Ben Shelley: Islanders vs. Sabres game postponed

So why don’t they just play tomorrow night?

So why don’t they just play tomorrow night?
- BringNYIhome

Covid protocol, this Is good for the team anyhow trotz can work on their d zone issues and try and fix all their issues in general

Covid protocol, this is good for the team anyhow trotz can work on their d zone issues and try and fix all their issues in general
- Upstate_isles

I agree. Their next game is Saturday. That gives them lots of practice time to settle down and get back to Trotz's style of hockey.

No islanders hockey till the weekend. This is probably a good thing.

The topic of this blog is very interesting. The reason I find so interesting is because it is the same issue that this team has been faced with for the last three years. No scoring....Too many inconsistent forwards. When 9 out of 12 forwards do not show up, it is very hard to win a hockey game. They are putting a lot of pressure on the defense and goaltending. You well see that keeping Leddy in lieu of Teows was a mistake.

The topic of this blog is very interesting. The reason I find so interesting is because it is the same issue that this team has been faced with for the last three years. No scoring....Too many inconsistent forwards. When 9 out of 12 forwards do not show up, it is very hard to win a hockey game. They are putting a lot of pressure on the defense and goaltending. You well see that keeping Leddy in lieu of Teows was a mistake.
- Nfdbulldawg

Interesting point but we would have to assume that Leddy was in fact able to be traded in this current market. The easy answer is yes we would’ve got something for him just to rid ourselves of his contract. Makes it even more interesting when you see how Leddy has played so far and take a look at Toews current stats albeit only 8 games in;

GP G A P +/-
8 3 2 5 2

Leddy

GP G A P +/-
9 1 4 5 -4

Haven’t watched an avalanche game so can only comment on Toews numbers and they look good can only say that Leddy has arguably been our weakest player on the backend so far. Also, his age, cap hit, and declining play, make him even more of a candidate to have been dumped rather then Toews which to me is common sense.

Interesting point but we would have to assume that Leddy was in fact able to be traded in this current market. The easy answer is yes we would’ve got something for him just to rid ourselves of his contract. Makes it even more interesting when you see how Leddy has played so far and take a look at Toews current stats albeit only 8 games in;

GP G A P +/-
8 3 2 5 2

Leddy

GP G A P +/-
9 1 4 5 -4

Haven’t watched an avalanche game so can only comment on Toews numbers and they look good can only say that Leddy has arguably been our weakest player on the backend so far. Also, his age, cap hit, and declining play, make him even more of a candidate to have been dumped rather then Toews which to me is common sense.
- Cptmjl

I read that Trotz and Lou chose to move Toews over Leddy. I realize the return for Leddy would have been at best a mid round pick. Why on earth would they have chose to keep him if true? Clearly the team misses Toews. Leddy seems like he’s on the ice for 90% of the goals against. I just don’t understand how two great hockey minds make an error in judgment like this

I read that Trotz and Lou chose to move Toews over Leddy. I realize the return for Leddy would have been at best a mid round pick. Why on earth would they have chose to keep him if true? Clearly the team misses Toews. Leddy seems like he’s on the ice for 90% of the goals against. I just don’t understand how two great hockey minds make an error in judgment like this
- BringNYIhome

If that is actually the case I’m sure it has something to do with Toews weak playoff performance. They also like most coaches/GM’s throughout the league have a loyalty to vet players. Probably a combination of those two factors if that’s what went down. I don’t agree with it I was pretty vocal about my position on Toews on here when we traded him. I’ll also say they would’ve saved an additional million in cap if they traded Leddy instead of Toews to do stupid crap like signing Martin to a four year contract

If that is actually the case I’m sure it has something to do with Toews weak playoff performance. They also like most coaches/GM’s throughout the league have a loyalty to vet players. Probably a combination of those two factors if that’s what went down. I don’t agree with it I was pretty vocal about my position on Toews on here when we traded him. I’ll also say they would’ve saved an additional million in cap if they traded Leddy instead of Toews to do stupid crap like signing Martin to a four year contract
- Cptmjl

Is there any proof that The Aves would have taken Leddy vs Toews ? Or is this just total hyperbole that is spewed when teams don’t play well.
I’m gonna go with the hyperbole angle

Interesting point but we would have to assume that Leddy was in fact able to be traded in this current market. The easy answer is yes we would’ve got something for him just to rid ourselves of his contract. Makes it even more interesting when you see how Leddy has played so far and take a look at Toews current stats albeit only 8 games in;

GP G A P +/-
8 3 2 5 2

Leddy

GP G A P +/-
9 1 4 5 -4

Haven’t watched an avalanche game so can only comment on Toews numbers and they look good can only say that Leddy has arguably been our weakest player on the backend so far. Also, his age, cap hit, and declining play, make him even more of a candidate to have been dumped rather then Toews which to me is common sense.
- Cptmjl

Toews is also now playing on, arguably, the most offensively-gifted team in the league instead of the least offensively-gifted team in the league. Plus he's getting first pair minutes at ES playing with Makar who is an exception puck-mover. He probably wasn't getting those minutes here and definitely wasn't playing alongside someone with Makar's offensive ability.

His stats are much better than Leddy's but it's kind of comparing apples to oranges when comparing a guy on the Isles to someone on the Avs.

That said, Leddy has not been great this year. He's probably in the top-5 most disappointing performances through the first 9 games.

Toews is also now playing on, arguably, the most offensively-gifted team in the league instead of the least offensively-gifted team in the league. Plus he's getting first pair minutes at ES playing with Makar who is an exception puck-mover. He probably wasn't getting those minutes here and definitely wasn't playing alongside someone with Makar's offensive ability.

His stats are much better than Leddy's but it's kind of comparing apples to oranges when comparing a guy on the Isles to someone on the Avs.

That said, Leddy has not been great this year. He's probably in the top-5 most disappointing performances through the first 9 games.
- eichiefs9

Agreed to all of this to an extent but I think it says a lot that Toews is on the first pair to begin with as compared to Leddy who we were reportedly looking to dump last season. To me it was a misstep to trade Toews who is younger with more upside then Leddy if we actually could trade leddy(let me just preface everything I say with this). Like I said in my previous post I believe that the main reason they traded Toews was probably due to his playoffs which to me is short sighted when looking at the big picture. A number 2 defenseman signed for four yrs in your line up for two 2nds is a deal any team in the NHL would make.

Toews is “home grown” worked his way up and didn’t have the easiest path and filled a role and could’ve effectively for at least another 5 or 6 years at least. That’s instead of Leddy who is long in the tooth, bigger cap hit, and by all accounts seems to be declining and will leave a hole in the lineup when he’s gone. Like I said short sighted imo...

Toews is also now playing on, arguably, the most offensively-gifted team in the league instead of the least offensively-gifted team in the league. Plus he's getting first pair minutes at ES playing with Makar who is an exception puck-mover. He probably wasn't getting those minutes here and definitely wasn't playing alongside someone with Makar's offensive ability.

His stats are much better than Leddy's but it's kind of comparing apples to oranges when comparing a guy on the Isles to someone on the Avs.

That said, Leddy has not been great this year. He's probably in the top-5 most disappointing performances through the first 9 games.
- eichiefs9

It's a good point regarding Toews and his numbers with the Avs. Toews did not look good defensively during the playoffs. I stand by the trade and I'm not going back against the trade. Isles are still in good shape on defense and seem to have more good defensive prospects on the way.

It's a good point regarding Toews and his numbers with the Avs. Toews did not look good defensively during the playoffs. I stand by the trade and I'm not going back against the trade. Isles are still in good shape on defense and seem to have more good defensive prospects on the way.
- ses111

Who?

Who?
- Cptmjl

Wilde and Bolduc. I would have rather traded Leddy than Toews but Toews had more value.

Agreed to all of this to an extent but I think it says a lot that Toews is on the first pair to begin with as compared to Leddy who we were reportedly looking to dump last season. To me it was a misstep to trade Toews who is younger with more upside then Leddy if we actually could trade leddy(let me just preface everything I say with this). Like I said in my previous post I believe that the main reason they traded Toews was probably due to his playoffs which to me is short sighted when looking at the big picture. A number 2 defenseman signed for four yrs in your line up for two 2nds is a deal any team in the NHL would make.

Toews is “home grown” worked his way up and didn’t have the easiest path and filled a role and could’ve effectively for at least another 5 or 6 years at least. That’s instead of Leddy who is long in the tooth, bigger cap hit, and by all accounts seems to be declining and will leave a hole in the lineup when he’s gone. Like I said short sighted imo...
- Cptmjl

If Barry says they preferred Leddy over Toews then fine...but I have a tough time believing that they wouldn't have rather moved Leddy. Obviously they couldn't really retain any salary so my guess is that Leddy, at age 30 and carrying a $5.5M cap hit, didn't really move the needle for anyone. Part of me would have been fine dumping him for next to nothing, if that was even an option, but it was also nice to get the two 2nd rounders for Toews.

Maybe Barry meant what he said, but I'm also not so sure he'd have come out and said something along the lines of "Yeah we really wanted to dump Leddy but nobody would take him so we traded a guy we liked better than him"

Wilde and Bolduc. I would have rather traded Leddy than Toews but Toews had more value.
- ses111

Those two are years away from being regular NHL defensemen. By all accounts they had a great camp but they're still pretty raw. Dobson, who's looking more and more to me like he's going to be one hell of a defenseman, barely got regular time last year and he is pretty polished for his age.

Just pure speculation, but I'd have to imagine they each have at least 2 years in the AHL before there's even a real conversation about them making the roster. And even then, I can't imagine they'll see regular time with the big club.

Wilde and Bolduc. I would have rather traded Leddy than Toews but Toews had more value.
- ses111

Yeah he did for sure but I don’t really think we were trading for return or value. We were trading him simply because we couldn’t afford to sign him. Like I said we will have a hole in our line up when Leddy leaves and have a declining player up to that point. To me there’s really nothing to debate in all honesty.

If Barry says they preferred Leddy over Toews then fine...but I have a tough time believing that they wouldn't have preferred to move Leddy. Obviously they couldn't really retain any salary so my guess is that Leddy, at age 30 and carrying a $5.5M cap hit, didn't really move the needle for anyone. Part of me would have been fine dumping him for next to nothing, if that was even an option, but it was also nice to get the two 2nd rounders for Toews.

Maybe Barry meant what he said, but I'm also not so sure he'd have come out and said something along the lines of "Yeah we really wanted to dump Leddy but nobody would take him so we traded a guy we liked better than him"
- eichiefs9

Sure we have some trade chips with those picks because let’s face it with our team that’s what they are unless we absolutely crap the bed further but I would have rather had a younger D man with more upside signed for longer filling a spot. I don’t really see the upside with keeping Leddy the two 2nd rounders don’t do it for me

Also, I’ll add. We would’ve saved another million on the cap

Yeah he did for sure but I don’t really think we were trading for return or value. We were trading him simply because we couldn’t afford to sign him. Like I said we will have a hole in our line up when Leddy leaves and have a declining player up to that point. To me there’s really nothing to debate in all honesty.
- Cptmjl

No question it was a money deal with Toews. I would have moved Leddy if possible. To me this team will sink or swim on the forwards though and not defense. This team needs to find more answers at forward to take the pressure off the D and goalies.

Those two are years away from being regular NHL defensemen. By all accounts they had a great camp but they're still pretty raw. Dobson, who's looking more and more to me like he's going to be one hell of a defenseman, barely got regular time last year and he is pretty polished for his age.

Just pure speculation, but I'd have to imagine they each have at least 2 years in the AHL before there's even a real conversation about them making the roster. And even then, I can't imagine they'll see regular time with the big club.
- eichiefs9

No question I will be shocked if both Wilde and Bolduc break in soon. We know it takes a lot for a young player to break in with the Isles and defensemen take longer to mature.

No question it was a money deal with Toews. I would have moved Leddy if possible. To me this team will sink or swim on the forwards though and not defense.
- ses111

Yeah of course we need some help up front but what makes this team successful at all is it’s defense and you have to fill holes on your roster with cheaper, younger, talent, in the salary cap era. Leddy is/was on his way out and Toews was on his way up. Trading him leaves a hole he could’ve filled when Leddy is gone. Couple that with everything I already stated kind of wished Leddy went those two second rounders be damned. Wait till we’re struggling to find or overpay for a top four D man if we are even lucky enough to find one or even worse resign Leddy

Sure we have some trade chips with those picks because let’s face it with our team that’s what they are unless we absolutely crap the bed further but I would have rather had a younger D man with more upside signed for longer filling a spot. I don’t really see the upside with keeping Leddy the two 2nd rounders don’t do it for me

Also, I’ll add. We would’ve saved another million on the cap
- Cptmjl

I hear you, I'd obviously have liked to see them move Leddy instead as well. But there might not have been much of a market for him. Maybe if there was no pandemic and the cap kept rising incrementally someone would have loved to add Leddy, but in a flat-cap/no revenue world I'm not sure anyone really wanted to take him on at his age and cost.

I hear you, I'd obviously have liked to see them move Leddy instead as well. But there might not have been much of a market for him. Maybe if there was no pandemic and the cap kept rising incrementally someone would have loved to add Leddy, but in a flat-cap/no revenue world I'm not sure anyone really wanted to take him on at his age and cost.
- eichiefs9

Maybe