Islanders 50 Contract Limit and Next Season

but I’m sure Konopka lost that faceoff

If he’s an Islander then where the hells has he been?

We know Wang isn’t a big supporter of the violent part of the game and he’s certainly not a fan of the bad press so I think he’s gone. It’s just a matter of if he is replaced by another heavyweight or they just go with what they got. If any of the UFA’s are back I’d say Martinek but at his age and fragility I’d say there’s a good chance he is not back. Weight’s gonna be an assistant coach. Maybe we sign Lawson and keep another 3 headed beast in BPT just because of the injury history but I’d call that 50/50 at this point.

for AHL UFA.
I would think of all the UFA only Konopka will be back. I would like to see him resigned just before the last game against Pittsburgh.

Of the College Grads and such..Sim and Day are gone. The interesting question is Cizikas. I’m not sure if he’s elligible for the AHL next season.

DeHart should be part of the Sound Tigers defense with Wishart, deHaan, Katic, Klementyev and Kohn.
Of the unsigned RFA; Time to say goodbye to Bruno, Reese, Marcinko,Frigen, maybe more.

The tough choices will be regarding the goaltending. They can’t go into next season with Poulin and DP and should sign a UFA vet Goalie (Bring back Roloson!!). Poulin needs to be back in the AHL. Regardless of how well Montoya plays, I think he’s gone and Koskineen and Nilsson start the season sharing time in Bridgeport with Poulin. Three goalies in Bridgeport is not the best situation, but we know DP will get hurt.

And don’t just take the compensation.

Doug Weight – Gone
Zenon Konopka – Trend says keep (I think he comes back cheap)
Trevor Gillies – Gone
Radek Martinek – Trend says go (I like him, but number of contracts becomes and issue)
Nathan Lawson – Gone
Andy Hilbert – Gone
Evgeni Nabokov – Keep and cut as needed for roster flexibility
Joel Martin – Gone
Jeremy Yablonski – Gone

So that clears out all, but 2 spots and those are TBD pending an upagrade. I don’t se Konopka or Martinek getting an offer from the Islanders until after July 1.

Josh Bailey – should be re-signed
Kyle Okposo – should be re-signed
Michael Grabner – should be re-signed
Blake Comeau – should be re-signed
Michael Haley – replaces Gillies, but down a weight category
Ty Wishart – should be re-signed
Bruno Gervais – Can’t believe I’m saying this, but need depth on defense
Jack Hillen – should be re-signed
Al Montoya – totally dependent on Poulin’s knees, Nilsson signing and UFAs available
Jesse Joensuu – indifferent between him and Colliton, but Colliton seems to be in my favor today
Robin Figren – not given a shot with the big club, not ready or just not worth keeping?
Tomas Marcinko – not given a shot with the big club, not ready or just not worth keeping?
Dustin Kohn – Need depth on Defense
Dylan Reese – Need depth on defense, but it was him or the Chef
Rob Hisey – not given a shot with the big club, not ready or just not worth keeping?
Jeremy Colliton – could be between him and Joensuu, but today I can’t recall what Jesse is going to bring that we haven’t seen yet

He’s a junior but he could want to make the jump. I think he stays for his senior year but it is a possibility and he would easily make BPT.

in the off-season regarding the arena situation, all bets are off as far what we think the g.m. may or may not do. for example, if a miracle happens and a new arena deal is worked out, i think the purse strings will immediately loosen up and FA’s who never thought about coming here will suddenly be interested.

that guys don’t decline to come here because of the arena. if the $$$ is in the same ballpark as an offer elsewhere, who would choose to play in a horrible place? not to mention the uncertainty of where the team will be and the possibility of having to move a family, that comes along with no arena deal in place.

Well … They have to weigh the value of some of the borderline UFA’s against the value of prospects that have to be signed or lose their rights. That is the first part.

Then they have to decide which RFA’s are still a part of the future … and weigh that against the UFA’s and prospects that they still want to be part of the future … and then hope that there is room to sign (not that they have to) … who they draft in the 1st round this year.

With so many promising prospects emerging Garth has some serious maneuvering to do … including a package for an NHL proven veteran perhaps.

Hey Web, thanks a million for putting this together. we’ve discussed the 50 contract limit on other threads, and who may not be back as a result. Some are obvious, others not so much. This is the first time it has been listed accurately at this level though. I am going to think about it, and come back later and add my thoughts on who will be back, who will not. I’ve been scratching out defensive parrings on paper for a few weeks now. some interesting thoughts. Good work again, as usual.

First, in my decision making, I feel some of the guys I would like signed will probably never be NHLers, but will be needed in Bridgeport as part of the development process, and also in some cases, they will serve as depth players/ injury fill-ins. I’ve also included players on the bubble. This means if we make an upgrade, they would be gone without question, but may be gone anyway.
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Beginnng with currently signed players against the 50 contract limit:
trade or buyout -

Tony Romano and Mike Mottau.
On the bubble – Trent Hunter, Mark Eaton, Rick Dipietro.

Rationale: Romano is going nowhere, plus he is taking up ice-time from incoming prospects. Time to begin his European Career. Mottau is too soft, huge disappointment, last on depth list. I’d rather give his ice-time to kids. Hunter may be done as a player in the new NHL. Mark Eaton is too soft and gets knocked off puck too easily. He also has no offense to his game so is a poor top four pairing. If Eaton is around, it means we lack depth or have a lot of injuries. He would be best as a 7th or 8th D man, but I still don’t like his game. Addition by subtraction. Rick needs to prove he can continue his comeback without team having to risk sacrificing NHL games in the process; otherwise, Dipietro’s comback should really be in Bridgeport. No one will be crazy enough to pick him up off waivers with the contract, and if someone did, they’d be doing us a favour.
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Currently signed and will be RFAs:
If untradeable, do not resign -

Robin Figren, Tomas Marcinko, Dylan Reese and Rob Hisey. On the bubble – Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen, Al Montoya, Jesse Joensuu, Duston Kohn, Jeremy Colliton.

Rationale: I think it obvious why I would not resign the four players mentioned here, although some may like Hisey. I will therefore focus on the bubble players. Beginning with goal: if Montoya keeps it up for remainder of season, he has earned a one year contract. If he pans out, it will buy valuable development time for our young goalie prospects. Moving on to defense: The Isles desperately lack experience behind their blueline. If they can not bring in an established vet, they may not be able to part with Gervais, one of the few defenseman they have who have played over 300 NHL games. Jack Hillen falls under same lack of depth category as Gervais, having about 160 NHL games experience. That is not much, but better than most. Hillen plays a different role behind blueline than Gervais (who really is a third pairing, soft – depth defenseman). Hillen projects as a speedy 2nd pairing offensive D (Isles like to put two of these types of D man together as a pairing). The Isles have a lot of depth prospects in this area (De Haan, Katic, Donovan, Ness) plus top D man Mark Streit. Hillen has shown spurts of promise, but by no means has he arrived in the role, and he may never. At this point, however, the depth prospects for this role need valuable development time. Hillen buys that for Isles. Kohn is a depth D man. Forward Jeremy Colliton is a minor leaguer, depth forward. Colliton is a right defensive, physical centre who can play wing and is good at faceoffs. Right centres is an organizational weakness for Isles. Emphasized by the fact that Colliton is the top right centre in Isles system.
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Currently signed and will be UFAs:
Do not resign -

Doug Weight, Nathan Lawson, Andy Hilbert, Joel Martin. On the bubble – Radek Martinek.

Rationale: Weight is already retired and in the office. Hilbert is at best a depth player but the Isles will have depth next year in their system in same role Hilbert would have provided. Time to give ice-time to players who have greater potential. Back to the ECL for Joel Martin. Radek Martinek falls under same category as Bruno Gervais, if not more so. Sure many would like to see an upgrade here. Barring that, even if Martinek only plays 40 games next year – he has played more this year – he is Isle’s most experienced D man, can babysit someone, and, Martinek is known for being a good teacher for young D. If no upgrade, 40 games from Martinek is better for development than the alternatives.
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UFAs that should be resigned:

Zenon Konopka, Trevor Gillies, Jeremy Yablonski, Evgeni Nabokov.

Rationale: I was all for trading Z early on, but he has proven that the kids need him for a while. Plus, he can teach the kids to improve their faceoffs, much like Bryan Trottier did for Mario’s Penguins when the won two cups and the role of faceoff man was all that kept Trottier in the NHL – it was noted by more than a few that Trottier not coming back was a factor in Pens not winning third straight cup, losing in seven games to Isles. Trevor Gillies has earned it. At least one more year. Yablonski is needed in AHL for same role as Gillies in NHL – plus it gives us depth at this role. Nabokov – as much as we dislike his attitude, this is about an asset that may give a return – 3rd rounder maybe by next season – so I say Toll him.

Prospect that should be signed:

Calvin De Haan, Tony Dehart, Anders Nilsson, David Toews, Brian Day, Shane Sims, Casey Cizikas.

Rationale: Dehaan has learned all he can in OHL; however, he needs to bulk up a bit more, and should not be rushed to NHL. History has not been kind to teams nor prospects when too many rookies or inexperienced players have been on the same defense, particularly when on same pairing. Let DeHaan develop properly in AHL for at least a year. We have too many kids on D now developing in NHL. Tony Dehart is too old to play OHL, and may be a depth, 3rd pairing middle-weight physical D. Nilsson has to be signed or we lose him due to new transfer agreement with Sweden. Sign him and loan him back to his Swedish team b/c we will have Poulin and Koskinen in AHL next year, and spotting in NHL. Toews, Day and Sims are all depth prospects who may never have an NHL career, although Day may have most potential. Nonetheless, they are better options than a number of our AHL players, and add developmental depth there. Cizikas is one of several potential draft steals the last three years. He is not NHL ready. Watching him in World Juniors, my father thought he looked a bit like John Tonelli along the boards. High praise, but this kid may be a solid third line centre, or solid fourth liner. He would look great with Martin and Haley if all three pan out.