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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Remember last season? 30 GMs made some sort of transaction on deadline day, but not GM Lou Lamoriello. As we inch toward the trade deadline, most teams have clarity as to what category they fall into, but not our Isles! Granted, Lamoriello already landed one of the most coveted trade targets in Bo Horvat, but there is more business to get done; we just don’t know in which direction.
Buyers? Sellers? Do nothing? There’s an argument for and against each position. Maybe it’ll be a repeat of last season, and the trade deadline will become extension day with the announcement of new contracts for 2023 UFAs.
We just don’t know.
We ran another of our non-scientific polls on Twitter, and the results may surprise you. Nearly 60% of the almost 1,500 responders say they would seek to move Scott Mayfield and Semyon Varlamov at the trade deadline.
Fans view both players as replaceable for the rest of the season. The Isles schedule is light the rest of the way with three back-to-backs, meaning the heavy workload for Ilya Sorokin could simply get heavier during the playoff push.
As for Mayfield, he’s had an uneven season and fans were intrigued by Samuel Bolduc and other internal options, though all lack the physical presence and playoff experience that makes Mayfield a viable trade option. Trading Mayfield would say about more about how the management feels about the Islanders chances than moving Varlamov given the minutes he logs each game.
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