There are times a General Manager does not like his job. This was Lou's time to lament the regrettable necessity of trading a promising young defenceman in Devon Toews. I say promising not because I don’t think he is a good defenseman, but because he is still learning and becoming an even better defenseman.
As a blogger, I have to look at this like a professional. The trade was a necessity due to the Cap. The Islanders had three players filing for arbitration: Devon Toews, Ryan Pulock, and Josh Ho-Sang. Everyone knows that the Islanders are going to do everything in their power to keep Barzal and Pulock. The writing was on the wall. Barzal wanted, more than likely, eight million plus, and Pulock asking around five million (being optimistic.) According to my math, that is 13 million dollars—too many mouths needing to be fed and not enough food to go around.
This deal gives the Islanders more Cap and roster flexibility, as Mayfield can now be protected in the expansion draft. This is huge: the Islanders can protect an extra forward if they feel the need to do so.
As a fan, you hate this trade. You are losing a very promising defenseman. Fans hate future trades; you want to see this team get better now, especially when the team came so close last year.
I like Devon because of his ability to pitch in; he learned when to sneak in from the point. He had a terrific underrated slap shot. Opposing powerplay would concentrate too much on Ryan Pulock, and Devon would get his chance to shoot from the point. Losing a character player on and off the ice sucks. We understand why this trade happened, but we don't have to like it.
Randy
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