Paul Engl

@islanders_takes That has to be our mindset at the 2026 draft the way the NHL game and NHL Playoffs today are being played........addressing the hole in right handed defensemen can be addressed via trade or free agency.

I might get killed for this take but I think Novotny is a complete sleeper in this draft. I think in redrafts a few years after the fact he'll be in the Top 5. He's the best off-puck offensive player in the entire draft and he's playing a pro-ready game already. Demon on the forecheck, great skater, huge shot. I just don't see any weaknesses other than he's so steady, so utilitarian that people are lulled to sleep on how good he is.

Hands down my favorite hockey player, if not athlete, of all time...........

@19consecutive Hands down my FAVORITE New York Islander and hockey player of all time. Not even close..........

39 years ago today, #Isles Legend Mike Bossy played the final game of his NHL career. It feels almost impossible to process how short his career was compared to the legacy he left behind. 752 games. 573 goals. 1,126 points. 4 Stanley Cups The greatest pure goal scorer the game has ever seen.

@NHLRumourReport This has Adam Pelech written all over it UNLESS he has a LNTC which includes San Jose. @IceWarsNYRvsNYI

David Pagnotta: I expect San Jose to make some noise on the back end and kinda shore up the blueline; I think they wanna bring in someone in his early 20s that can grow with this group, and then somebody who's a bit of a vet...that has term - Off The Roster (4/13)

@jamescarrello Darche comes from Tampa; Tampa was always very good at trading down on draft day. I think Darche will do the same.

I still think the Isles need to make a trade at the draft. You cannot pick once in the top 100 with this draft. You simply can’t. I know we had a good draft last year, but you still need to build off that.

@PeterPiperReady @islanders_takes @nicolefshirman The elite goalie prospect the Islanders have is Gamzin. Everyone knows it and his comp is Sorokin. Anything can happen of course, but Gidlof is projected to be a backup goalie at the NHL and not a #1 goalie.

@paulengl6 @islanders_takes @nicolefshirman Yeah but we traded Gidlöf! GIDLOF!!!;

The Cole Eiserman and Victor Eklund Elevated Cupcake Experience 2.0 is going to hit like crack

@islanders_takes @nicolefshirman Imperative to point out that Darche was criticized for his in-season trades this year BUT made it very clear he was not trading our active top end prospects. And he didn’t.

@nicolefshirman I refuse to believe that we haven't had a culture improvement with all the youth coming in. Just a real strong sense of excitement and engagement everywhere.

@IslesDen - hello, I am a huge Islanders fan and live in LA / work at the Rose Bowl. Happy to connect if schedules ever align and/or I can be helpful. Have a great day.

@IslesFix Joe, just listened to the podcast with Chris Botta. Your arguments are fair; especially from a fan that wants the team to win, just like I do. This off-season is the right time for the "cleanse of the core" that you refer to. Need a TRUE top #3 forward and to address RD.

What grade do you give Mathieu Darche this year? #Isles

@ethan_sears Impossible position to be in, as Darche was going to be criticized whether he made deals or didn’t make deals if they missed the playoffs. Additional moves are rightly coming for the longterm as they look to infuse three former first round picks into the lineup ASAP.

Darche on the trade deadline: "Whether people agree with me or not that it helped the team or not, that's everybody's prerogative and it's fine. Whether it worked out, I guess we were not in the playoffs, so it didn't all work out. I don't think it's because of these deals but I felt at that moment it improved the team and the way we played after those acquisitions showed it." Noted the Islanders won four of five after the deadline. He viewed the Ottawa game as a clear turning point.

@islanders_takes Nope, a true “cleanse” and retool is coming over the next two off-seasons. It’s ok and it’s time for it……….

#isles You listen to the guys in the booth tonight, to DeBoer's comments, and have to wonder if we've been very conservative with our estimates as to what changes he is looking to make might look like. This did not feel like a "we'll get a guy or two" kind of season end.

@islanders_takes To me he is trying too hard and mistakes are coming from his exerted effort. DeBoer will reel that in & exploit his talents.

#isles Pointing to Barzal as a problem, someone to move, is insane to me. He's not perfect but he carried this team on his back most of the season. There are legitimate problems on the roster and hyper focusing on the couple of guys that are carrying their water, or the bottom line guys, is just silly. Legitimate Top 6 Players: Horvat Barzal Good Players: Lee Ritchie JGP Holmstrom Heineman Schenn 4th Line or Replacement Level Players: Duclair Gatcomb Cizikas MacLean Palat JGP is a quality center. Ritchie, Holmstrom, and Heineman are essentially inexpensive kids. I like Schenn and Lee, both, personally. But you need to add top-end talent and that means sometimes you have to lose players you like. Schenn is under contract and we just gave up a late 1st for him. So, basically, I think Lee, Duclair, Gatcomb, Cizikas, MacLean, Palat are all completely expendable. You need to acquire Top 6 talent and if it means pushing these guys off the roster or packaging them in a trade and sending them out the door - you do it. And I say this without any malice. I just think it's the hard reality of the roster. And that means players like JGP and Schenn likely end up in Bottom 6 roles in your best case scenario.

@IceWarsNYRvsNYI 1000% spot on. The LACK of hockey IQ displayed today was inexcusable in a game of this magnitude. Darche has some work to do & the Palmieri & Romanov (especially) injuries caught up with them……..

The one team that has killed the #Isles this season is the #Isles. They self destruct so often #Isles #NHL #OTTvsNYI

@IceWarsNYRvsNYI - seriously there is NO team in the NHL that goals to the next more and completely misses the next when they shoot than the NYI. Please fellas, shoot the puck on goal, it’s okay to score off of a rebound!

@19consecutive Please God don’t, no need to jinx this kid………

This feels like a given at this point, right? #Isles

@islanders_takes Completely agree, playing him at Carolina made ZERO SENSE after losing at home to Philly.

#isles If you follow me you know that I believe you need to be harder on goalies. But I am going to give Ilya a very rare benefit of the doubt. He has never, ever, done well with a heavy workload. He has consistently faded late in the season. There was zero reason to ride him so hard other than poor game management by Roy and poorer decisions with his rotation. Ilya at his best is a 50 game goalie. Not a 60+ game goalie.

@StapeNHL @JLazzy23 Seriously, dude……..Johnny, you’re killing us! How much will it take for you to leave UBS right now?!? 😀

I blame @JLazzy23

@stefen_rosner I keep reading how bad it was to include Colorado's #1 in the Schenn deal. Reminder, Darche comes from Tampa who tends to trade down in the draft & develop players. Darche can easily acquire more draft picks in 2026 as needed, after what appears to be a phenomenal 2025 draft.

Ok #Isles fans, what's on your mind after today? Have some time.

@StapeNHL Agree with 1000% of this analysis and the likely aggressiveness behind it by Islanders management and ownership. Waiting to land a high end quality coach made no sense and would have only hurt the cause in the end...........

Since my earlier thoughts are now useless (just a few minutes quicker than usual), here's a few thoughts on the #Isles firing Patrick Roy and hiring Peter DeBoer: -- As one longtime #Isles fan just said in a chat: This franchise has never been proactive in my lifetime. I'll amend that to one time: When Lou pounced to hire Barry Trotz before the ink was dry on Barry's WSH divorce. It made all the difference. -- Darche and ownership getting aggressive here makes sense to me: Jump what could be a long line for DeBoer at season's end, maybe give the #Isles a jolt into this postseason and move on from a coach GMMD was likely not sold on for the future of this team regardless of whether there were playoffs this season. -- Could be 5-6 teams looking for coaches once the season ends (TOR, LA, NSH, CBJ, WPG, VGK) and DeBoer/Cassidy/Laviolette would be in demand. As long as ownership was willing to eat $ on Roy and pay up for DeBoer, you gotta act fast. -- DeBoer's first year behind the bench: Took NJ to the Final in 11-12; took SJ to the Final in 15-16; took VGK to WCF in 19-20; took DAL to WCF in 22-23. -- Bringing DeBoer in and not searching for a less experienced coach to grow with the younger #Isles tells me ownership wants to win soon. That tells me they're ready to be aggressive this offseason in remaking the roster. -- Buckle up.

@StapeNHL Playing Carolina is a constant reminder of what we strive to be.........young, fast, and intense.

Sorokin might sue his teammates for abandonment