The NHL
expansion draft results were infused throughout the NHL awards tonight. Fans of
all the NHL teams waited to see who was lost from their team and what trades
went down. The first thing to consider was who was on your teams protected
list. And who was not.
The New York
Islanders Protected list looked like this:
Ladd, Lee,
Tavares, Boychuk, Hamonic, Leddy, Pelech, Pulock, Greiss. That’s 3 forwards, 5
D and a goalie not named Halak. As discussed, Vegas could select up to one player
from each of the 30 NHL teams.
Isles Twitter
went nuts after that list was released over the weekend. Pelech! Pelech over de
Haan! But as the days passed, and rumors swelled, it seemed Garth Snow may come
out of this week looking a little smooth with the moves he apparently put in
motion. With so many fans ready to storm the gates already, it was something a
lot of us needed to see and process going into next season. That included John
Tavares I assume, who is now rumored to be willing to enter next season without
an extension, to see how things really start to come together.
Back to those
rumors starting last weekend:
Later on
Saturday, Darren Dreger made it worse (or better), “…Snow is in a number of
conversations, hoping to land a top 6 forward. Team to watch.”
“Montreal and
the Islanders tell me they're done for the day. Potentially, two big players
next week.”
Buzz of the
Islanders in talks with Montreal for Alex Galchenyuk broke the surface prior to
the trade freeze last Saturday at 3 p.m. Couple that with the ever-present
Duchene, Eberle and even Landeskog rumors, and fans were calming down a little
at the possibilities of adding this level of talent to the team. The fears of
what it would cost the Islanders to land players of these calibers were also
prominent. Players like Hamonic, Hickey, de Haan, Cizikas and Bailey were just
a few being talked about. It was just a matter of time to see how all of these
things started to shake out.
George McPhee
and the Vegas Golden Knights were permitted to start dealing w teams during the
freeze. In the expansion format, there was nothing keeping McPhee from taking
“bribes” from the other 30 teams to “protect” and/or steer Vegas into selecting
players of their choice in the Expansion Draft. I also expected teams could
say, “Hey I like that guy from their unprotected list. If you were to select
him, we’d give you X.” I also assumed the side deals would be many. Pierre
LeBrun mentioned, “My understanding is that VGK have secured via trades about
10 draft picks spread out over 3 years. So far anyway. Plus there are deals for
players and three-way trades VGK also involved in. Some revealed tonight.
Others tomorrow.”
Rumors from
all-over had Garth Snow and the Islanders giving up the 15th pick and a
player/prospect to be named later to Vegas so they would select Nikolay
Kulemin, and/or perhaps take on the remaining salary of injured, Mikhail
Grabovski. It also sounded like it was intended to “protect” other exposed
forwards from being selected. This would enable the Islanders to free up to a possible $9M of cap space to pursue “prime” target acquisitions in the coming weeks,
protect valued assets and move players they felt were movable. McPhee has a
history with Snow, being his first agent during his playing days and serving as
an advisor prior to landing the GM role with Vegas. Don’t forget that the Cap
range will go from $55.4M to a ceiling of $75M for next season.
The players
protected or the bribes paid were most likely part of a master plan. Snow has a
list of players to keep, shed and possibly dangle as the team tries to upgrade
for next season. Those players kept away from the grasp of Vegas could be kept,
or be put in-play for big trades to follow. And who really knows how many
moving parts this plan really has until it reveals itself. Trade scenarios are
often evolving, depending on who may come into and out of the market at the
time of choosing. The trade dominos will start to fall on Thursday morning, but
the real picture will Start to take shape after the first few days on free
agency, starting July 1st.
Here’s what
actually went down on Wednesday night at the expansion draft for the Islanders:
This afternoon,
Bob McKenzie stated the Isles expansion deal with Vegas was the Isles 1st round
pick this year (15th overall) AND often injured, Mikhail Grabovski ($5M hit for this season) to
have Vegas select UFA, JF Berube as the player claimed from New York. The Isles will also send Vegas their 2nd round selection in 2019 and D prospect Jake Bischoff. A price well worth the extra that Snow paid for the Isles to look ahead to the NHL Entry Draft and open to Free Agency.
Garth Snow did
some maneuvering to free up significant cap space held by Grabovski and to off load JF Berube, an unrestricted free
agent who was not getting resigned for the upcoming season anyway to Vegas. This is a great
first step for Snow who is rumored to have more things drop over the next few
days with most assets in tact. Isles country will be paying attention after the trade freeze is lifted
at 8 a.m. tomorrow. That’s for sure.
The other news
to come out of Vegas were the new Adidas Jersey reveal for all 31 teams next
season. The New York Islanders kept their traditional look mostly intact. The
only differences I saw were a more ornate collar on each version and a blue
ring around the logo on the white jersey. They look pretty nice.
Isles Notes:
The Islanders will
strt off in Columbus on October 6th with their 2017-18 home opener
is against the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday, October 7th at 7 p.m.
Full schedule will be released tomorrow, 6/22.
Jack Capuano
was rumored to be in line for an assistant coaching position with the Sabers.
Stay tuned.
Travis Hamonic
is the 2017 NHL Foundation Player Award winner.
Per Greg
Wyshynski, “NHL says we'll have 24-26 teams with @adidas third jerseys for 2018-19 season.
Some old designs, some completely new.”
The Belmont
Park redevelopment will be on the agenda for a public hearing in July.
Per NY Post,
“The owners of the New York Islanders have been trying to sell a minority stake
in the NHL club for months — but have not had any luck, The Post has learned.
The owners, Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, are looking to sell a 15 percent
stake at a $500 million valuation, three sources close to the situation said.”
Per B.D. Gallof,
“minority investor story: All about cash infusion: if new arena materializes
will need $ as revenue takes massive hit in Bridge years.”
Per Renaud
Lavoie, “Alexei Yashin is in Vegas. Could get involved with the Golden Knights
as a minority owner.”
Kyle Okposo
could be ready for Sabres Camp.
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