When news of Alex DeBrincat’s trade from Ottawa to Detroit dropped on Sunday night, the talented, goal-scoring winger became just the latest in a string of high-end players that were so, so close to becoming Islanders before ultimately spurning the club and going elsewhere.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported on July 4 that the chase for DeBrincat came down to the Red Wings and Islanders, before he ultimately chose to play close to where he grew up in Michigan.
But what makes this different from Artemi Panarin in 2019, or Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau last summer, is that while those players all seemed to make sense at the time, the pursuit of DeBrincat was puzzling at best, and inadvisable at worst.
That’s not to say DeBrincat, who has a combined 100 goals over the last three seasons, wouldn’t have potentially helped. The Islanders could still use a bit more scoring punch up front, and they could definitely use more options for the power play.
But there are just as many reasons why it might be better for the Islanders to stay patient, even if that means going into the 2023-24 season with the same group as they have now.
Lou Lamoriello leaving open the potential for more “hockey trades” in his presser on July 1 was a tantalizing thought for fans that believe this roster needs more than it has right now. And, yeah, it probably does if they are going to contend.
But the Islanders wouldn’t have been able to fit DeBrincat without moving money out. That almost certainly would start with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and his $5 million salary cap hit for the next three seasons.
And while DeBrincat is the sexier name, make no mistake, Pageau is still a valuable piece for this current Islanders team. Contending teams are always searching for depth down the middle, and the Islanders have that with the 30-year-old as their third-line center behind Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson. “We’re fortunate to have the five center-ice men that we have,” Lamoriello said on June 6, referring to Horvat, Nelson, Pageau, Mathew Barzal and Casey Cizikas.
While Pageau’s goal scoring has ticked down a bit in recent seasons, he still managed a respectable 40 points in 70 games last season. Further, he led all Islanders forwards in short-handed ice time per game (1:56) on what was the league’s ninth-ranked unit, while his 57.3 faceoff win percentage was 12th in the NHL. Those aren’t easily replaceable minutes and responsibilities, particularly for a team that aims to win low-scoring games.
In fact, keeping Pageau, while also employing Horvat, who was 14th in the league last season with a 56.9 percent faceoff win percentage, should help in that vital area of the game. The Islanders were already a top-10 faceoff team in the NHL last season (10th, 51.7 percent); with both Pageau and Horvat for a full season, they should be even better moving forward.
And speaking of faceoffs, one guy the Islanders essentially gave up on in the circle over the second half of last season was Barzal. He was routinely getting worked in the circle in the early months with a sub-40 percent rate, and from Christmas until the time of his regular season-ending injury on Feb. 18, he took just 72 faceoffs in his final 23 games.
A Pageau trade would probably mean Barzal would have to move back to center again, which seems misguided for more than his struggles to win draws.
There was instant chemistry between Barzal and Horvat after a trade for the latter on Jan. 31. Unfortunately, it lasted all of six games before Barzal’s unfortunate collision with Boston’s Craig Smith at TD Garden two weeks into the second half.
They weren’t able to rekindle that when Barzal returned for the playoffs, but extracting any broad conclusions from that six-game series with the Hurricanes would be silly. Barzal was obviously not operating at full speed, and Horvat, too, seemed to hit a wall over the final few weeks and in the playoffs for various reasons, including an ongoing adjustment to moving his family to the other side of North America.
At the very least, the Islanders should keep Barzal on Horvat’s right wing in training camp and for the first few weeks of the season to see if they build on the potential they showed during that brief window in February. (Not to mention, do you really want your $9.15 million franchise player on the third line?)
There’s a chance, too, that the Islanders could get more scoring by committee next season than they had last season, when they finished 22nd with 2.95 goals per game. Both Horvat and Pierre Engvall will be here from Day 1, and Engvall’s five goals in 18 games with the Islanders equates to about 23 in a full season.
Oliver Wahlstrom’s future seems a bit more hazy; his switching agents while without a contract has led to some questions as to whether he could get moved. There’s also the matter of whether he still has the capability to be an everyday player in the top nine. But still, at just 23 years old, the potential remains for Wahlstrom to take the next step.
Further, perhaps the biggest area of concern for the Islanders, particularly after re-signing Scott Mayfield, is whether their defense corps is mobile and skilled enough in transition. If after a few weeks or months into next season they determine it isn’t, their money and assets might be better utilized for help in that area instead.
The 2024 NHL trade deadline is still eight months away. There will be other opportunities for the Islanders to alter their forward group if need be, and scoring wingers are often easier to acquire than centers or defensemen. Perhaps a DeBrincat acquisition this week would have led to another surprising move or two with a player not named Pageau, which would render all of this moot, anyway.
But if sacrificing the multi-purpose center for DeBrincat was indeed the move that was coming, they’re better off waiting for something else.
(Photo of Jean-Gabriel Pageau: Joe Camporeale / USA Today)
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzQ2ODA2MjMvMjAyMy8wNy8xMC9hbGV4LWRlYnJpbmNhdC1qZWFuLWdhYnJpZWwtcGFnZWF1LWlzbGFuZGVycy_SAQA?oc=5
2023-07-10 22:44:11Z
2229803323
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar