Quote:
Originally Posted by sureLoss
I suggested the Flames look at Strome a month back when he was getting healthy scratched.
The issue with the Islanders is they don't make good trade partners with the Flames.
The Islanders don't want to "start over." Tavares is 1.5 years away from UFA, if he perceives the Islanders are headed to another rebuild, it will be even more likely he leaves. In that case they may as well trade Tavares now.
If anything, they will want to package Strome with other assets/players to improve their team now and that means a top 6 forward that can play with Tavares. Of course that might not be possible, but Strome has gone hot recently with 6 points in his last 6 games so his stock might rise again.
If the Islanders do decide to trade him for prospects would Klimchuk or Manigpane be of interest to the Islanders with prospects like Barzal, Beaulivier, Dal Colle, Ho-Sang, and Bellows already in the system? Doesn't seem likely.
The Islanders do seem to be thin on d-men and goalie prospects right now, so the pieces that might interest them the most are Kylington, Andersson, Hickey, Fox, and Gillies. Depending on how you feel about those prospects, they might be too much to give up for a reclamation project like Strome.
if I was Treliving, I would offer a conditional 3rd round pick that could improve to a 2nd based on Strome's performance (similar to the Yakupov deal). But as mentioned, the Islanders probably explore a ton of different options before they take that deal.
Also as a side note, the Islanders aren't losing Ladd in the expansion draft unless he waives his NMC.
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You make some excellent points Sureloss. With Ladd in mind, NYI is vulnerable to lose a good player, such as Nelson or Lee. I think Strome is the least of their concerns for the expansion draft, and the way he's playing for the past two seasons, they might believe removing him from the roster makes them a better team for Tavares.
In terms of packaging players, I just can't see it happening because that means the trading partner now has several assets that require protection. So let's just say they trade Strome + Lee + De Haan + 1st for Landeskog, that means Colorado has to find a way to protect 3 more players, in addition to their current guys (ie, Soderberg, Duchene, McKinnon). I can't see too many teams taking on a package of expansion vulnerable players right now.
And as you mentioned, Islanders do have some young forwards in the system. They might see guys like Da Colle, Ho-Sang, Barzal as their rebuild pieces for Tavares. And if they don't get better with their upcoming core, perhaps they do trade Tavares and try again. Or rebuild with Tavares extended to a massive contract.