The New York Islanders aren’t shopping Mathew Barzal, but teams would be interested
NHL Media: David Pagnotta, was on the NHL Network talking about the New York Islanders. Mathew Barzal‘s name has come up in the rumor mill. They’re not shopping him, but with the thin free agent market, teams are calling around to see what might be available. If they were to move Barzal, it would likely be in a hockey trade. The Islanders are also in the market for top-six players. Jordan Kyrou might be someone that interests the Islanders.
** NHLRumors.com transcriptions
Mike Johnson: “Matt Barzal …”
Tony Luftman: “Could be on the move.”
Johnson: “… is rumored to be available as well. Walk us through that situation and the logic behind it from all parties involved.”
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Pagnotta: “Well, I think from, this goes back to last off season, where a number of teams were starting to poke around to see what guys might be available, and they called the Islanders and said, Okay, new GM in town, what would it take to get Matt Barzel out of Long Island?’ And I think that’s continued.
I don’t think this is a scenario where the New York Islanders are actively interested in moving him. They’re not actively shopping him. He had a great year, 70-some odd points this season.
But I think this is, these are teams that are looking at the market, going ‘well, free agency, forget about it, there’s nothing there.'”
Johnson: “Alex Tuch or bust.”
Pagnotta: “Right, at this point. So we have to explore our, we have to explore additional options with respect to the to the trade market.
And you know, going into the Stanley Cup Final, it’s usually when the silly season really starts to get going. You start to hear of names that start popping up, and just keep tabs on this guy and that guy. Well, Barzel, again, seems to be one of those.
But this is more orchestrated by other teams exploring the market and trying to see, ‘Well, look, if the price tag is pretty good, we might be able to explore this.'”
Johnson: “He has a 10-team trade list, so he has to give up 10 teams that he gave traded to, so not as many options. If you’re a team that wants him, I guess it’s good to get it out there. Because if I’m Matt Barzal, I’m not happy about this. If I want to stay in New York, I don’t like this public conversation about me. I don’t want to feel like I’m on the deadline.
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And what does this mean for the New York Islanders? They just traded for Braden Schenn, gave up a lot to get him. Where, I know Matthew Darch is still charting his course there, but where does this say about the Islanders, that they might be considering this?”
Pagnotta: “Well, I do think, so, I, this is, I, this is not the same category as a Dylan Larkin for me. The way that the way that I view this, the potential of a futures trade for Barzal just doesn’t make sense, I think, for the New York Islanders. Especially considering what they’re already looking at. You mentioned adding Schenn.
They want to add another top-six winger. So they’re exploring that, that possibility. They’ve talked to their captain, Anders Lee, about coming back on a smaller value deal. Not sure that’s going to get it done right now. That may go to July, and then he’ll figure out his options before making an ultimate decision.
But if you’re moving Barzel, this is hockey trade.”
Johnson: “Okay.”
Pagnotta: “You’re going talent for talent. This is different than I think, I mean, I think Detroit would love to go talent for talent in some level. I just don’t know if that’s a possibility, given…”
Johnson: “Although I could see that with (Matthew) Schaefer being Schafer, if you’re trying to recalibrate, you got him for a decade, you could pivot younger and say, which would be so strange to the Islanders, because they’ve been old forever, but interesting.”
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Pagnotta: “The other thing to keep in mind, like they have, (Kyle) Palmieri, after he got hurt, that really affected their overall offensive game, and it affected that, their top-six overall as well.
So if you can kind of rejig that a little bit, and perhaps if (GM Mathieu) Darche can find another winger in there…”
Johnson: “Too old.”
Pagenotta: “… it might be”
Johnson: “Too old.”
Cory Schneider: “The other thing to keep in mind is that Barzy was one of the few guys that could keep up with Schaefer, and they play a lot of get-go and catch, and they feed well off each other, and I think it help unlock Schaef a bit. So it’s gonna be tough decision for them to make if they have good chemistry and they play, because nobody can play at that speed, except for about those two guys on the Islanders.”
Johnson: “They got their own little game going sometimes.”
Schneider: “Yeah, it’s fun to watch. But it’s interesting to see, because you know, I play with Barzy, and he’s supremely talented, but he’s sort of caught between center and wing. And as you said, what direction do they want to take that team right now as a middler?”
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Pagnotta: “There’s been, before they made the Schenn trade, they talked about Robert Thomas. They talked about Jordan Kyrou. We’re getting the sense that maybe Thomas is off the market for the time being, but it wouldn’t shock me if a Kyrou conversation re-engages. Not necessarily for Barzal, but to add to that group. To add somebody else up front to another guy with good foot speed that can keep up with those guys.”
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