The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Stefen Rosner on the Islanders Acquiring Soucy and Palat

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

Stefen Rosner joins The Sheet to break down a busy stretch for the New York Islanders as the front office continues to reshape the roster and push toward a playoff spot. The conversation focuses on the Islanders acquiring Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils, what Palat brings to the lineup, and why the move signals a clear intent to compete in the Eastern Conference. Rosner also analyzes the Carson Soucy trade, how it stabilizes the Islanders’ blue line, and what it means for lineup consistency down the stretch. Plus, discussion on Ilya Sorokin’s resurgence following a midseason goalie coaching change, the impact of rare in-season goalie coach firings, and why the Islanders believe they can compete now while still keeping an eye on the future.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/caReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph Rosner from the L. Montres here. This is going to be much more interesting than me going on and on, prattling on and drawing on about goalie coaches. Let's bring on someone that knows something about the game. He is, Steph Rosner from the El Monsters, here to comment on the trade that we saw yesterday. So does Matthew Darsh know that there's other teams other than his neighbors? He's allowed to trade with L.A.

He can call Vancouver. He's allowed to call the teams in Florida. He knows one quite well. Thank you very much. And maybe that's why he reached out to the New Jersey Devils to pick up Andre. Palat. I think that's a pretty obvious line stuff that we would draw between Palat and Darge

that goes back to Tampa. How did you see that trade? Because I'll be honest with you. When I first sort of, the whisper is getting out yesterday that Palat was on the move, I kind of thought he might be going to Nashville to play with Stephen Stamcoast. But what did you make of the deal? Yeah, I think that it's a move where Matthew Darch is weaponizing his LTR space. Not many teams would take

on the full cap hit that Palat did. Obviously, the honors would have loved a second round pick. Didn't think that was doable. but he's not just getting Pilat to take on the cap. He's a guy that obviously knows Pilat, won cups with him in Tampa and thinks that he could get, you know, rejuvenate himself a little bit

with the Islander series. He's going to be asked to play a 200-foot game. He'll be with Horvette, and you're not giving up much. He recoups the pick he got in the Susi deal, a better third-round pick if the devil's finished behind the Islanders. So look at it as a hoping,

a lightning in the bottle. No pun intended. Well, maybe pun intended with Pilat there. But, you know, just shoring up, just shoring up his forward group because, you know, Maxine Simikov, who's on the move going back, just didn't really fit into their structure and the style of Wawa wanted.

And Pallat brings a little more. Also, Darts mentioned the playoff stuff. I mean, he's got 400 plus hits and 150 playoff games, two cups, provided offense and thought that Pallat was one of the devil's best players in their playoffs the last two years. So, again, not a great year for Pallop, but I think Darts believes in the player and hopes that it works out here. You know, I used to always, when he played with a triplets, right,

with Kutrov and Taller Johnson, he always kind of looked like a, I'm going to get ahead of myself with a comparison. And I'm not making it, again, I'm not making a, comparison to this guy because this guy was one of the best players we've ever seen. He was kind of like a mini hosa. Like he did like a lot of the things that Marion Hosa did, not at the level that Marion Hosa did because he was amongst a super elite and the fact that he never won a sulky trophy is ridiculous, but I digress is for another conversation.

But like there is, like, I don't know how much of that guy is still in Andre Palat. I like to believe in magic sometimes and believe that it's just a different environment where it didn't work in New Jersey for whatever reason, bad centers for him. I don't know. What makes Matthew Darsh think that that wasn't Andre Palat? And the plot that he remembers from Tampa is the real Andre Palat. Yeah, I think it's about his responsibility.

I think it's more, forget what happened in Jersey. I think it's more about what he saw what Palat do in those playoffs. Like you said, is that player still in there? know, but Darch knows the player inside and out, was willing to take a chance in it. And again, because he was able to weaponize his cap space, the Islanders got picks back. And I think that's important. Now, Darge also said that he'll move his first round pick if there's an opportunity to bolster the team.

I think it was more of, you know, he got Horvap back, but the lineup just has been changing so much. And the Islanders wanted to be better defensive. I do want to mention that. He said that our defensive play from our forward group, ND hasn't been good enough. So even if Pilate isn't that goal score, he provides that responsible a 200-foot game, can help out on the penalty gills. So I think it's more than just, you know, Palat finding that scoring touch that maybe he's had in years past,

but more about overall the body of work Pilots put in. And like I said, it's a low risk. People can knock the taking on the cap hit. You subtract Cipulacov. But it is a deal that could be bought out. He could be flipped next year at the deadline. So the focus is obviously on right now. But I think it's more about what Pilat's proven, hoping that even if there's a little bit in there,

that it'll help leadership-wise, it'll help the 200-foot game and just help the Islanders be a more stable team as they push for the playoffs. Let me ask you a couple of things about Carson Sussie, too, because, you know, all these things are sort of done in concert, even though they're individual deals with different teams. What are the things that I wondered about right away? And you're right there. You can tell whether I'm on base or off base. I wondered if the Carson Sushi deal told us anything about Ryan Pulok's injury.

Should I be drawn the line between the two? I wouldn't just because Poulac was on the ice this morning. He's missed the last two games, but he's a game time decision. I don't know if he'll play tonight, but he's a game time soon for tonight. I think it was more just, listen, Darch has, and I credit him, He was so patient when Romanov went down. He tried pretty much every defensive prospect yet in his pipeline. I would have loved to see George get more than a two-game sample,

but George was hurt, didn't get that opportunity. Whereas less of a question mark, yes, Susie has his flaws for sure, but Darts knows that he could, you know, what Susie brings. He's going to eat penalty minutes, penalty kill minutes, take some pressure off Schaefer and Pellick. He's a stable defenseman back there. And I think the Islanders were done kind of with the question marks, who's going to play, how is a prospect going to play? And we just solidify that.

So I don't think it has anything to do with Poulock. Now it helps. again, Poulac being out, you have that penalty killer in the lineup. But overall, I think was more of, you know, let's just stabilize the back end. Again, it was great to see the young players and you get a look into the future. Maybe George is still part of that. But more of, you know, what is George going to be tomorrow? We don't know.

We know what Susie brings. We could trust that. And maybe he's going to play 17 or so minutes. That's five or four minutes more than what the feeling was bringing. So at the end of the day, it's just someone that could eat minutes and play that defensive-minded hockey. Marshall Warren, Isaiah, George. So I was talking about them on the program yesterday. and wondering, you know, I look at the Islanders and say,

okay, they're looking for a right-hand shot D here. Like if I'm Matthew Darsh, I'm like, yeah, okay, what do we have here? I was wondering about Tyler Myers. You know, that might be an obvious one here. You mentioned if the right deal is there, they'd let go with the first round pick. Does that extend to George and Warren? Yeah, I mean, it's possible.

If they believe George is not part of this future, why not? Again, it's not like a Marshall Warren where he's got four or five or 10 or so NHL games. I mean, sample size for George last year was 33 games. Was it all great? No, I think he was a different player after you came back from the concussion off the max dome of reverse elbow to the head. But George is a guy that grew a lot this summer in terms of just mentally and physically growth. And he played really well against that flyer game.

Look, we saw Sibokov make one really good pass against the flyers and he's on the move. So I think George is more likely to be moved. I don't know if they, you know, with Warren. I mean, I think he showed what he's going to be. I'm not sure if he's an NHL or. I think the Islanders do value George and think that he could. be an NHLer, but we're at the point now where, you know, if you're bringing in Susie, I don't know if you retain him over this next year. He can play both sides, Susie and so can

George. But DeAngel is also a pending UFA. And he's played really well. So you're thinking about bringing him back. So I agree. I think if George is not part of this team's future, he for sure can be included in a deal. I don't think Warren has that value that George has. But yeah, I mean, if you know what you have now. So at this point, if you, if you part ways, you're making the move because you believe either that player can help you or it's more valuable on the trade market. Do you have a thought on, even though this is Montreal,

the Allenders already went through this earlier on with Piero Greco. The Montreal Canadiens fired their goalie coach today. The Islanders went through the same thing. Now, Elias Forokin essentially brought in his guy, but just sort of to pull back a little bit, and sit on the Islanders have just gone through this. I don't know why I'm so fixated on it,

but just because we never really see it so much, goalie coaches fired in season. Like, goalie coach dismissals are off-season moves. This one has worked out, obviously, busters for the Islanders. I don't know if this becomes more of a thing. You know, I don't know if you have a struggling goalie, struggling goalies, the manager thinks that the team is better and the goalies are holding them back, et cetera, et cetera. Talley Rumschuk on DFO Live was discussing the Oilers situation with their long time

former goalie coach as well. I don't know if this becomes a thing. We'll see, but from your landscape, A, how much does that help Sorokin? And B, do you think this becomes more of a thing in the NHL? The goalie coaches aren't safe until the end of the season anymore. Yeah, I think, I mean, if the Canadians find a way to turn things around with Montevero and the other guy, I'd always forget how to pronounce his name. But then, yeah, you have two situations where it vastly changes your season. Yeah, I think it's more common. Obviously, with the Islanders, like you mentioned, Sergey Nimav is someone who Sorokin had a experience with in the KHL.

And it changed the Islander season. They're not even close to a playoff spot. If Sorokin doesn't bounce back, Riddick has played well as well. but yeah, it changed everything for Sorokin and the Islanders. And quite frankly, with how the Islanders played last year and Sorokin last year, I wouldn't have been shocked if Greco was let go after last season. I think they gave him some leeway here and said, hey, like, let's see how it goes. But they knew they had a goalie coach ready.

I think that's a little bit of a difference. Sergian-Newmob wasn't going to be a bridgeboard Islanders goalie coach for the next three, four years. Like when they brought him in, you knew time was kind of ticking. At some point, if they could make a move, they would. So I'm not to the situation in Montreal. But I think the fact they had a guy ready and waiting who Sorokin knew well, made it a lot easier than maybe a guy that's been a long time, a long time goalie coach than the other team.

What do you think? For those that are watching and listening right now that haven't watched a lot of Islanders games this year, what do you think, Steph Rosner, because you're all over it, man. What do you think people need to know about this year's edition of the Islanders? Because, like, look, Darsh isn't done. Darsh is frisky.

You know, there's going to be a trade, you know, pause here for a while, but when we get back at it, if he hasn't made other moves by then, he'll probably be making moves leading up to the trade deadline. What should we know about the islanders? Yeah, they want the playoffs bad. I think you went into this season knowing that it was going to be an evaluation year. But when you saw how good Matthew Schaefer was right out of the gate and then seeing Seroca can't bounce back, I think it kind of changed the, oh, they'll be good in three,

four, or five years to why can't we compete now? Why can we become Stanley Cup contenders over the course of Schaefer's ELC? I think that's a huge thing whether anyone's going to say they're not. I mean, if you could find a way to be a cup contender before having to pay Schaefer 17, 18, 19 million annually, you try to do that. And I think, I think it's important. I think it's important for the honors to make the playoffs just for guys like Schaefer and Richie and Shabanov and other guys. The guys I missed the playoff last or even the vets mentally to keep these guys, you know, knowing that you're going to compete. I think, you know, I talked to Barzal and Horvette today. And it meant a lot to see darts go and fill holes and make the lineup better than it was

a couple of days ago. Is this team right now a Stanley Cup contender? No. They are better. They're more suited and more stable than they were a couple of days ago to stay in a playoff spot. And I think Darch is going to add, you know, to me, I look at a guy like maybe a Robert Thomas, if Darts is willing to move probably both his first round picks. If you're going to trade for, you're going to trade your first round picks. I'm just saying if you're going to trade your first round picks, you're not getting a rental. You're getting someone that's going to fit right now. And long term, like, for example, Stamco's, not that I think Trots is going to trade him.

This guy's probably going to score 40 goals this year. But that's not a guy. I think you trade your first round pick for maybe the Colorado and maybe they get, you know, retain some salary there. But if you're going to go forward and get a player with at least those two first picks, go get the monster player like a Thomas that can help your team going forward. I mean, Kyra obviously is an option there as well. I know he got hurt last night. But yeah, if I'm darch and you're willing to move those picks, you will get a guy that can help you now and maybe become more of a contender before this season ends and long term because, again, when you have a guy like

Schaefer, Cornerstone and a guy like Sorokan, you have a chance of winning cups. That's just those are the baseline and you have both of those. You know, there's a winger that plays just down the street who's not getting renewed by his team. He's pretty good. Russian guy played on Chicago and Columbus. He's been plying his trade the last eight years with the New York Rangers. Would there be any interest there? I mean, listen, if our Temi Pernaran is feet ground in, like, I want to stay in the area,

it's not as if the Allenders couldn't use his services. I know a lot of people, like, I personally think that L.A. seems to be the clubhouse leader here for our. Artemmy Panera, but we'll see. Could you see that happening? Like, I know this is why I've been like, what, it was the fourth deal, the fifth deal that these two teams that made between each other? Like, I was mentioning the other day, like, the one that always blew my mind was the Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins.

You know, there was McNabb and Savar, but that was free agent compensation. They never made a deal. You know, the Sabres came into the NHL in 1970. They never made a deal until like, was it 2009? The Danny Pai deal was like the first one they made. from like two, from 1970 to 2000, those two teams did not do business. We've seen it before. Rangers and Islanders generally don't do business.

We saw a small deal. Could we see a Whopper? Yeah, I mean, it's up to Artagnan, right? How much does he want to stay in the area? Is he willing to sign an extension with the Islanders? I think if it's going to happen, it'll probably happen in free agency. I think Panarin deserves to test the market if he wants to. And for the Islanders, I mean, this is the guy that they wanted, you know, seven years ago.

And Panarin was between the Islanders and Rangers, sign with the Rangers. Islanders sign Anders Lee, their captain, become captain to a seven-year, seven-annual deal. So could Panaran want to stay for sure? I just think, like you mentioned, the Kings are a great fit. Obviously, we've heard Minnesota. We've heard a ton of teams. If those teams are willing to trade for them without an extension in place, that's great. I don't think the honors are going to do that, especially in the division.

But it really is up to Brennan. So would I be shocked? No, I just think if that is going to happen, it's probably more of a signing in freight and see rather than a trade. Where's Horvats said? I just a couple of last ones here for you. You mentioned you talked to Bo Horvatt. He's flat out one of my favorite players in the game.

I've always got a soft spot for Bo Horvatt. Where's his head at now? Certainly a side of relief that he'll be, you knock on wood here, still games to play, but healthy for Team Canada. Where's Horvat at? Yeah, he's excited for the additions. He's always spoken about how they need to be better.

I mean, I even talked to him about darts getting players and Waugh keeping the lineup maybe more of the same than switching. And he said, well, we don't want to make Wa's job harder. It's on us why he's had to change the line. up so many times. So he's always been an accountable player. That's why he was a captain in Vancouver, but he's excited for the additions. He's excited to be healthy. He was so proud to make Team Canada. He said he would fill water bottles. He didn't care. He wants to wear that leaf on his crest. I think he'll play more obviously with point out. Maybe he'll be in that starting group there.

But yeah, Horvats at a gem to talk to he's a leader in this team and he wears an A for a reason. But, you know, he had a tough game against Philly in a second game back from injury. But this is the guy of the Islanders need is their leading goal score. And when he was in the wind up playing well and the Islanders had that stability with their forward group, they went 6-1-0 on that road trip, and they were playing better hockey. So the Islanders need to get back to that if they want to stay in a playoff spot. All right, last one for you. It's more of a sort of big-picture Islanders question. So Matthew Darsh, a couple of weeks ago, was on the DFO Rundown Insiders Edition with Erfengafar and with Dave Panyoda. And one of the

conversations that I found really interesting, a section of was early in the conversation where Matthew Darsh talked about his marketing background. and marketing the Islanders and having players more out there. I understand that whenever you talk like this around the Islanders, it sounds you could take a shot at Lou. I'm not taking a shot at Lou. Everyone has their own management style. I would argue his is from a different era,

but there are some guys that liked having, you know, someone that wasn't, you know, from the old school, but was from the school they burned down to build the old school. And that was Lou. But how different is it? Like, it's palpable, right? Like, it is palpable that it's really different this year. It was different on day one walking in for development camp after the draft.

It felt like a breath of fresh air, but also seeing players on podcast. Barzal was on a Barzal podcast in the summer. And we haven't seen players. I lose rules for those that don't know is players couldn't go on podcasts. The focus was on the team. They didn't want that. So they couldn't do that. We have Matthew Schaefer with the Noble, Tom Brady's deal, which would never probably

been possible in terms of sponsorship and things like that. And I think it's important, too, when, you know, the team went stale under Lou. I think everyone understood how, you know, secret of it was, how limited it was when they were winning. Or going back to back to Eastern Conference Finals, like we've talked about in the show before. Once things got still and the team wasn't winning, then it was, well, let the players

and the fans, you know, build relationships. And I think with Schaefer, the younger fan base trying to get them and the Islanders bringing Kelly Cheesman to be their president who would work with AIG with LA Kings and stuff and understanding the market and building the Islanders brand and you need outgoing players. And I have, the great thing about the islanders is the room is they have so

many players that, you know, Barzal plays the guitar and has all these different things he loves to do. Matthew Schaefer is obviously a gem. But all these guys do so many different things in the community as well. I mean, even promoting social media events within the community that maybe weren't being promoted at times. So I think it's completely different and it's huge for because, like I said, having got like Schaefer young players can look up to now, it's important that they hear from that player as much as possible. How, how different is it that, you know, Islanders fans can get excited about prospects Twitter now? Yeah, it's great. I mean, you can even use prospects to makes trades now.

You know, they're not, it's completely different. I mean, that's a thing, too, with trading, you know, all the talk about trading that third round pick for Susie or Pilate deal, whatever it is, is the islanders don't need as many picks anymore, really. I mean, of course, picks are valuable, but they bolstered their prospect pool this past summer. Yep. They have that first round pick.

Like, it's okay now. In the past, it was the founders need every draft pick because they haven't hit on anybody. Now I think it's different. It changes, like you mentioned Isaiah George a couple years ago. There's no way you're trading Isaiah George because he's your only defensive prospect. Now it's like, yeah, why don't you include them in a deal? So I think

things have changed. I mean, Islander fans always find something to complain in the last 48 hours. I put some of them in time now, just because it gets a little much. Let the game's play. Let the work. Let's see what happens before we banish people to this one. But it's passion. And the Islander fans are starving, obviously, for a cup forever. They want to see a new movement

under Darch. And I think, again, having Schaefer changes everything for this team and having a proactive GF. I mean, Lou is proactive as well before deadline, so we can't knock him there. But It's interesting to see how this team has developed over this last since the summer because it's very different on and off the ice on an ice. Yeah, excuse me, on the ice and off the ice. Yeah. Did you buy a new tongue this morning? Yeah, I did. I'm testing out the islanders lineup, man. It's a lot. I've been talking a lot of these last couple of days. I bet. Like that's my first language. That's the thing too. It's like, oh, the GM made another trade. That's like eight new interviews for you. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, I'll take as much three time as possible. They sort of, and Darsh is like spreading them around. Like, just when you think you can take a breath, Rossner, he's making another deal.

And that's a whole new round of interviews for you, including me. And I always appreciate when you stop by. You're one of the best at what you do. Really appreciate, as always. And everybody's subscribed to this newsletter. Man, the El Monsters is the best. I love it. And by the way, the instant trade reaction newsletters are chef's kiss.

Keep enough, great stuff. Great stuff. Thank you, Sir. put something extra in your envelope this week, Rossender, put something extra in your envelope. Thanks, pal. Have a good one.