Thanks data for featuring my favorite Isles, you definitely have your work cut out for yourself. They made a deal with the devil for Mike Bossy and to never win again afterwards. I’m still a long distance truck driver and I enjoy your commentary. I always look forward to your episodes. Getting rid of Dobson was a good long term move. Unfortunately the next islanders champs might be 6 or 7 right now, so it is what it is. Barzel missed an open net versus the lightning and that what you’re going against. Thanks data for all you do.
Hi Kevin! It certainly isn't easy haha but we're having fun with our time on the Island! Hopefully that deal for Bossy expires around 2028! Glad that you liked the Dobson move, too. Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm so glad to be able to provide some entertainment on those long distance rides! It's an honour to help you pass the time :) Thank YOU for all that you do! Much love, stay safe, and we'll see you for the second half 🤝
I like the idea of ending the Robo experiment by getting a defenseman to help those gaudy numbers. Oleksiak was the most interesting to me. Letang would be cool but we need to keep the puck out, offense has been superb. Also DuPont will be ready next year, we don’t need further logjam as we will already have one next year with Jiricek, Pulock, Mayfield, DuPont next year. I have full confidence whatever moves you make will be the right ones! LGI #imissbarrytrotz #firelou
Agreed that ending the Robo experiment is likely the move at this point - but I'm not sure if anyone from that veteran fourth line could slot onto the third line for an extended period. We'd either have to trade Robo for a LW3 guy, or make a separate move to acquire one. That being said, Oleksiak does stand out as a defensive option and you're right that an expiring contract would be best since Dupont will be in the NHL next season. Thank you for your suggestions, as well as for your trust! Much love and see you in the second half :)
Tricky tricky tricky start to the year. It took a while for our pieces to fall into place, but we really seemed to find our groove as we approached the halfway point. We suffered a lot of tight losses, but with a few more lucky bounces, we could easily be a top 5 team league-wide. Martone is developing nicely into a playmaking power forward, I already can’t wait for the Eiserman-Barzal-Martone 1st line in a few years! Also, can someone please tell Geno that it’s not the late 2000’s anymore?! Save some scoring for the rest of the team! The Top 6 is coming into their own, even Laine did well at RW3/PP (17 GP, 7G, 4A, 11P) despite the limited ice time. The 4th line is succeeding thanks to the power of friendship and undying love for Long Island. Our D-pairs have been meshing well after a few shake ups. As usual, our goaltending has been up & down, but what else can you expect from EA? I like how things look for us, except… Nick Robertson… BUDDY… COME ON! It’s unfortunate, but N-Rob may have the proverbial EA Black Cloud following him this year. No matter who he plays with, he doesn’t impress. I’m willing to give him 10 more games just in case he wakes up when we restart the PlayStation, but his clock is ticking. If we need a replacement for LW3, I’d suggest looking for a playmaker (or a player who sims as one). We need someone to get the puck to whoever ends up being RW3 (Laine, Boeser, Martone). It’ll hurt having any of those three on the 3rd line, so we need to make the absolute most of their ice time. Pickin’s are slim on the trade block, so we may have to craft our own deal or hope things change when team statuses adjust at the deadline. Finally, change everything about the PK. That’s all I have to say about that. Great video as always, my man. Let’s keep things rolling through the 2nd half and show everyone that we’re a legit cup contender. Go Isles!
Tricky is a good word for it! You're absolutely right that we could be better off, but we did find a solid groove to end the last 10-15 games. Loved your thoughts on Martone, Geno, and the power of friendship 4th line 😭😭😭🤣 And thanks for highlighting what Laine has done in that RW3 role! It isn't ideal but something had to be done for Robertson and, as you mentioned, it didn't mean much with that EA Black Cloud. I agree that we can give him a short look after restarting the PlayStation, but we gotta have a plan in place and ready to be executed. And yes, total PK overhaul inbound 😭 Much love and thanks for your thoughts through the first half! I'm still laughing about the power of friendship 😂 Looking forward to what this team does in the second half! See you there 🤝
I don't hate the idea of acquiring a Letang or Trouba from Pittsburgh but the question is trade capital. But for a 3rd line/PK suggestion, I'm kind of tempted to see if Freddy Gaudreau would be open to coming to us on his MNTC. IRL he's a perfect 3L/PK type guy for the Wild (granted who knows how EA translates that). Plus you get an extra shootout weapon with his 52.6% career shootout numbers lol (Fun fact- 16th in NHL history lol).
True, trade capital would be an issue if we wanted to acquire one of those more "expensive" players. And we can definitely take a peek at Freddy Gaudreau and his shootout prowess! 🤣 I wonder how he's looking here in 2028. Thanks for your thoughts!
@@Data782 little off topic but it’s also kind of funny because all his shootouts come within the last 4 years so it would seem a strength to his game was completely missed for half his career so far
Caleb again with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Geno Malkin would like to play out this year with a previous teammate… hearing hints of Brian Rust, since they got along very well during their tenure with the Pens. Rust would help with the team’s struggle in the bottom six as well as penalty kill, for he is a PK expert. Just my 2 cents!
Hi Data, what a weird start to the season. I have a few suggestions, but firstly I'm going to express that I think the underlying issues that keep popping up aren't going to change with this core as it is currently constructed. Unfortunately, as much as I like these core guys, I think we are going to need to make some tough decisions in that regard if we want to fix things fully. However, I do trust that we have the pieces that we need to keep the potential dynasty going forward, and I always trust in you and the other Assistant GMs to lead us right. Now to start off with suggestions, I don't know what to do about the goaltending other than benching Sorokin again. Since, although the sample size is small the other two are outperforming him in the calendar sim. Maybe the solution is to play all three of them intermittently and just rotate, it has worked for us in the past(Vancouver). With how goalies are in this game, thanks EA, I'm not convinced moving anyone out is the right move. So, unless someone is consistently simulating poorly, I wouldn't make a move unless we get a fortuitous offer that helps for now and the future. Next, it is time to upgrade Nicolas Robertson. He is clearly not working with our sim, as outlined by the +/- difference, and needs to go if we want to win a cup. Honestly it reminds me very much about how Dawson Mercer just didn't work out in my New Jersey franchise in NHL 23. See if you can trade him(50% retained) and a mid round pick for someone, not only more experienced, but defensively responsible. Who knows, it might also be the solution to the PK as well, but something has to change there. The offense and defense both seem to be mostly stable, which is quite the relief, and I wouldn't make changes unless it's for a seamless upgrade. I'm very glad to see both Martone and Letourneau taking big steps forward, and contributing well in the roles we need them to. Although, maybe we should bench Robertson first and slot Cizikas on the fourth line, bumping Letourneau up to the third line, before making any other moves, just to see what that might be. If it works then we should just trade Robertson for whatever we can get. As always, I'm looking forward to the next episode, and hope that this comment was helpful. We feel decently close, baring a goaltending collapse, and I'm hopeful that this is the year we at least go on a deep run if not win it all. Until next time; Let's go Isles!
Hey Sam! Thanks for leaving your thoughts. You raise a good point that those underlying concerns might just not go away since the core is what it is. What I'm hoping for is that a small change like, say, Robertson for a defensively responsible third line replacement who can also play PK is what gives us enough to plug the hole (which is exactly what you suggested, too!). For the goaltending, I think rotating all 3 is about all that we can do. maybe another 15-20 games of rotation before we get a more clear idea of who we roll with a bit more in the final stretch before the postseason? Also, I like that Letourneau suggestion for 5v5 but our bigger concern/reason to bring in another player is also the PK. We'll keep all of our options open and I wouldn't hate Letourneau on the third line at all (especially considering the 3C spot is hopefully his next home), but someone who has simulated reliably might go a longer way for what we need right now. Your comment was very helpful as always so thank you for leaving it! :) Thanks for all of your thoughts and looking forward to seeing you in the second half! 🤝
Hi Data, as always, thank you for another interesting upload. You did what was supposed to be done. Good move with the third goalie, it certainly gives us more options later on. I was thinking about our options and I would not go all in right now. Yes, we can acquire Letang and then we would have to move Mayfield, who served well except a little hiccup this season, but we will need to think what to do with him, because there is upcoming Franchise RD Dupont and then it would be Mayfield with his 3,5M contract to be moved. I am not sure now if he did not have any clause on his contract, which actually could be found on google sheets and I will check that later. Anyway, I would be very hesitant to trade Mayfield, because he has been a trooper in bad times with this team. The only thing, I would do before trade deadline, is to trade Robertson, who has been tried on all possible combinations with no success and we should probably acquire TWF for better PK, probably short term, or maybe with the plan to utilize him on the 4th line, because Belchetz will need ice time as soon as the next season on the third line and some special teams, too. I think this team will see its best time in the future, not this season, because we are not a top team defensively. I am not sure if you agree with me, but paying too much right now for just a little bit longer ride in the playoffs would not be smart. Thank you and I am looking forward to the next chapter.
Hi Steven! Glad that you enjoyed the episode and the moves :) For any move that we make on defense, Mayfield or Bolduc might get replaced as a full-timer but I don't think we're considering trading either one of them. Their trade value is low enough that I'd rather keep them for the ride before we make changes that we know we have to for Dupont next season. That being said, yes, I think many of the AGMs are in agreement with you that Robertson should be gone by the deadline. I agree that paying up right now in a Robertson/1st+ package is probably not what's best, but I'm sure we could find something more affordable to plug the hole and give this team a chance. Thanks for your thoughts and see you in the second half!
Making my return to RUclips comments, and a great time to do so. Great start to the New Year Data. Hope it continues to be great for you and your whole family. Definitely a step in the right direction this year with the team looking great, especially that 2nd line. As much as I think he does decent IRL, I agree that it’s time to end the Robertson project in favour of getting a better third line player. Somehow, Patrick Kane is the one that’s speaking to me the most. An expiring deal, with the ability to play up on the 2nd line, should someone like Martone or Malkin falter, or Laine moves back up. Another younger option could be Berggren in Vancouver if we want just a true third liner. If we’re looking for a third pairing D-Man, then someone like Carrier on Carolina could be interesting, or a second pairing guy in Sanheim in Philadelphia. Probably would lean towards Carrier over Sanheim, but either one could work. Hopefully we can keep this pace going on the way to the playoffs. Let’s go Isles!
Hey Golden welcome back and Happy New Year! :) Wishing all the same to you and yours ❤️ I agree that the Robertson experiment is very likely coming to an end so thanks for those third line suggestions. Good to also keep the defensive possibilities in mind as we approach the deadline. Let's cross those fingers, maintain this pace, and get back to the dance! Thanks for your thoughts and we'll see you in the second half 🤝
True! Thanks for mentioning that. My bigger mistake was asking during the pre-season and not waiting until after since it seems as though that's glitched according to other comments 🤦♂️😂
I don't think we need a defenseman with the improvements of Pulock and Sandin, but you should trade Robertson for a defensive 3rd line forward. Hermansson on Utah is also interesting. I think you should trade Nelson and picks for him.
Roger that regarding the defense and Robertson! Hermansson is also interesting but we don't have much trade value to acquire him, especially considering that Nelson is on a full NMC (not to mention the captain of his career-long team in what may be the final season for many of the day 1 originals). That being said, I'm very intrigued by Hermansson and would be interested in trying to acquire him in the near future! Thanks for your thoughts and see you in the second half :)
This series is very enjoyable! Really enjoyable you’ve managed to keep it realistic to a part while creating storylines! Great job man
Hey Adrian thank you so much for the kind words! It means a lot! 🥰
Thanks data for featuring my favorite Isles, you definitely have your work cut out for yourself. They made a deal with the devil for Mike Bossy and to never win again afterwards. I’m still a long distance truck driver and I enjoy your commentary. I always look forward to your episodes. Getting rid of Dobson was a good long term move. Unfortunately the next islanders champs might be 6 or 7 right now, so it is what it is. Barzel missed an open net versus the lightning and that what you’re going against. Thanks data for all you do.
Hi Kevin! It certainly isn't easy haha but we're having fun with our time on the Island! Hopefully that deal for Bossy expires around 2028! Glad that you liked the Dobson move, too.
Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm so glad to be able to provide some entertainment on those long distance rides! It's an honour to help you pass the time :) Thank YOU for all that you do! Much love, stay safe, and we'll see you for the second half 🤝
Thanks for the episode data! ❤
It's my pleasure as always! :) Thank YOU for watching! ❤️
I like the idea of ending the Robo experiment by getting a defenseman to help those gaudy numbers. Oleksiak was the most interesting to me. Letang would be cool but we need to keep the puck out, offense has been superb. Also DuPont will be ready next year, we don’t need further logjam as we will already have one next year with Jiricek, Pulock, Mayfield, DuPont next year. I have full confidence whatever moves you make will be the right ones! LGI #imissbarrytrotz #firelou
Agreed that ending the Robo experiment is likely the move at this point - but I'm not sure if anyone from that veteran fourth line could slot onto the third line for an extended period. We'd either have to trade Robo for a LW3 guy, or make a separate move to acquire one. That being said, Oleksiak does stand out as a defensive option and you're right that an expiring contract would be best since Dupont will be in the NHL next season. Thank you for your suggestions, as well as for your trust! Much love and see you in the second half :)
Good stuff.
Much appreciated! Thanks for watching! :)
18:39 my friend.. it's a glitch.. you have to wait until at least the start of the season for few weeks in before they will change.. broken
@@acethehuskystar Great 🤦 Thanks for letting me know, I'll try again to start next episode
Tricky tricky tricky start to the year. It took a while for our pieces to fall into place, but we really seemed to find our groove as we approached the halfway point. We suffered a lot of tight losses, but with a few more lucky bounces, we could easily be a top 5 team league-wide.
Martone is developing nicely into a playmaking power forward, I already can’t wait for the Eiserman-Barzal-Martone 1st line in a few years! Also, can someone please tell Geno that it’s not the late 2000’s anymore?! Save some scoring for the rest of the team! The Top 6 is coming into their own, even Laine did well at RW3/PP (17 GP, 7G, 4A, 11P) despite the limited ice time. The 4th line is succeeding thanks to the power of friendship and undying love for Long Island. Our D-pairs have been meshing well after a few shake ups. As usual, our goaltending has been up & down, but what else can you expect from EA? I like how things look for us, except…
Nick Robertson… BUDDY… COME ON! It’s unfortunate, but N-Rob may have the proverbial EA Black Cloud following him this year. No matter who he plays with, he doesn’t impress. I’m willing to give him 10 more games just in case he wakes up when we restart the PlayStation, but his clock is ticking.
If we need a replacement for LW3, I’d suggest looking for a playmaker (or a player who sims as one). We need someone to get the puck to whoever ends up being RW3 (Laine, Boeser, Martone). It’ll hurt having any of those three on the 3rd line, so we need to make the absolute most of their ice time. Pickin’s are slim on the trade block, so we may have to craft our own deal or hope things change when team statuses adjust at the deadline.
Finally, change everything about the PK. That’s all I have to say about that.
Great video as always, my man. Let’s keep things rolling through the 2nd half and show everyone that we’re a legit cup contender.
Go Isles!
Tricky is a good word for it! You're absolutely right that we could be better off, but we did find a solid groove to end the last 10-15 games.
Loved your thoughts on Martone, Geno, and the power of friendship 4th line 😭😭😭🤣 And thanks for highlighting what Laine has done in that RW3 role! It isn't ideal but something had to be done for Robertson and, as you mentioned, it didn't mean much with that EA Black Cloud. I agree that we can give him a short look after restarting the PlayStation, but we gotta have a plan in place and ready to be executed. And yes, total PK overhaul inbound 😭
Much love and thanks for your thoughts through the first half! I'm still laughing about the power of friendship 😂 Looking forward to what this team does in the second half! See you there 🤝
I don't hate the idea of acquiring a Letang or Trouba from Pittsburgh but the question is trade capital. But for a 3rd line/PK suggestion, I'm kind of tempted to see if Freddy Gaudreau would be open to coming to us on his MNTC. IRL he's a perfect 3L/PK type guy for the Wild (granted who knows how EA translates that). Plus you get an extra shootout weapon with his 52.6% career shootout numbers lol (Fun fact- 16th in NHL history lol).
True, trade capital would be an issue if we wanted to acquire one of those more "expensive" players. And we can definitely take a peek at Freddy Gaudreau and his shootout prowess! 🤣 I wonder how he's looking here in 2028. Thanks for your thoughts!
@@Data782 little off topic but it’s also kind of funny because all his shootouts come within the last 4 years so it would seem a strength to his game was completely missed for half his career so far
Caleb again with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Geno Malkin would like to play out this year with a previous teammate… hearing hints of Brian Rust, since they got along very well during their tenure with the Pens. Rust would help with the team’s struggle in the bottom six as well as penalty kill, for he is a PK expert. Just my 2 cents!
Thanks for pouncing on that scoop, Caleb! ;) We'll have to see what we can do for good ol' Geno 👀
Hi Data, what a weird start to the season. I have a few suggestions, but firstly I'm going to express that I think the underlying issues that keep popping up aren't going to change with this core as it is currently constructed. Unfortunately, as much as I like these core guys, I think we are going to need to make some tough decisions in that regard if we want to fix things fully. However, I do trust that we have the pieces that we need to keep the potential dynasty going forward, and I always trust in you and the other Assistant GMs to lead us right.
Now to start off with suggestions, I don't know what to do about the goaltending other than benching Sorokin again. Since, although the sample size is small the other two are outperforming him in the calendar sim. Maybe the solution is to play all three of them intermittently and just rotate, it has worked for us in the past(Vancouver). With how goalies are in this game, thanks EA, I'm not convinced moving anyone out is the right move. So, unless someone is consistently simulating poorly, I wouldn't make a move unless we get a fortuitous offer that helps for now and the future.
Next, it is time to upgrade Nicolas Robertson. He is clearly not working with our sim, as outlined by the +/- difference, and needs to go if we want to win a cup. Honestly it reminds me very much about how Dawson Mercer just didn't work out in my New Jersey franchise in NHL 23. See if you can trade him(50% retained) and a mid round pick for someone, not only more experienced, but defensively responsible. Who knows, it might also be the solution to the PK as well, but something has to change there.
The offense and defense both seem to be mostly stable, which is quite the relief, and I wouldn't make changes unless it's for a seamless upgrade. I'm very glad to see both Martone and Letourneau taking big steps forward, and contributing well in the roles we need them to. Although, maybe we should bench Robertson first and slot Cizikas on the fourth line, bumping Letourneau up to the third line, before making any other moves, just to see what that might be. If it works then we should just trade Robertson for whatever we can get.
As always, I'm looking forward to the next episode, and hope that this comment was helpful. We feel decently close, baring a goaltending collapse, and I'm hopeful that this is the year we at least go on a deep run if not win it all. Until next time; Let's go Isles!
Hey Sam! Thanks for leaving your thoughts. You raise a good point that those underlying concerns might just not go away since the core is what it is. What I'm hoping for is that a small change like, say, Robertson for a defensively responsible third line replacement who can also play PK is what gives us enough to plug the hole (which is exactly what you suggested, too!).
For the goaltending, I think rotating all 3 is about all that we can do. maybe another 15-20 games of rotation before we get a more clear idea of who we roll with a bit more in the final stretch before the postseason?
Also, I like that Letourneau suggestion for 5v5 but our bigger concern/reason to bring in another player is also the PK. We'll keep all of our options open and I wouldn't hate Letourneau on the third line at all (especially considering the 3C spot is hopefully his next home), but someone who has simulated reliably might go a longer way for what we need right now.
Your comment was very helpful as always so thank you for leaving it! :) Thanks for all of your thoughts and looking forward to seeing you in the second half! 🤝
Hi Data,
as always, thank you for another interesting upload. You did what was supposed to be done. Good move with the third goalie, it certainly gives us more options later on.
I was thinking about our options and I would not go all in right now. Yes, we can acquire Letang and then we would have to move Mayfield, who served well except a little hiccup this season, but we will need to think what to do with him, because there is upcoming Franchise RD Dupont and then it would be Mayfield with his 3,5M contract to be moved. I am not sure now if he did not have any clause on his contract, which actually could be found on google sheets and I will check that later. Anyway, I would be very hesitant to trade Mayfield, because he has been a trooper in bad times with this team.
The only thing, I would do before trade deadline, is to trade Robertson, who has been tried on all possible combinations with no success and we should probably acquire TWF for better PK, probably short term, or maybe with the plan to utilize him on the 4th line, because Belchetz will need ice time as soon as the next season on the third line and some special teams, too. I think this team will see its best time in the future, not this season, because we are not a top team defensively.
I am not sure if you agree with me, but paying too much right now for just a little bit longer ride in the playoffs would not be smart.
Thank you and I am looking forward to the next chapter.
Hi Steven! Glad that you enjoyed the episode and the moves :)
For any move that we make on defense, Mayfield or Bolduc might get replaced as a full-timer but I don't think we're considering trading either one of them. Their trade value is low enough that I'd rather keep them for the ride before we make changes that we know we have to for Dupont next season.
That being said, yes, I think many of the AGMs are in agreement with you that Robertson should be gone by the deadline. I agree that paying up right now in a Robertson/1st+ package is probably not what's best, but I'm sure we could find something more affordable to plug the hole and give this team a chance. Thanks for your thoughts and see you in the second half!
Making my return to RUclips comments, and a great time to do so. Great start to the New Year Data. Hope it continues to be great for you and your whole family.
Definitely a step in the right direction this year with the team looking great, especially that 2nd line. As much as I think he does decent IRL, I agree that it’s time to end the Robertson project in favour of getting a better third line player. Somehow, Patrick Kane is the one that’s speaking to me the most. An expiring deal, with the ability to play up on the 2nd line, should someone like Martone or Malkin falter, or Laine moves back up. Another younger option could be Berggren in Vancouver if we want just a true third liner.
If we’re looking for a third pairing D-Man, then someone like Carrier on Carolina could be interesting, or a second pairing guy in Sanheim in Philadelphia. Probably would lean towards Carrier over Sanheim, but either one could work.
Hopefully we can keep this pace going on the way to the playoffs. Let’s go Isles!
Hey Golden welcome back and Happy New Year! :) Wishing all the same to you and yours ❤️
I agree that the Robertson experiment is very likely coming to an end so thanks for those third line suggestions. Good to also keep the defensive possibilities in mind as we approach the deadline. Let's cross those fingers, maintain this pace, and get back to the dance! Thanks for your thoughts and we'll see you in the second half 🤝
at the start of the offseason u can ask them to work on adaptability which in my experience helps a lot
True! Thanks for mentioning that. My bigger mistake was asking during the pre-season and not waiting until after since it seems as though that's glitched according to other comments 🤦♂️😂
@ also i’m pretty sure if you’re winning games your players become more adaptable throughout the season aswell
That’s glitch or soft freeze happens to me in nhl 23 all the time..nice to see they haven’t fixed it in 2 years+
I had no idea! Even better 🤦♂️
I don't think we need a defenseman with the improvements of Pulock and Sandin, but you should trade Robertson for a defensive 3rd line forward. Hermansson on Utah is also interesting. I think you should trade Nelson and picks for him.
Roger that regarding the defense and Robertson! Hermansson is also interesting but we don't have much trade value to acquire him, especially considering that Nelson is on a full NMC (not to mention the captain of his career-long team in what may be the final season for many of the day 1 originals). That being said, I'm very intrigued by Hermansson and would be interested in trying to acquire him in the near future! Thanks for your thoughts and see you in the second half :)
I’d trade Robertson out and bring in a TWF winger for the 3rd line. Would help with the PK
@@SillyNice28 Copy that! Thanks for the suggestion!
Compher was a guy I spotted for that purpose