If Leo Komarov played for the Isles the season, it must be the former Leaf and Isles Leo Komarov's. ....son. Leo Komarov junior.

So instead of Uncle Leo, it'd be Nephew Leo?

Plz tell me the Komarov signing is a joke

I will end it all if Leo came back in any capacity

All I'm saying is this: Leo Komarov came into our lives on July 1, 2018 - a day that, at the time, seemed like one of the darkest days in team history.

In his first year, 2018-19, Leo helped the team sweep the Penguins before falling at the hands of the Hurricanes.

In his second year, 2019-20, Leo helped navigate the strange new world COVID had created and brought the bubble Islanders to game 6 of the conference finals.

Not one to rest on his laurels, in 2020-21 Leo stepped up his game and wound up being promoted to the first line with Mat Barzal and Jordan Eberle, and collecting nearly 60% of the shots for while the trio was together on the ice! He helped the Islanders run to game 7 of the conference finals and nearly to the promised land.

In 2021-22, Lou betrayed us all by limiting Leo to one game with the Islanders. With Leo exiled to Siberia(metaphorically), COVID ran roughshod through the team, and the hockey gods turned a blind eye to the Islanders' trouble. Their favor had been lost. Noah Dobson was forced to carry Zdeno Chara up and down the ice every night, only to find himself stuck back in the same position the next game. The ghosts of Jack Capuano resurfaced in the form of Thomas Hickey. All was lost.

And let's be honest, friends: would you rather see Matt Martin & Ross Johnson spend all year cycling in and out of the 4th line? Or can I interest you in Kieffer Bellows spending the year sitting under Leo's Learning Tree, learning how to chirp in four different languages, and all the best ways to fall down and cause a distraction in the corner while your more talented teammates successfully exit the defensive zone?

Keep Leo Komarov in Siberia

i'm just saying: 3 full seasons of Leo: 3 years with at least a round won. 1 year without Leo: chaos.

I'd also rather distract Lou with Leo signing if it keeps him from throwing all the money in the world at Nazem Kadri so he can come here and play out of position.

I’d rather go into next season with Bailey then have 8 years of Kadri.

Real issue with isles fans is that they like to alternate between screaming that they need to play the young players and trying to trade the young players for geriatrics lol.

Agreed.

Gallows humor aside, I don't want any of the "big names" left out there. I think Sonny Milano is a legit option to chase - he's 26, he's got speed, and he's looked like he's taken a step up this past season playing with talented linemates. I honestly feel like you could create a ton of chaos with a Beau-Barzal-Milano line if you need to bag skate an older and slower team, or have him be the forechecker on a strong second line with Brock Nelson.

I think us Islanders fans did get our hopes up a little - it felt like there was very little noise about Gaudreau coming to the Island until the past week or so, and there's almost nothing in Lou's history that should've let us convince ourselves he'd be shopping at the top of the free agent market. He's always been a draft & trades guy, and he's too old to change his spots, for better or worse - the fact that he reportedly made the lowest offer on Gaudreau should be proof enough of that.

The other thing that is making things look worse for him is how there's a couple of unnamed GMs out there making some absolute garbage moves that are making the more 'normal' moves seem like overpays. Should Lou have been trying to see if Davidson would've taken a similar package from him for DeBrincat? Maybe, but maybe they were adamant about the pick being in the top 10. He probably should've made more of a push to get Pacioretty if Vegas was just giving him away, but I also understand on passing if you think you've got a shot at Gaudreau.

It hasn't been ideal, but it could be worse: he truly could be bringing back Leo and trading youth for Josh Anderson and Jake Muzzin.

I don’t think either player has ever been seriously considered by Lou. I would trade Beau for Dunn and then sign Milano as his replacement. Basically I want to recreate the 2019-2020 defense.

Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-Dobson
Dunn-Mayfield

Instead of

Pelech-Pulock
Leddy-Boychuk
Toews-Mayfield

I wouldn't hate Beau for Dunn but team speed was a big issue last season and subtracting Beau just exacerbates that - I think you could run the same top 4 (P+P, Romanov-Dobson) with Salo-Mayfield as the third pair in a more sheltered role - and just double shift Pelech/Romanov in crunch time if you don't trust Salo yet.

Forward lines would be:

Beau-Barzal-Milano
Bailey-Nelson-Wahlstrom
Parise-Pageau-Palmieri (this line was clicking last year, let it ride babyyy)
17-53-15 with Bellows and whoever your 14th forward is cycling in for 45ish games each

That top line will run teams ragged, the second line has a playmaker in Bailey, a 2-way stud in Nelson, and a sniper in Wahlstrom; 3rd line is a defensive line that can still put points on the board, and your 4th line gets a shot of fresh blood with guys like Bellows and Koivula keeping Martin & Clutterbuck fresh. I think you really de-emphasize the 4th line this year though - that 3rd line can step up as the energy line more often (and if you play that line with Pelech & Pulock we can all laugh and laugh as Butchie gets completely turned around trying to remember who is who.)

The second line is way too soft and Nelson has two wings who aren’t speedy on that line.

This is great. Milano might actually keep Beau more consistently on the score sheet. Would love to see Leo back, too, and keep the 4th line a little fresher, rotating him and Martin. I wonder if Johnston gets claimed on waivers in this scenario (and if Lou would even mind that at this point), or if he’s someone to call up, too, for LW4 rotation. Sad to know Leo’s probably set in the KHL but we can dream!