If they traded Frans I would miss him most on the shootout. It is very valuable to have a guy THAT good at shootouts... can he PLEASE teach Grabner that move!!!
- niteislander

Parenteau is pretty good at shootouts too but Nielsen is our shootout go to guy, if he taught Grabner that move and he could use it on his breakaways he'd be at 25 goals right now maybe more...he needs more moves BADLY

I think its an issue because bailey was supposed to be this teams second line center. We don't have a true number 2 guy. Neilson is a perfect three. Bailey is a work in progress three. Isles need to get a compliment to Tavares , sorta like peca to yashin.
- Isles316

This was never established though; I'm sure they would have loved for him to develop into that player, but if they get a solid top 9 forward, which is what he's quietly turning into, then i'm happy with the pick. Also, people put too much emphasis on "first liner," "second liner," etc. It's almost like 1-5 starters in baseball (after game 1, there are no numbered pitchers; each pitcher pitches the same amount). I want to roll 4 solid lines; doesn't matter to me if they're numbered. What is a "second line center" anyway?

They traded Rolo before the trade deadline. They traded him for lesser value based on the fact that the year before they could not get a first round pick for his rights. Last year was a different scenario.. They still could have gotten a second round pick instead of Wishart who we hoped we could turn around. The fact that 2 teams were willing to part with him should have been a big red flag. At the time I was hoping Garth stole a superstar... he didn't.. We would have been better off with another second round pick in a very deep draft. We may have been able to use that pick plus our very high second round pick to move up into the first round for another pick... all hind sight obviously. Garth was hoping Cairns would wake this kid up... He was wrong.
- niteislander

wayne gretzky was traded from the oilers to the kings and then to the blues....next

what were the other options? what would make the deal great in your eyes?
- LetsGoIsles

They were offered second round picks by teams.. but Garth wanted a first. so instead he got a first round pick prospect. .... if he took the highest second round pick he could get.. then traded the 3 second round picks how high could he have moved into the top line? High enough to get Klefbom? Beaulieu? Doug Hamilton? never know.

wayne gretzky was traded from the oilers to the kings and then to the blues....next
- LetsGoIsles

you are comparing the best player in the league with many cups under his belt.... to a prospect?

wayne gretzky was traded from the oilers to the kings and then to the blues....next
- LetsGoIsles

Wayne Gretzky was established, with multiple cups, and scoring records...Wishart was undeveloped in the minors............

Parenteau is pretty good at shootouts too but Nielsen is our shootout go to guy, if he taught Grabner that move and he could use it on his breakaways he'd be at 25 goals right now maybe more...he needs more moves BADLY
- isles21beast

I would love to know the stats on how many break aways Grabner has had.. and how many goals..etc.

I would love to know the stats on how many break aways Grabner has had.. and how many goals..etc.
- niteislander

Well, to sum it up: lots of breakaways, not a lot of goals hopefully he has a second half like he did last year when he had like 20-25 goals or something, I remember I looked at stats he had 8 goals last year by January like 20th or something and finished with over 30

They were offered second round picks by teams.. but Garth wanted a first. so instead he got a first round pick prospect. .... if he took the highest second round pick he could get.. then traded the 3 second round picks how high could he have moved into the top line? High enough to get Klefbom? Beaulieu? Doug Hamilton? never know.
- niteislander

its all hindsight though.....cant get on garth for what you know now....at the time, just about everyone was thrilled getting wishart. everyone who denies that is just lying.

I love Frans but he would get us a pretty nice return I think and Bailey is a pretty nice 3rd line center Strome could slide into the 2nd line center spot but if we traded Frans at the deadline what do we do for the rest of the year, and what if Strome isn't ready?
- isles21beast

That's precisely the problem with prospects lol which is why they should re-sign Frans and not rely on Cizikas or Strome. Frans is a proven top 9 center.

They were offered second round picks by teams.. but Garth wanted a first. so instead he got a first round pick prospect. .... if he took the highest second round pick he could get.. then traded the 3 second round picks how high could he have moved into the top line? High enough to get Klefbom? Beaulieu? Doug Hamilton? never know.
- niteislander

its all hindsight though.....cant get on garth for what you know now....at the time, just about everyone was thrilled getting wishart. everyone who denies that is just lying.

They were offered second round picks by teams.. but Garth wanted a first. so instead he got a first round pick prospect. .... if he took the highest second round pick he could get.. then traded the 3 second round picks how high could he have moved into the top line? High enough to get Klefbom? Beaulieu? Doug Hamilton? never know.
- niteislander

its all hindsight though.....cant get on garth for what you know now....at the time, just about everyone was thrilled getting wishart. everyone who denies that is just lying.

its all hindsight though.....cant get on garth for what you know now....at the time, just about everyone was thrilled getting wishart. everyone who denies that is just lying.
- LetsGoIsles

Who's "everyone"? How could anyone have been "thrilled" getting a player nobody knew anything about? That's like being "thrilled" the Isles got Justin Papineau at the time they traded Chris Osgood for him. Nobody knew what they were getting in Papineau.

That's seriously what happened? Wow that's crazy I never heard that I always wondered what the whole problem was with him and the team
- isles21beast

True story from what I've been told by team employee

Tavares is great, but he's nowhere in Trottier's league. Not even the same sport. Trottier is arguably the best two-way center in NHL history.
- isles10289

Trottier was pedestrian without Bossy on his wing.


XxNYIxX

Another story that I'll file into the Archives.

North American Hockey players are a breed unto themselves. They remember their roots. They are for the most part from close families. They seem to give back. They dont have a entitlement attitude like many Baseball, Basketball and Football players seem to have.

When I was at the local rink down here. Neil Smith was standing next to me talking to the folks and families. Relaxed, informal, a regular guy. I wouldnt even have noticed him had it not been for my buddy who told me to turn and look.

Whens the last time ARod or Albert P was seen rubbing elbows with the peasant folks?
- SCLI

I gotta say.. there is a HUGE difference between Neil Smith & ARod... seriously

XxNYIxX

its all hindsight though.....cant get on garth for what you know now....at the time, just about everyone was thrilled getting wishart. everyone who denies that is just lying.
- LetsGoIsles

Way off on that remark. I never even heard of the guy. Like I said the jury is still out on him.

wtf-- where is Spartiarti?? i spend days putting this one together....
- LetsGoIsles

Dont worry Downeaster has his charts & graphs out as we speak..

XxNYIxX

Way off on that remark. I never even heard of the guy. Like I said the jury is still out on him.
- Vukota

I don't think the jury is still out. He's a depth guy/placeholder. He'll never be anything more than that. Unless he somehow decides to use his size and become, like, 2 or 3 times as physical as he is now, then maybe he can fit comfortably in a team's top 6 as a defensive defenseman. Until that happens, he's a back-up at the NHL level.

They traded Rolo before the trade deadline. They traded him for lesser value based on the fact that the year before they could not get a first round pick for his rights. Last year was a different scenario.. They still could have gotten a second round pick instead of Wishart who we hoped we could turn around. The fact that 2 teams were willing to part with him should have been a big red flag. At the time I was hoping Garth stole a superstar... he didn't.. We would have been better off with another second round pick in a very deep draft. We may have been able to use that pick plus our very high second round pick to move up into the first round for another pick... all hind sight obviously. Garth was hoping Cairns would wake this kid up... He was wrong.
- niteislander

Two teams let go of Grabner too. It's not an exact science.

I'm not going to labor the point. My point is that Wishart is a reach to become an NHL player and you traded away a starting NHL goaltender, one who carried the Lightning to the conference finals last year, for him. I'm not saying the deal was a bad one, but to call it "great"? I just don't agree.
- Jethro09

I wouldn't disagree with you that I thought that snow could have got more for Roloson, but you can only get what someone is willing to give you. Perhaps there was no interest in Roloson other than Tampa. Maybe no one else was offering a prospect, maybe the highest offer Snow had was a 6th round pick to weigh against Tampa's offer. We won't ever know, but if Comeau couldn't get anything at all, Wishart for a 40 year old goaltender who was a UFA at the end of the year still doesn't sound like a bad deal.

We could all want MORE in return, but unless someone's willing to give it to you, you either take what's offered or hold onto the player and that wouldn't have done the Isles any good at all.

If Snow trades a player under contract and gets a crap return I'll rip him for it, but if the guy is a UFA on a team not anywhere near the playoff picture, it makes good sense to move him for whatever you can get rather than holding onto him and losing him for nothing in the offseason.

are you really comparing Neil Smith to Arod or Albert Pujols???
- LetsGoIsles

I knew it would be you to take the bait!!!!

Seriously it was a bad choice of BB players on my part.

malkin, crosby, stamkos, giroux, sedins, weber............nope sorry
- nocupslugs

Crosby is very injury prone at the moment, if healthy he is the only one I can see being better than JT in a couple of years. JT is already better than Giroux. He is a much more well rounded player than Stamkos and he has more skill than Malkin. Two years JT will be #1 in the league no doubt.

Bad example. Two highly recognizable guys known by a lot more people than Neiil Smith is. And how many of those peasant folks would act like a bunch of a-holes around them. Especially A Rod. I wouldn't blame them for shying away.
- PeteM

Your rite. I should have used lesser known Baseball players but I dont really follow the sport anymore so those two came immediately to mind.

I knew as I was writing their names that I'd get feed back. I just didnt care.

I'm sure you get my point.

But had I compared Bixll's example of his afternoon spent with Sidney Crosby against Arod and Albert I'm sure it would have fit better then Smith. Who btw is the only NHL figure who actually frequents "little ole Us" here in SC. Thats why I referred to him

I gotta say.. there is a HUGE difference between Neil Smith & ARod... seriously

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

i know i know I wasnt comparing Neil to Arod or Albert. I was comparing NHL personalities to NHL personalities.

Smiths the only nhl persona that I've had the pleasure of seeing down here. Hence my only means of comparison. I should have chosen two Baseball stiffs instead.

So SHOOT ME!