutes and assume greater responsibility, maybe they could be paired together as well.

Moving a 3rd isn't a big deal. I know it's a different sport, but you should see the New York Giants' history in the third round the last few years.

Dermott is totally worth a 3rd.

I am not sure if you need to acquire both Dermott and De Haan. I think it would be one or the other. You could sign someone like Gustafsson or Hutton for depth as a 7th defenseman. That is probably the route I would go.

Oh, I'm totally on board with bringing in Dermott, trust me. My issue is I don't want him to be the only guy we bring in. I think we need a 2nd AND a 3rd pairing guy. If we bring in Dermott, I want him to be the third pairing guy. I guess if we only bring Dermott in to start the season, see how he does, then bring in another defenseman before the deadline I'm okay with that too. But it'll be just like when we got Leddy and Boychuk back in 2014. One would've been nice, but both changed the makeup of our team for the better.

I think trotz would rather play a veteran with each of them but thats just my opinion. I really like dermott and think not just will mayfield and him fit perfectly, theres such a big difference in mayfields play depending on the style of his partner. And i think dermott will be perfect for that.

Im a giants fan 😭😭😭. I do like peart tho so i guess we'll see.
As for dermott i dont mind the 3rd at all but it also means we have to move cap out. I did change it bc i like it, and we arent really selling the farm, but its a slippery slope. It starts as just a 3rd, then a 3rd and a prospect, then a 2nd and a 3rd, and before you know it youre moving so much more than you originally wanted to.

Okay now I see. Yes I think that's smart. You can start of the season with Greene on the third pair and Dermott on the 2nd and see how the season unfold and what kind of players come available towards the TDL. At that point you might be able to move for another defenseman and include someone like Bellows in the deal if he isn't in the plans. I am sure that a rebuilding team would like to take a chance on a former 1st round pick rather than having a third round pick.

Fair assessment. I mean with that first pair playing all the heavy minutes, those other guys should be fine whatever the combinations are.

I dont see that as a viable option. I dont like greene as an everyday starter i dont think his body can hold up. Bringing in dermott means you cant sub in aho for greene because trots wont play aho or dermott with dobson. Therefore if we bring in dermott it has to also be with someone else.

Idk how many people know this but if im not mistaken, leddy led all islanders dmen in minutes (either 5v5 or even strength i forgot). Yes pelech will take a couple of those heavy minutes but we need guys that can play.

I guess you can get Dermott for a third and the use someone like Bellows for another defenseman to ensure Greene is number 7. What other piece would the Islanders likely be okay to part with? Holmström?

So thats what i did here. Bellows isnt in the plans bc trotz doesnt trust him for sh*t. I dont think lou wants to deal holmstrom, i think he wants to wait a bit and hope it works out. Hes shown a little promise but we will have to wait and see. Nonetheless it was a terrible pick both then and now (especially when you consider the guy we shouldve picked then tomasino, how hes doing now).

I don’t think people realize how bad Leddy was at 5v5 - he was pretty much a PP specialist. The only reason isles were able to get the return for Leddy is because of his reputation/skating ability but he’s a fringe 3rd pair guy at 5v5. I think Dermott would be a solid fit with Dobson and I think you do play him 20 min per game and give Pelech-Pulock more ice time

How about someone like Dean Kukan from Columbus or Jeremy Lauzon from Seattle? I guess Soucy is available too. Kulak from MTL is another alternative I would look at. I think all of these players including Dermott could thrive having a regular roster spot, and they are on cheap contracts as well, part from Soucy.

I've previously discussed Pettersson for Panik and a 3rd or 2nd which would make sense for the Pens. Pens only have $121,000 free, so this just doesn't work.

If I'm a team with poor LW depth I would easily take a chance on Bellows. He's shown it, he can play in the NHL, but he's not ready to play on a contender like NY. Wahlstrom showed it more and he earned his spot. I would do Bellows for Dermott with added assets on both sides.



Kukan would be nice. Lauzon is just okay, we can do better. Same with Kulak. I'm into Soucy. I'd put all these guys, including Dermott, on the same tier. Bottom pair, but fringe 4s in a pinch. We need someone better.

I don't know if the Leafs have any need for Bellows. Sure, he would be a cool add that potentially could play in our top 6 with Matthews and Marner or Tavares and Nylander. It isn't beyond the roam of possibility that he performs better than someone like Bunting as I see Ritchie as a lock for top 6 to start the season. In that scenario Bunting would likely move to the 4th line to play with Spezza and Simmonds as our third line pretty much is set to be Kerfoot-Kämpf-Kase. I don't know how Leafs management feel about taking on Bellows. Might rather just want a pick and go with what we have.

That can obviously go to any team. I also did it assuming that pettersson would be traded, but he can go anywhere.

Theyre all bottom pair guys. I want an actual 2LD.