Building something special
Charlottetown Islanders are making moves for a deep playoff run this year
The news leaked out Sunday morning.
And by late afternoon confirmation arrived that the Charlottetown Islanders had landed Patrick Guay.
I had anticipated the Isles would add more offence, but Guay was not a player I had on my radar. I figured they might try to obtain another 19-year-old scorer for the stretch drive, but with the price being similar for Guay, who is a year younger, Charlottetown pulled the trigger.
The deal is the franchise’s biggest in my tenure with The Guardian, which dates back to 2012-13 – the final season of the P.E.I. Rocket.
The move has me thinking back to 2016-17, when the Islanders acquired 10 players for nine players, two firstand two second-round picks and a few more draft assets. This time around, Charlottetown has acquired four players (Guay, Bailey Peach, Sean Stewart and Braeden Virtue) for two players and eight picks, including two firsts, two seconds and two thirds.
The previous load-up began at the draft when Charlottetown acquired defenceman Guillaume Brisebois, wo became the Isles’ captain. It cost defenceman Luc Deschenes, a first- and a secondround pick.
Similarly, this season, the Isles made their intentions known in June by landing overage goalie Colten Ellis for a first-, second- and thirdround picks.
But the difference from the 2017 playoff run, which ended in the first of backto-back semifinal losses to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, is the age. Back then, Charlottetown acquired all 19- or 20-year-olds with many expected to turn pro after the season. This time around, Charlottetown could likely have at least two of its four acquisitions next year for another deep run.
One thing to remember is that many of this season’s moves would not have been possible without the tough decisions made two years ago, when fan favourites Derek Gentile, Keith Getson and captain Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph were dealt.
It hurt at the time, but the trio landed close to home with teams that had the assets needed to build winners. And look at the return. Noah Laaouan, acquired for Gentile, is a 19-year-old firstpair blue-liner and leader.
For Getsy, the Isles received assets that became rookies Sam Oliver and Ben Boyd, plus two draft picks used to acquire Peach.
And for Joseph, the haul was massive.
Still on the Islanders roster are Cédric Desruisseaux, who was the story of the first half of the season with an active goal-scoring streak of 13 straight games, and budding blue-liner Will Trudeau.
They also received Xavier Bernard, a second-round pick in 2019, who was used to select centre Justin Gill and Drummondville’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft.
Bernard was sent to Sherbrooke a year ago for a package of picks. A similar return went back to Sherbrooke before Christmas in the Peach deal. Gill was a key ingredient used to land Guay.
And the Islanders have
built a fortress around Drummondville’s first pick in 2021, when they also have picks in the next five rounds.
They’ve moved some big assets for this twoyear run, but they are wellpositioned for sustained success.
Credit to the front office and coaching staff.
They made some tough decisions over the years to position the team for success without completely tearing the house down to the studs and rebuilding.
A year ago, it may have been easy to trade Desruisseaux to a contender, but the team saw something in him and is reaping the rewards for sticking by him.
The Islanders have a nice balanced lineup.
They have a stud goalie who won a national championship at the under-18 level in Ellis, an NHL-drafted defenceman, who nearly made Team Canada for the world juniors at 18, in Lukas Cormier, two sniping overagers in Desruisseaux and Thomas Casey, a two-way centre in Brett Budgell, who provides great leadership and quality depth.
With everyone pulling in the same direction, this team can do some damage.
I suspect the heavy lifting is done, but general manager Jim Hulton and his crew have been known to throw a few surprises this time of year, so stay tuned.