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Isles Draft Primer Part 1 |
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Plan A
Isles aim for the best player they can get
It seems a foregone conclusion that Stamkos goes #1. There hasn't been a peep about Tampa trading that spot so far despite the fact they have so many needs on different fronts. A great player like Stamkos is not someone you trade down from.
But it is after that one can wonder about wheeling, dealing or just waiting for the other great plums to fall. Pietrangelo, Bogosian, Doughty, and Filatov make the next few picks and scenarios rife with intrigue. As THN puts in their mock draft, if LA truly covets Filatov, they and the Isles can switch places at the cost of picks. But here's an interesting thing . . . LA is also interviewing, per ESPN, a lot of players who range from the 5th to 15th pick. With them taking Hickey last year and with Jack Johnson already in their system, do they really stay there and take a dman??? Or do they deal. Very viable spot to make a trade .
In that scenario Isles and LA could switch places and take a crack at Bogosian or Doughty. Or Schenn, who would might go at 4 or 6 depending. I know that Isles have had Schenn, Doughty, Pietrangelo and at least Colin Wilson to Long Island. One would assume Bogosian has been as well. Has Filatov? Well, thats the million dollar question.
With 10 picks in a talent-laden draft, Isles can use them to maximize their effectiveness and get their man. Because as we know, its not just about having the picks, but who you pick. Isles are capable to move ahead, whether it be the first round or thereafter. Many forwards in the draft who I have spoken to still think the Isles will aim for a dman.
Which leads us to . . .
Plan B
Stay The Course
At the 5 spot, the Isles get a shot at Pietrangelo or Filatov. And if the spots before them shuffle, Filatov goes, then they might have a shot at Doughty or Bogosian. So they give up nothing, and you know they have everyone well-scouted. So, they just wait for their shot, take their top guy on their list...and we move onward knowing we got the 5th pick in a chock-filled draft.
The Isles are starving for a top defensive prospect, and by staying in the 5 spot, they have a shot at Schenn, Pietrangelo, and an outside shot at Bogey & Doughty. So, let the intrigue begin. Because who have the Isles rated on their list might be different from those at Red Line, TSN, THN, McKeens and others. Some feel Pietrangelo's value dropped because of his slow start, and is still one of the top dmen in the draft anyway. So, as everyone focuses on the others, Isles sit pretty without giving up a thing in a draft they have 10 picks in.
That, my friends, is a good thing. One does not need to move forward nor backwards to reap the rewards of sucking the year before.
But . . .
Plan C
Trading down
I think this is a real scenario. The Isles have taken quite a look at some above the #5 spot. Boychuk. Wilson. One has to wonder if someone like Toronto, Edmonton, Anaheim or anyone else who has an eye on Filatov is willing to pay a price, giving the Isles a pick further down the line, but with other picks, prospects or players to make it worth their while. Snow has good relations with Burke (Ducks and lets be honest...Toronto), and Lowe (EDM). You can bet they have chatted to see how attached Snow really is to #5. And this might why . . .
I keep hearing about the Isles and Colin Wilson. There is not a doubt they need the center of the future. Colin is eligible to stay in college 3 more years, but in the shape he is in, a lot feel he might be NHL ready as well, at least physically. But Colin is expected to go a few picks further down the line. So one wonders if the Isles can get some fine things by offering up the 5 spot, gaining a later pick plus some more picks in the latter first or early second. The Isles have many needs and if they feel that free agents won't come, the best way to get help is to draft and also trade. At the 5th spot, they are, for once, in a position of power to grab picks that are not the top 5 but effectively line the prospect coffers for years to come.
Some fans harp that this would be a terrible move. Depends on the deal and the picks. Isles better picks, besides Okposo, has been deeper in the draft. Isles scouts have been working since last trade deadline, so one can guess that they have done their homework and then some. A lot is being said about future and success internally, including the Isles landing some college prospects at the end of last season. My guess is they have something up their sleeve on this draft as well.
Buried treasure.
Plan D
The Crazy Factor
Hey, it's the Isles. You know that this has to be in the fold. What would it be this season? How about talk about Yashin. But why, you ask? Well, I think the Isles internally are worried that they need to sell seats and make a run at the playoffs to build on last season and before. Why is the business end dictating the on-ice product and futures? Well, thats the other million dollar question that keeps me and many other fans up at night. Business and the product should not necessarily go hand in hand. But, we of course, have no proof. Only the usually basic nuttiness that goes on behind closed doors.
So what scenario could play out here: Follow my logic on this one....it's a doozy.
Toronto has to shear away dollars. McCabe has a no movement clause, BUT might be willing to waive it if the Isles were the destination, if we read the tea leaves to the myriad of rumors that pulse out of TO. We know TO would like to launch Blake out of a cannon. So, if the Isles still want fans in seats, are they contemplating eating those contracts, which they have a ton of room for, so they can have a line with Blake and Yashin, McCabe on the backline, while exchanging some picks and prospects in some crazed shuffle.
Farfetched? Probably. So don't buy-in to this actually happening. But do buy-in to something we all don't expect or forsee happening.
But the Isles are obviously thinking about being competitive this coming season. Toronto wants to move to clear out the mess they and JFJ made. And if you add in the parenthetical attributes, it does fall within the realm of Long Island hockey reason. But so do many other things. Some players could shuffle along with picks this weekend.
Do not discount the draft day trade, nor the Islanders in this regard. The Isles learned a valuable lesson about free agency last season, and that might spur them to explore trade scenarios to make sure that not only do they draft picks this weekend, but also see if they can somehow get a competitive team on the ice.
Because, in the end, the Isles are a business, and that business is hellbent on a new place to play, a new refurbished area around them, filling the seats and expanding their dollar bills.
More thoughts and info tomorrow.
- BD
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