Early in the movie adaptation of “Moneyball,” Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane asks a room full of scouts to identify the problem facing the Oakland A’s.
They tell him they are trying to replace Jason Giambi’s production — 38 home runs, 47 doubles, 120 RBIs, a .342 batting average.
A visibly annoyed Pitt then explains that is impossible: “Is there another first baseman like Giambi? And if there was, could we afford him?” No, and no.
Now, nobody is comparing a modern-day Zach Parise to Jason Giambi circa 2002.
But the problem facing the Islanders entering training camp is not, at heart, all too different.
Parise was one of just three players who scored more than 20 goals for the Islanders last season, and he did it on a league-minimum deal.
He might rejoin the team at some point this year, but he won’t be at training camp, and an eventual reunion cannot be counted on.
And the Islanders have, depending how the last few spots on the 23-man roster shake out, somewhere between little and no money left against the salary cap.
That is to say, there is not another player who provides the sort of value-for-dollar Parise did for the Islanders.
And if there were, the Islanders might be hard-pressed to afford him.
“I think we have enough people here that I think we have the — and I hate the word potential — but to have [the potential for] a better year,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday. “And we have enough people here who are young people, who I think are gonna push some of our veterans who have the ability to score and do the things that are necessary.
“That’s hockey. You never know who will come forward.”
So it is not quite as simple as finding someone who can score 21 goals and play 16:09 per night.
It never is.
As far as replacing Parise’s production goes, though, the list of players includes Oliver Wahlstrom, Julien Gauthier, Simon Holmstrom, Karson Kuhlman, Jackson Cates, Arnaud Durandeau, William Dufour and Ruslan Iskhakov.
Wahlstrom, at least at the onset of camp, would be at the top.
The 23-year-old, who is returning from a knee injury that kept him out for the back half of last season, has high-end scoring ability, even though it has not quite translated to the NHL as of yet.
The tools are there for him to become a physical power forward who can net 30 goals a year, but after signing a one-year deal as a restricted free agent this summer, Wahlstrom is running out of time to show he can do that as an Islander.
“He’s matured,” Lamoriello said. “He knows the game a lot better and he knows that you have to play different aspects more than just shooting.”
At least at the onset of training camp, Wahlstrom figures to get the first chance to play in Parise’s lineup spot.
Holmstrom and Gauthier, though, should be shortly behind.
Holmstrom filled in for a series of injured players last year, getting into 50 games but never quite impressing as a scorer.
Gauthier was the only player from outside the organization the Islanders signed to an NHL deal this offseason and is probably more of a depth piece than a clear answer to the problem.
Ditto for Kuhlman and Cates — the latter of whom is on a professional tryout contract coming into camp. Neither has stuck with an NHL team as of yet, and both have a better chance of starting the season in the AHL than with the Islanders.
But they will have chances to impress in camp and in the preseason.
Durandeau, Dufour and Iskhakov are all coming off promising seasons at AHL Bridgeport and could outgrow the minors at some point this season.
Thanks to the glut of names the Islanders have on NHL deals, it would take a fantastic camp for any of them to be on the opening night roster, but all could be in line for call-ups as the season goes on.
“There’s a couple young forwards — I don’t like to name people — but whether it’s Iskhakov or Dufour, they’re close,” Lamoriello said. “How close? We’ll find out.”
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