After a busy Wednesday that Saw Steven Stakos
re-signing with the TBL, coveted forward Taylor Hall traded to the Devils for Adam
Larsson and a swap of PK Subban for Shea Weber in less than a half hour, Isles
country was up in arms about nothing moving in the right direction for their
team. Rumors first reported by B.D. Gallof
had the Isles in dealings for Hall, but hearing Edmonton liked Larsson better.
While Hall would have looked good playing in Brooklyn, it was not to be.
On Thursday night, Arthur Staple reported that
Andrew Ladd chose to stay the night on the Island after touring the facilities
for New York with rumors that a multiyear deal was already discussed. And @incarceratedbob had Frans Nielsen already agreeing in
principle to go to the wings on the eve free agency. Elliotte Friedman confirmed
that talks had broken off between the Islanders and Nielsen’s camp an hour
before the start of free agency. Kyle
Okposo and the team were seemingly way off on a deal, so rumors of Okposo
walking were already out there and after the new deal for Cizikas, the chances to bring back Matt Martin with a raise just weren't realistic. Arthur
Staple reported, “Isles will lose 1,573 games of franchise experience with
Okposo, Nielsen and Martin leaving today. Big changes.” IMO, the biggest loss will be Frans
Nielsen. His leadership and contributions
in scoring, special teams and defensive awareness have been big for the team
over his 10 year tenure with the team.
Andy Grazziano tweeted that “Isles head into
today with around 15.4 in cap space. RFA still to sign for big club (Prince,
Strome, Berube, possibly Quine). The
formula for signing quality veteran players always involves both money and
term, so you have to consider that when the deals break. Seeing what the rest of the league has done
and for what cost will usually be how you will judge what your team has done. So what was going to happen at the start of
free agency on July 1st for our New York Islanders under the watch of the team’s
new majority ownership?
The Islanders have come to terms with two
time Stanley Cup winner, 6’3, 200# Andrew Ladd on a $38.5M, (5.5AAV) 7 year
deal. That’s a good price for a good
player. Now it’s a longer term than many
would like, but that was probably the thing that made the deal with New
York. The 30 year old Ladd has scored 20
goals in five of the last six seasons.
Ladd’s leadership and heads up play on the ice will definitely help John
Tavares and company push for a cup next season.
Ladd had 25 & 21 for 46 points in 78 games with Winnipeg and Chicago
last season and if he does play with Tavares, you know those numbers will be
better. Per Darren
Dreger, “Signing bonus for Ladd. $7mil,$6.5,$5,$4,$3,$3,$3. No move first two
years. No trade next 2. Ltd no trade last 3.”
6’2, 205#, 37 yr old Jason Chimera has been
signed on a 2 year deal with the Islanders for $4.5M ($2.25AAV). Chimera is a feisty and quick forward who
scored an impressive 40 points with Washington last season. Chimera will be a good replacement for Matt Martin
and should contribute offensively and in the room.
UPDATE:
The Islanders re-signed RFA, Shane Prince to a 2 year
deal worth $850K. Prince, 23, was 6 & 11 for 17 points in 42
games with the Islanders and Ottawa Senators. The Islanders acquired Prince at
the 2016 trade deadline where he contributed 2 & 3 for 5 points in 20 games with the
Isles and tallied 3 & 1 for 4 points four points in 11 Playoff games.
With the move, the Islanders now have an estimated $6M in
cap space with 12F/7D/2G per @capfriendly.
Per Arthur Staple, “Snow
also said he could see Isles adding another forward before the season, either
in FA or trade. Tavares/Nelson/Strome/Cizikas set at C.”
Losing major players like Okposo, Nielsen and Martin, the
Isles needed to replace them and try to improve. Per Arthur Staple, “Garth
Snow on Ladd/Chimera signings: "We’re extremely happy with where we're at
today. We feel we’ve gotten better … It's not a knock on anyone that was here
last year... We wish all three of those guys (Okposo/Nielsen/Martin) the
best." Kyle Okposo was asking more to stay with the Isles, not less
and he finally got his front loaded contract to max out with Buffalo.
Staple tweeted “Believe Nielsen gets $30 million for six years with DET. Isles
had offered seven years at slightly more total.” That’s sounds like
Okposo and Nielsen wanted out to me. And it sounded like the Isles drew a
line and stood fast. In the end, these guys will be missed. Kypreos
asked Nielsen if the move to Brooklyn factored into his decision to leave and
Niesen said “No, not at all ... It's tough leaving NY, but in the end I felt
like it was time to try something new here." Matt Martin signed
with Toronto later in the day on a 2 year deal worth $2.5M AAV. He was
commented on saying what a "hard decision" it was to sort trough the
offers and he had a pit in his stomach all day.
Overall, a pretty good first day based on the players
that were available. Garth Snow added some veteran skill and character
with some financially responsible deals. Eric Hornick points out,
“Ladd/Chimera scored 45 goals last season; Okposo/Nielsen 42.” The
Islanders still have several options to tweak their squad over the course of
the summer and into the pre-season. Opportunities are always there to
make trades to try and add well-fitting talent and alter cap-space. They
need Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome to improve and also to see how players like
Beauviller, Barzal or Ho-Sang do in camp.
What’s next for the Islanders? With these two
moves, the Isles still have cap space left and I am sure there could be more to
come by way of a trade or two.
Let’s all hurry up and wait.
Isles Notes:
Kyle Okposo signed with Buffalo (7yrs, $42M),
Frans Nielsen with Detroit (6yrs, $30M).
Brian Strait
signed a 1-year deal with Winnipeg.
In other news, Michael Grabner is apparently a New York Ranger.
Isles prospects met at the Northwell Health
Ice Center for the annual Blue and White scrimmage on Wednesday. The guys were broken up into three teams for
a round robin format before a packed house.
Ho-Sang, Beauvillier and Sorokin stood out amongst the promising group.
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