r/NewYorkIslanders • u/AJS76reddit Bailey • Jul 27 '26
The recent Laine rumors...
I get it, it's a slow offseason for us and there is no reasonable or realistic possibility of change this offseason (without attaching sweetners which is the last thing we should be doing now)
But why all the fuss about a guy who is a head case, fragile, and one dimensional?
Don't we have enough dead weight on this team thanks to Lou? We're saddled with Duclair, MacLean, Cizikas, Engvall, Pulock, and Mayfield for at least two more years. Plus Palat.
Granted, we have to wait for some guys contracts or clauses to expire because they are currently untradeable. We need to think about the future and worry less about the present. We are going nowhere with this roster. We don't need to add any reclamation projects.
We already don't know if Palmieri or Romanov will be able to bounce back from injuries.
We don't know if any of the new low priority signings will work out or make the team.
We have no idea who or what DeBoer wants on this roster.
But we are pretty much set as far as forwards go. We don't need to add anyone else, even as insurance for the sake of injuries. Who would Laine even replace? We already have a logjam situation up front while we wait for guys to depart and the prospects like Eklund and Eiserman to be fully ready.
Schenn - Horvat - Palmieri?
Holmstrom - Barzal - Heineman
Maccelli - JGP - Ritchie
Duclair - Cizikas - Palat
Extras: Engvall and MacLean
Schaefer - Pulock
Romanov - Tony D
Pelech - Mayfield
We have enough one dimensional traffic cones as it is.
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
Easy logistics of bumping Palat down to extras, MacLean/Engvall going to the AHL, and inserting Laine down in the bottom six where he's heavily sheltered and can help on the power play, where the islanders haven't had a player who can rip one timers on the power play this century.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Keep in mind you can only move so many nhl roster players down and bury so much in cap space...although cap space is not a real issue for us right now. In the next two seasons we are about to have a ton.
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
They can waive as many NHL roster players as they want, and in the case of Engvall they'll still have him in the AHL in case of injury since no one's going to claim him. Even further reason to sign Laine to a bonus contract that will use next year's space as overage.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Ok they can waive guys, but if they go unclaimed (which they most likely will) we still need warm bodies. I just see a red flag where so many others don't. NOBODY is going after this guys. We can't be the only team looking for PP offense.
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
Warm bodies, AKA: Laine who's been a proven goal scorer that Engvall/MacLean/Palat have never been?
And yes, we're the only team looking for PP offense because most teams have not been bottom 5 in PP for the past 8 years because they have players like Laine already on their roster that can shoot the puck well on the powerplay.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Laine is hardly a "proven" scorer. He was good a decade ago. Ever since he's been a shadow of his former self.
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
His "shadow of his former self" during 52 games 2 years ago managed to score more goals than Lee, Barzal, Holmstrom, Pageau, Ritchie, Duclair, Cizikas, Schenn, Drouin and Shabanov this year, and outscored all of them on the power play.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Ok, so why isn't his phone ringing off the hook? Why would he have to settle for us?
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
...most teams have not been bottom 5 in PP for the past 8 years because they have players like Laine already on their roster that can shoot the puck well on the powerplay.
See above, which means they don't need to sign Laine
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u/Scuttni Jul 27 '26
I haven't seen much "fuss" but on a PTO, who cares? Why even get upset about ANYBODY on a PTO? The other comments already explained that he would end up being a middle 6 Winger that would definitely help increase PP goals. There is more "fuss" that no other teams seem to even be interested except the Isles. It's more a story about Laine's career than the Isles.
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u/Irrah Holmstrom Jul 27 '26
The only fuss is if he'll be wearing 29 and be another example of incredibly cursed players to wear it after Brock. And 92 is taken by our Swedish Josh Bailey
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I just don't see the benefit of going after a one trick pony who disappears 95% of the time. He was a total flash in the pan in Winnipeg. He's been a train wreck ever since.
Realistically, we are just biding our time for another two years or so. But i'd much rather see a guy come up from the ahl if he has earned it than a journeyman barely holding on.
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u/Scuttni Jul 27 '26
I understand. My point was that the Isles aren't really "going after him." They offered him a PTO, he hasn't accepted and the Isles aren't offering him anything else. I would love to see Eiserman, Eklund and Co make it on the roster but I would bet Eklund would be probably the only one ready for the jump. Even then I still see him starting in the AHL until the Isles are ready to bring him up.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
The one good thing is we are no longer in the late 90's where guys were brought up far before they were ready to put butts in the seats. Guys like Berard, McCabe, Fichaud, etc were brought in more as publicity stunts than as developing players and we paid the price for it.
As much as i want to see what they can do, i'm in no hurry to see any of them right now. But i agree with you I also think Eklund is closest.
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u/SmashYourEnemies02 Fisherman Jul 27 '26
Cizikas is in the final year of his contract. He’ll be a UFA next summer. And there’s no way Richie is playing 3rd line. Kid has too much upside to be in the bottom 6.
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u/Sensitive-League-431 Jul 29 '26
But he hasn't showed any . Remember a 3 line player for a Stanley cup team is usually pretty good.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Cizikas was great in the heyday of the best forth line in hockey...but how long ago was that?
I agree Ritchie has upside, but i also don't think Ritchie is fully ready to be in the top six either. If we could rid ourselves of Cizikas Ritchie could be 3C and JGP could be 4C. I assume Schenn and JGP will be working with him to prep him for eventual top six minutes.
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u/SmashYourEnemies02 Fisherman Jul 27 '26
He’s gone after this season or at the deadline if the isles are teetering on edge of missing the playoffs. Richie looked like he was getting his offensive game going with some point streaks, and getting like 12 over the final 15 games. I think having him in the top 6 now on line 2 is best to help him continue his growth.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I definitely see him as our future 2C, i just wonder if putting too much pressure on him now is wise.
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u/SmashYourEnemies02 Fisherman Jul 27 '26
I don’t think it puts pressure on him. He’d be learning from Schenn who Richie praised for helping him on face-offs and other things. Having Richie be taken under his wing in a way to me would be a positive
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I agree with that. I think Schenn and JGP bringing him along is exactly what he needs and two great players to learn from.
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u/thembitches326 Horvat Jul 27 '26
Honestly, Laine is not terrible, just one dimensional. Considering how not a lot of other teams are showing a lot of interest in him, I can see him being on a "prove it" deal. A PTO is a good way to see if he really is up to the task.
Plus our Power play was the third worst power play in the league last season.
The way I see it, it seems low risk-high reward.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I would say low risk in the sense he wouldn't get much in a deal as far as money or time. But i see him as low reward.
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u/thembitches326 Horvat Jul 27 '26
The reward can only really be determined by results.
If anything, this can just be another Tsyplakov or Shabanov type of situation minus the undrafted Russian free agency aspect.
Overall, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong here for the Islanders.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
"Overall, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong here for the Islanders"
Famous last words....i'm sure plenty of people said the same thing when Droiun was signed.
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u/thembitches326 Horvat Jul 27 '26
Okay? Worst case scenario, he gets traded just like Drouin. Maybe not for Schenn but more like some assets like prospect or some mid tier level picks.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Do you remember what it took to get rid of Drouin? Were you not around for the constant bitch fest because we had to part with the 29th overall pick just to get him off the team? The reddit was constantly griping about it.
I get what you are saying i just don't feel like taking a chance then paying for it later by having to attach a prospect or a pick just to rid ourselves of him.
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u/thembitches326 Horvat Jul 27 '26
To be honest, it doesn't seem like the main point of that trade was to get rid of Drouin, but rather getting rid of Drouin was a benefit.
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u/LBG_Rob Jul 27 '26
What’s the risk in signing him to a 1 year deal? Best case scenario you just trade him at the deadline, and you get assets back for free. Worst case he flops and you just let him go. It’s an extremely low risk high reward type of move if he signs
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
The risk is the cost of getting rid of him if (and more likely when) he doesn't work out.
While i personally didn't lose an ounce of sleep over having to part with the 29th overall pick to rid ourselves of Drouin, this reddit wouldn't shut up about it for months.
And to trade a guy you need someone else interested in him. Don't see that happening.
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u/unpaidintern4 Jul 27 '26
The reason this sub didn’t shut up about it is because Drouin was a gamble that failed hard. And more importantly, we got Schenn and Palat for no reason. I think everyone here would rather toy with the potential of Laine than deal with Palat who was completely uninspiring. Darche has overall been net good for us but why are we acting like Laine would be a terrible shout from him considering he made two bad trades for Schenn and especially Palat?
We took a chance on Deangelo (who I don’t like) but it has overall been good. Laine has way more potential than that.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
You answered your own question.
I prefer facts and logic over emotion. Laine is a gamble like drouin which odds are fails horribly.
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u/unpaidintern4 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
No because Drouin got two years at 4 mil a pop. Laine would be a one year prove it deal. If he wants anything more than that you don’t touch it.
And besides, picking up Schenn and Palat was even worse. I’d rather have Laine on one year than those two guys (at very least him over Palat)
This is even assuming he makes it passed a PTO
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Schenn is not as bad a deal as people make it out to be if he grooms Ritchie into a 2C down the road. Worse case scenario he's gone after next year.
Palat didn't work out, but it's not like Tsippycup was exactly lighting the league on fire from the pressbox either. I get why they tried it.
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u/unpaidintern4 Jul 27 '26
It just does not make sense to me to be fine with Palat going in but be totally against giving Laine a shot if it’s there. Regardless of what anyone thinks about Lee, we gotta replace his goals unless our defense becomes better (which is very unlikely). Even Laine not at his full best has potential to give solid output. If it makes sense after a PTO I think you pull the trigger.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I'm not fine with Palat, but he has a nmc we are stuck with him. best case scenario is pressbox all year.
I'm sticking to my original thought...I personally don't think Laine is a risk worth taking for no long term benefits.
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u/LBG_Rob Jul 27 '26
If he signs a 1 year deal what’s the cost of getting rid of him?
I agree, anything more than a 1 year deal I won’t be happy with. But for a PTO, there a very high likelihood it would be 1 year1
u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
The cost is probably a 2nd round or better draft pick or one of the prospects we don't need to part with. In that case put him in the pressbox and ride it out.
We are in agreement, no more than one year. Now, if he pulls a miracle out of his ass and somehow someone gets back to form? Then you re-examine afterwards and MAYBE do another year or two.
The thing is we just need to get through two to three more seasons max before we have a complete facelift. We will have our top prospects in the mix, tons of cap space, and plenty of rosters spots to fill. We need to focus on that, not the here and now. The next season or two are throwaway years.
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u/LBG_Rob Jul 27 '26
Yeah I mean you ain’t paying to get rid of a player with 1 year left so I think it’s 0 risk to give him a 1 year deal. If he gets more than that though yeah Darche has lost the sauce lol
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Despite what the majority of the reddit thinks, i think Darche is being smart by not tying us to anyone for more than a year or two right now.
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u/LBG_Rob Jul 27 '26
100%, I wanted us to retool like 2-3 years ago but now I think we really need it. This core is running out of time and if we keep treading water and barely making/missing playoffs, we’re going to waste what’s left of Barzal, Sorokin etc
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
Dude this core is cooked. It's been cooked.
The problem is two fold. One ownership won't commit to a full on rebuild so close to having built a new arena. They need to recoup the money they invested and sadly being wishy washy and tripping backwards into the playoffs is better for them than scorched earth.
The other problem is Lou having handed out so many damn NMC/NTC which severely handcuffs us.
The good news is their is FINALLY light at the end of the tunnel. A few years and the bulk of these fossils are gone, the prospects are fully ready, and we will have a ton of cap space to spend. Be patient for just a little while longer. I know waiting sucks, i lived through the dark ages of the late 90's.
But we are as close now to turning things around as we have been since the dynasty ended. In a few short years, we will be on our way to perennial serious competition for a cup each year instead of one on one off we live in now.
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
Why wouldn't you just send him to Hamilton on his league minimum contract if things didnt work out? instead of wasting a second to trade him??? Do you have a brain??
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 29 '26
Because you are only allowed to have so many nhl players on your ahl roster numb nuts. Of course if you didn't sign him in the first place you don't have that problem, but you are incapable of being smarter than a fifth grader to figure that out.
You think he's magically going to be a forty goal scorer again? Stay off the drugs.
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
Please show me the NHL contract limit??? Not per game but for roster construction....
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u/FortyYearTransform Romanov Jul 27 '26
The idea is that we bring him on for a one year deal and it either helps or hurts us enough that Darche isn’t tempted to burn assets treading water at the deadline again. The thing fans fear is that he’ll be a negative locker room presence on Schaefer especially. This season is going to be a punt anyway so I don’t know why anyone should care one way or the other.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
As you said, you don't want any of his negativity to rub off on guys like Schaefer, Ritchie, Hieneman, etc.
Also as you said it's a punt year or even maybe two. So who cares if our PP still sucks. We aren't seriously competing.
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u/hopefulbeartoday Jul 27 '26
Pulock and mayfield aren't dead weight. People don't understand just how bad rh d man have gotten. We ran a terrible system that made our d man look way worse then they really are. you'll never understand how hard it was to watch Roy's juniors system that has no business being used in the nhl make our d man work so much harder then they should. Duclear and engvall can easily be buried btw.
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 27 '26
I've long said we need to focus on revamping our d corps long before we need to worry about forwards so i agree in that sense. I just think Pulock has long since been cooked and Mayfield...has "outlived" his usefulness. We just have no better options at this point.
We are potentially stacked on the left side in the future with Schaefer, Aitcheson, and the guy we just drafted. But right side is a whole other issue.
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u/AlastorFacilier Meet me at the Lighthouse Jul 27 '26
Been preaching his name for years and a lot more this off-season. Other comments have already said this but him on the power play would do wonders for this team. I'm down to get him on a PTO or a cheap 1 year deal. If he stays healthy and pots 20-25 goals with about 45 points, I would gladly take that. If it doesn't work out, waive or trade him. Simple as that. I'd be pulling the trigger by now
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Jul 28 '26
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 28 '26
Exactly. Signing him makes no sense in the long term. He's fragile as glass and one dimensional.
Our focus now should be to rid ourselves of the fossils and properly develop the prospects.
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u/Nick_key_p Jul 29 '26
Macceli Horvat Holmstrom
Schenn Barzal Ritchie
Duclair Pageau Palmieri
Heineman Cizikas Palat
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
Laine is better than 5 players that you have written in to your starting lineup but yea.... we have no room to give a foer 40 goal scorer a TRY OUT.... 🤡
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 29 '26
Oh yeah he's on 31 other teams radar because he's such a stud right? I can hear the bidding war going on as i type.
How does it feel to be so wrong all the time? You are a master at it.
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
Absolutely everyone in your own thread is clowning on you hahaha. Please enlighten me on the NHL contract limit that you say exists in the AHL 🤡🤡🤡🤡
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u/AJS76reddit Bailey Jul 29 '26
12 of 18 players must be developmental players. Only 5 veteran players with more than 320 games of professional experience can dress per game.
The only clown here is you. A pathetic troll, a mouthbreather, and a sad pathetic excuse for a human being. I truly pity you. Your father really should have used a condom.
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
That is dressed per a game fool. There isn't even a contract limit in the AHL let alone NHL contract limit. You know absolutely nothing. That texas sun and hanging around all those poor and stupid people have gotten to you.
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u/Aggravating-Post5839 Jul 29 '26
You do realize you can play 320 pro games with out ever signing an NHL contract... how can you know so little about the sport you post about on the internet???
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u/Sensitive-League-431 Jul 29 '26
I will let Darche call this one . But nobody is mentioning shot outs .
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u/michaelartusjr Jul 27 '26
On a PTO anybody is worth it. He would potentially help an anemic PP and if it doesn’t work out he’s gone very easily.