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Tea Leaves: Newsday's Arthur Staple projects further Islanders moves in Twitter Q&A

All signs point to...

Him again?
Him again?
Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

After adding Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera to the mix yesterday, the Islanders might not be done making moves, per an impromptu Twitter Q&A session with Newsday's Arthur Staple.

Staple is a veteran beatwriter, editor and newspaper man, but he's not a fortune teller. Camp doesn't start until late September and the season until Oct. 13. That's a long time for things to change.

So while the answers don't have a whole lot of specifics (OMG, BAYLEY FOR LANDISKOGG!), they can lend a little insight into what steps the Islanders might be looking to make next.

Full threads can be found here and here. As always, we thank Arthur for his time and spending a little of his July 4th weekend answering some burning questions.

Did Someone Say Trade?!

Here's where that whole, "Camp doesn't start until late September and the season until Oct. 13" thing comes in again. Lots of teams have players they want to move. But a match between them and the Islanders might not be found.

If a team is looking for NHL-ready defensemen, the Islanders probably aren't going to be partner for them right now. And the days of them being able to take on someone else's cap problem are over. Doesn't mean things can't change. But that would require still more moves.

As for Scott Hartnell and Shane Doan, doesn't look like either is an option. Just in case you were wondering.

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Free Agency Intel

We'll never know for real what everyone was thinking the minute they made their free agency decisions. The negotiating tactics with Kyle Okposo might not ever make sense to us, and neither will Nielsen's more sudden defection. But it sounds like the Islanders targeted Ladd over Okposo and Nielsen felt a pull to join another team when given a choice.

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Goalie Go-Round

Trading Jaroslav Halak is still a dicey idea with Jean-Francois Berube still mostly unproven. But Staple's feeling hasn't change: don't expect a three-goalie rotation this year one way or another.

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Step-Parenteau?

Old pal P.A. Parenteau had 20 goals and 21 assists last season for the Leafs, including 28 points at even strength this year (12g, 15a) and a 5v5 CF% of 53.7 (per stats.hockeyanalysis.com). He's 33 but doesn't have a ton of miles on him since he didn't establish himself later in his career with the Islanders. He wouldn't be a bad pick-up, but I'm not sure where he'd play.

Fontaine had five goals and 11 assists for Minnesota last season with a 44.9 5v5 CF%. Seemed like a good skater whenever I saw him, but who knows.

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