Sean and Stefen discuss Lou Lamoriello’s July 1st moves and what’s to come, particularly with one Alex DeBrincat.
2:05- Sean and Stefen react to the new contracts for Scott Mayfield (7 years, $3.5 million AAV), Pierre Engvall (7 years, $3 million AAV) and their fit with the team. With the AAV offers likely being higher from other teams for both players, Lamoriello opted to give them a 7-year term, something rarely handed out this offseason, in turn for the lower AAV. It’s a smart bet for Lamoriello to bank on both Mayfield and Engvall being worth more than their salary for the first four to five years of their deals, and with the salary cap likely rising exponentially within the next few years, taking on the last few years of those deals becomes much more palatable. Stefen covers the Isles’ first day of free agency here.
“I think no matter what stage of a rebuild you’re in – start, middle, end – you can find a place for Alex DeBrincat.”
– Steve Warne
16:30- With the Isles first pick coming at no. 49, Doerrie discusses potential options for the Islanders. With the Islanders having prospect needs at every position, it’s in their best interest to take the best player available. For later round steals, Doerrie points out two qualities that don’t matter as much as most would think: height and weight. She also points out the two qualities that steals tend to have: high end skating and high end compete. In terms of pro-scouting departments, teams use their pro scouts and analytic departments to communicate patterns and trends seen in targeted players.
Doerrie believes that Parise and Wahlstrom (who Stefen does a deep-dive on here) would be fantastic to have back, and Ross Johnston should be buried in the minors. She puts Mayfield’s budget at a $3.5 million mark, and highlights a few low-risk, high-reward defensemen that would be interesting options.
15:00- The boys welcome Steve Warne of The Hockey News, who covers the Ottawa Senators, to discuss the situation of Alex DeBrincat. DeBrincat is dead-set on hitting unrestricted free agency, forcing Ottawa to trade him to a team that he would sign a hefty eight-year contract with. DeBrincat gave Ottawa a list of a few teams he would sign an extension with, with the rest of the potential suitors being well aware that DeBrincat would be a one-year project. With the Islanders’ apparent interest in DeBrincat, Steve gives his take on what it would take from the Islanders to acquire the electric DeBrincat.
41:00- Sean and Stefen discuss the goaltending situation after Semyon Varlamov’s 4 year, $2.75 million AAV contract and Ilya Sorokin’s 8-year, $8.25 million AAV extension.
47:10- The boys take questions from listeners about the likes of the Islanders future after a productive start to free agency.