@seanyhockey I would guess that Robertson would probably prefer to play on an Isles team that Barzal is also a part of considering that's where most of his goal scoring is likely to originate.
@stefen_rosner Sure would have. I get SJS wanting a second top-10 pick to make sure they get at least one high end D, but isn't a 23-yo winger like Eklund exactly the kind of guy they need to keep around?
@AbbeyMastracco To be fair, every national MLB broadcast in my lifetime has been strictly worse than every single local broadcast, so he's fighting an unwinnable uphill battle against fan bases programmed to dislike him, but then again that's what Fox gets for hiring a Dodgers guy over Benneti.
@AbbeyMastracco It doesn't matter if he hates them, or that they suck today. The game is an entertainment product, and his job is to emcee it, even when a bad team makes that hard. Baseball fans are sickos and will happily watch a bad game their team is losing if the broadcast is engaging.
@SeanFennessey Game planning for lefties when Lindor, Robert, and Polanco are all hurt was always going to be a problem. Game planning for Sanchez is basically undoable. Relax, they'll be fine. Eventually. Maybe not this year. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@stefen_rosner Isn’t it likely they make a move or two to manage Varlamov, Palmieri, and Engvall returning from LTIR? I know they currently have $10ish million in cap space, but that’s before signing a goalie, possibly signing Lee and/or DeAngelo, Eklund making the team, and Gatcomb’s new deal.
@stefen_rosner@TheElmonters The market for Kesselring was moving back 7 spots in the first round. Trading a first for a similar player seems like a massive overpay. I even think a 13-for-32 pick swap is too rich. Spence is the kind of player the Isles ought to target, but not with this year's draft capital.
@rattmartin It would be malpractice to buy out Engvall for $1m x 8y when you can retain the right to waive him each of the next 4y and bury the cap hit for $1.775m, $1.725m, $1.675m, and likely, depending on the next CBA, $1.625m respectively.
@islanders_takes That last part's not clear yet. No premium stars are UFAs right now, and the ones who become eligible to extend this summer have two big questions to answer: do they want to stay where they're at; and do they want to take term now when they can do it later for vastly more money?
@IslesDen@datadomNY And he clearly won't be. He already wasn't. He may haver been taking faceoffs, but Barzal was centering his line. Palmieri, Eklund, Ritchie, and Holmstrom all seem like better top-6 options next season.
All that said, I think Lee's most likely landing spot is still Long Island.
@jowrotethis When I was a kid, my grandmother would occasionally joke that my name was a mashup of Joe and Nathan, and it still never occurred to me until right now that a Jonathan might go by Nathan.
@steve02760737@datadomNY Barzal is only "untouchable" if you buy the context:
1/ proudly says he wants to be a career-long Isle
2/ consistently advocates for others signing on LI
3/ is in his prime on a good, hard-to-replace contract while Schaefer is still cheap
4/ has obvious chemistry with Schaefer
@stefen_rosner@TheElmonters The lack of FAs, and particularly Cs, available this off season, combined with an apparent lack of dominant contenders in both conferences, is going to make the trade market rumors look like this a lot the next couple months.
@IslesDen The lack of FAs, and particularly Cs, available this off season, combined with an apparent lack of dominant contenders is going to make the trade market rumors look like this a lot the next couple months.
@Jolly_Olive They're also about to make their <checks notes> ¡FOURTH! and final west coast trip for 2026. For some reason all 4 times they go to California this season they play 3 games and then immediately leave the time zone.