New York Islanders make waves with some big signings and front office shakeups. Will these moves propel the team to new heights or signal a rebuilding phase?
Gil Martin analyzes the Isles’ recent new deals with Kyle Palmieri and Adam Boqvist, breaking down the potential impact on the team’s strategy. The discussion covers Lou Lamoriello’s controversial final actions as GM, including nepotism concerns and their implications for new management. Martin also examines Anders Lee’s impressive bounce-back season and speculates on the captain’s future with the organization.
Tune in for expert insights on the Islanders’ roster moves, management changes, and how they might reshape the team’s path in the upcoming NHL season.
All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.
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34 Comments
We are going to change so what happens he signs the oldest Islander and not fleet of foot by any means to not a one year but a two year deal. AND SO IT BEGINS!! Then find out that Lou signs his son as assistant GM before he leaves. Can anyone but me see what's happening already???
This organization sikkens me. Isles should be going forward, not backwards re-signing louzer's guys. And i heard louzer jr. remains now as ass't gm? wtf? Its obvious this 21 deal was agreed upon by louzer/21 pre-tdl, the only reason 21 wasn't traded. So now isles stick $4.7 mil. or whatever the fk it is with a 2 year deal on an aging forward who should have been moved for assets at tdl.
Just pathetic how isles continue to sputter. Next move-please take schaefer who isn't even consensus top pick (ferrari/tsn, smaet scouting have misa no. one) and no sure thing and watch schaefer flop as misa goes elsewhwere and thrives. Isles would never find guys to go with misa and don't deserve an offensive talent anyway since this franchise seems to be allergic to guys who can score g's. And you can have the greatest d out there. Still need guys to score g's. Isles went down that road with trotz. Had one of the best d units out there. Had shut down guys 3, 6, 24, and guys who could skate like leddy and toews to move the puck. Isles couldn't get over tb hump because they lacked g scoring skill up front. I think i know who 13 would prefer isles take at no. 1.
So go ahead isles. Let louzer continue to play wizard behind the curtain and call the shots. I hope isles take schaefer and both struggle for 5 more seasons. This franchise is pathetic and deserves that. That is all-i am out of here.
At the end of the day we are so weak on the wings Palmeri’s signing isn’t terrible. Would I have given him 4.75×2 no way, but he might just play well. Obviously Lou had a verbal agreement with Plams, before Lou was told Bye. I think the only move that bothers fans is the son’s extension. I don’t know maybe you sit him down and work out a settlement, or let him make copies lol 😂. The guy that just left Tampa is obviously going to be signed by the Islanders to run Bridgeport as Assistant GM. Malkin likes Lou I don’t think it’s a big deal he will be given small tasks most likely. Everyone that has run a place has gotten that call from the boss telling you to hire some idiot.
It’s not a big deal we have bigger fish to fry. Let him open mail who gives a ……! All that matters is Lou is out now, no advisory role, thank God!
Move On to Priorities! Nobody should get a knot in their shorts about this stuff! Lou is out the door 💯 now.
Lowlife move by Lou. Extending his son was a move to set franchise back. Father or not. He’s done nothing to deserve a job. Never mind extension for attrocius job he’s done in AHL. Buy him out. He gonna do nothing but said AHL team back
Lee and Pageau are the hockey equivalents of lame ducks, they are not coming back after next season, so moving them by the trade deadline has to be a top priority for the new GM. Palmieri's no trade really has smoke coming out of your ears but here's the thing, he is still a fairly useful forward and he earned his clause over the course of his career, so for one year, I don't have a problem. On the other hand, Anthony Duclair has the same clause for the upcoming season, I consider his contract Dead Money, in my opinion he has never earned his clause, quickly wearing out his welcome wherever he has gone, so it comes down to perspective. As for the contracts that Lou shoved down ownership's throat, they either knew at the time, or what's worse…they found out after the ink dried, the end result is the same…they end up looking stupid. My respect level for this ownership group has taken a serious drop.
Why would you give Palms a no trade clause?
For the last year every morning when i have breakfast here in paris i listen to your podcast and you have talked about how the islanders need to get younger and faster and more skilled. How we need to move on from the core because its aging and we are faced with diminishing returns from this core. You have talked about a culture problem with this team. That people have said the islanders run the team like a country club, with no accountability. So how exactly does signing kyke make us younger and faster and more skilled and changes the culture . How many times have you talked about the islanders showing up flat and no compete at all. The number of 3rd period leads that go out the window. Was the contract a below market deal? No why, because while he could have gotten probably 5.5mm no gm would give him a ntc to someone who is 35 middle 6 declining forward. Everyone knew he didnt want to move his family from the area which meant only 3 teams were in play. Nj and rangers and islanders. Neither nj or rangers are that dumb to give him a ntc. So in other words we ended up negotiating against ourselves. If you have to resign kyke them 3.75mm with ntc and if he didnt like it then i am sorry but enough with this cry me a river about giving kyle respect. End of the day this is a business and we have paid him millions
I can't believe the owners let this happen. What are they doing?
Why not have Darche fire Chris? We don't need him in the AHL and on top of that Lou shouldn't have done that secretly. He's no longer GM; therefore he has no authority to do what he did.
These owners are a joke! These puppet masters are pathetic! How did Lou resign his Son? The owners gave the green light to Chris n Pell? Seriously! Hey owners it is on You! Now fire 🔥 Chris n Pell! Geez if you don’t fix Bridgeport you are not fixing the NHL team! Without controversial trades there will be no change! Owners apparently want more of the same. Darche must have sole authority to make decisions not ridiculous owners who know nothing about hockey. Perhaps this is the way we fall into the top 5 for the 2026 draft
This contract and if he lets Darche ride out the spiteful contract Lou gave Chris is making me second guess Darche
Lou is trash. I’m sorry I have as much respect for him as he had for the fans, none. Maybe I’m missing something but other than signing Trotz which was a no brainer what did he do for the islanders that was not good but great and something the elite GMs would do. His name brought respectability? I don’t agree with that I feel it was Trotz who did. Once Trotz left so did the league respect. The guy did nothing after 2003
I’m not a fan of this ownership especially with things like the firing of the radio team to “save money”, Letting Lou play owner
Lee had a good season so now’s the time to trade him
Good 🌄, Gil. How are you? The Islanders signed potential free agents Kyle Palmieri and Adam Bogquist. Palmier got a 2yr deal for $4.7M deal; however, it was also a NTC in the deal. This is the reason they're in the muddy middle. Adam Bogquist is 24 years old, and he's got potential. Lou Lamoriello may be partially gone, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. He's signed his son, Chris you an extension, DNA is the reason why. Anders Lee, the Captain. He had a nice comeback year with 29 goals, and 54 points. He'll be 35 this ☀️. He's a work 🐎, just like the player who wore #27 before him, JT. HAPPY 🎂, MAIEITUS WIELHANDER. He scored the goal in a win over Buffalo. Hear from you later, Gil. I 👀 Game 6 of the 1980 Semifinals between the Isles and the Sabres. 🔑 moment. After the Islanders got behind the 🎱early thanks to 2 goals by Gilbert Perrault, JT came right back to make it 2-1. Then in the 2nd period, right after Gary Dornhoeffer said that Mike Bossy has been quiet, Boss must've had bionic hearing, because he scored to tie the Game at 2. Then, after Lorimer scored the GW goal, Sutter, and Bourne finished them off. I said 8 words, PACK YOUR BAGS, BOYS, YOU'RE GOING TO PHILLY. Footnote, I've to give it to Trots, he may be small, but he's not above getting in the face of a 6'2 215 lb defenseman like Jim Schoenfeld. No dropping of the gloves, just trash talk. Now, LET'S GO ISLANDERS.
The only impact Lew should have on this team is how much we are getting for him at the deadline
Gil everyone says what a class act Lou is what he did to extend the 2 guys was a disgrace and low class
You’re soooo right !!!
It's never easy with this team. Lou should have been fired before the deadline last year. Reports are Collins wanted to do it. Wish Collins was majority owner.
Good morning team! Gil, I agree with it all about Palms. Signing him is a good thing, because he has shown streaks of being the most productive Islander. You know as well as I do, the Islanders need to get away from that no trade clause. It hurts the team, and should never have been used, especially with players that are on the downward slide of their career. Seriously, he should have been signed, but only keeping him until the trade deadline. Next, concerning Bridgeport, Lou's last move before the door hit him, was just Lou's way of sticking it to the team. This decision should have totally been in Darche's hands. I would love to see Darche saying, no thank you. We're giving you your walking papers. Go ruin another team. Let's be Lamoriello free! How does everyone else feel about this? Everyone, have a great day! See you all again tomorrow. Until then.. Let's Go Islanders!!
If this doesn't push Lou out the door finally and forever, I have zero faith in this ownership group. That faith was already waning with the several questionable penny pinching and money grabbing we've seen. These parting gifts from Lou is absolutely enraging and 100% malpractice. Forget about the putrid job Chris L. did at BP, look at his lifetime record as a GM. I believe he has an unimaginably low points % as a GM and less than a handful of winning seasons throughout his career. The Palms deal was equally as bad as the Lou Jr extension due to the NTC's. I think that really handcuffed Darche as what is he expected to do as his 1st action as GM, void a previously agreed upon deal and piss off current players? Worse yet, he would alienate the agents and potentially discourage future players from coming to LI. It's just terribly frustrating disheartening that as soon as we seem to have turned the page, nothing changes. And thanks Gil for bringing up Kinger and Picker getting unceremoniously fired for no good goddamn reason!!!
I think Plamari is a solid 3rd line Scoring forward. If they push him to 2nd this won't be a championship team. Boqvist, great deal, lot of upside. Potential to be a Top 4 D man with a good partner.
.I'm very optimistic about the future and believe we're finally heading in the right direction. Lamoriello's son's track record has been disappointing for years, with few playoff appearances during his past tenures. I agree with you Gil, he has done nothing to deserve this extension. LGI
Gil clear up the confusion .when the showed on the screen the 1st season of palms contract had NO ntc ???? Is this correct ? I still beleove the signed Palms to trade at deadline and get a 2nd in 2026 draft… great show again Gil
Gil is 100% correct regarding the problem with the Palmieri extension. Lou Lamoriello should be embarrassed giving his failure of a son a contract extension. Shame on ownership for allowing an outgoing General Manager to make any personnel decisions, especially one that reeks of blatant nepotism.
Nepotism. This should be reversed. Scumbag move. Saddling Darche. There are some pieces there. To maybe squeeze into playoffs. But it’s probably better to use some of those pieces to get better pieces
Palmieri is a great player and has been a great Islander. My issue with this signing is that it makes it harder to sign a UFA like Ehlers.
Thanks for doing this podcast. I like that Palms took a likely small discount to stay here without even testing FA. For decades, no one wanted to be here, so that's a really good sign to the league–this isn't a black hole. Also, it sure seems like he's a good teammate, mentor, etc. And I don't know that he's blocking anyone from a roster spot this year anyway, then he's relatively moveable next year if need be. Under the circumstances, I think the new GM handled this pretty well.
You could always trade Palmieri back to the Devils. He would be an upgrade to their bottom six and Fitzgerald loves retreads.
A very Biden-like move by Lou extending his son.
Hi Gil, hope you’re well. I’ve been traveling—stunned this happened! It’s on ownership 💯 I’m not even crazy about Palmeri—I mean no trade this upcoming year? With such a deep draft next year? Insane to say the least. He’s trying to get Palmeri to retirement. Gil, typical Louless deal. Owners are honestly SUCKERS! I mean he’s 34. Really not happy about it although he’s a good player. I just wanted new young blood for that $$$ Louless to me disgraced himself. He should have left in a classy manner as he is perceived. Classless!! I trust in our new Gm and I even wonder if he was told this “After” the hiring. Not fair to our new Gm. Draft? I prefer Misa and try to trade Dobson to get Hagens. I get the Hedman comparisons, but our team is starving for offense for how long now? With Eiserman and Misa, we can have two explosive future lines. Throw Ritchie in there and this can get fixed sooner than later. I can’t pick the local boy with the 1st—-but I feel he can be a heart and soul kind of guy. Gm Darshe can turn this around but let him do his job and get Louless out of here. I DO not want him at the draft table. That would be very disrespectful to our new Gm! We could not have a fresh start. Ghosts still looming—-shameful. Take care Gil!
Come on, Gil, how can you expect to sign a player to a 2-year contract and not expect him to ask for a no-trade clause in the first year? And the 16-team no-trade in the 2nd year are likely teams out of the playoffs.
This team keeps drafting and signing plodding non scoring players and there is an atmosphere of no notable free agents that want to come to this team. Can only hope they don't piss this 1st pick away on another forechecking slow forward or goaltender.