As we wait for news of who Vegas will meet in the Stanley Cup final (surely Carolina, no?), June is just around the corner, which means the draft, RFA decisions and prep for the UFA period with a thin class will be underway.
What the Islanders do, with two top-grade assets but a lot of holes, is of course continually on our minds and discussed a bit in one of the quotes and links below.
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Islanders News
Maybe DeBoer could unlock Barzal more consistently, or help Horvat maintain his level of play from this past season. But even if they each bump up a slot, it still leaves the team without a franchise forward.
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The Islanders have an incredible Calder winning defenseman and a Vezina finalist in net. Here are the other major pieces they need to contend, preferably sooner than later. [Athletic]
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With the cap rising and the UFA market very thin, there will be “massive attempts” at big trades. Also: “My understanding is that New York Islanders GM Mathieu Darche has indicated to Lee’s agent, Neil Sheehy, that the team does have interest in re-signing Lee but that it needs to make a few other moves before it can go down that road.” [Athletic]
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Bo Horvat reflects on a long year. [Isles]
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On the ties between Bobby Valentine and Lou Lamoriello. [Newsday]
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Danny Nelson and the U.S. were eliminated by Canada at the Worlds. [THN]
Elsewhere
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Former NHLer and Conn Smythe winner Claude Lemieux has died at 60, reportedly by suicide. (Trivia note: he was technically Islanders property at one point, as he was part of the three-way Steve Thomas-Wendel Clark trade, which is officially listed as the Islanders sending Thomas to the Devils for Lemieux before flipping the notoriously dirty pest to Colorado for Clark.) [Post] Patrick Roy is among those mourning his death. [Post] He had just rallied fans in the pre-game hype in Montreal for Game 3. [Athletic]
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Bruce Cassidy is pretty unhappy that the Knights are blocking him from talking to other teams about coaching openings, and Vegas is unapologetic. [Athletic | Sportsnet | TSN]
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