The trades are coming in hot as many of the notable players have already been moved ahead of the Friday afternoon deadline. Noah Hanifin moved from the Calgary Flames to the Vegas Golden Knights, Adam Henrique was traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers, and Jake Guentzel was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Carolina Hurricanes in a blockbuster deal.
Related: Islanders & Penguins Can Make a Jake Guentzel Trade Work
Most competitive teams have already upgraded their rosters and then there’s the New York Islanders. Their general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello is following the same script he typically follows at the trade deadline. He’s done nothing. What makes this more puzzling is that the Islanders just won their fifth game in a row and are only a few points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Sure, a blockbuster trade was a pipe dream and not realistic. Guentzel needed a significant haul and based on what the Hurricanes gave up to get him, the Islanders couldn’t afford him. However, a minor addition would have rounded out the roster for a strong finish to the season and allowed them to make a deep playoff run. It wouldn’t cost Lamoriello a lot to make that type of trade yet he remains quiet and with the deadline fast approaching, it looks like it will remain that way. This team is better than it was weeks or even months ago and still, they look like a limited team.
Lamoriello’s Big Moves Happened Weeks Ago
From a roster standpoint, not much has changed since the start of this season. The most impactful thing Lamoriello did was with the coaching staff and it changed how the Islanders have looked this season. He hired Patrick Roy and with that coaching change, the team has played a more disciplined style of hockey with the offense remaining a potent one as well. It also helps that with the Roy hire came the line changes and since the decision to play Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, and Mathew Barzal together, the team has looked unbeatable.
The other big move that Lamoriello and the Islanders coaching staff made was moving Scott Mayfield out of the lineup. At first, he was day-to-day with an injury but with the defense looking faster and playing at a high level, he was moved to the long-term injured reserve. Mayfield’s battled injuries all season and it’s likely that he still hasn’t fully recovered and as a result, is a step behind as a skater. That said, the defense has looked better without him playing and it looks like the Islanders won’t rush him back this season as a result.
The argument can be made that these moves, while not trades, were the biggest by Lamoriello. They didn’t have a lot of room for improvement so the upgrades had to come from in-house and they did. The problem is that these changes, while significant, can only take the Islanders so far.
Islanders’ Ceiling Remains Low
What is the best-case scenario for this team? The optimistic view is that the winning streak will turn into a hot streak and the Islanders slide into the playoffs as the third-best team in the Metropolitan Division and then make a deep playoff run. That might be more of a pipe dream than acquiring Guentzel was. A more realistic and optimistic scenario is that they sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team and then lose in the first round to a juggernaut like the Florida Panthers or Boston Bruins.
Then of course there are the pessimistic views about how this season could end. The Islanders could miss the playoffs by a few points or fall apart after this winning streak is snapped. The bottom line is that they have a similar roster to the one a season ago and it brings similar expectations. They have a high floor but a low ceiling and in the big picture, it’s an undesirable place to be.
The Islanders needed at least one more scorer. A forward who could add a spark to the middle of the forward unit and would allow this team to compete with the best in the Eastern Conference. Yet they didn’t get one. With this roster, even if they make the playoffs, they’ll face a team with a great defense that will eliminate the top line and dare the rest of the forward unit to find the back of the net. It happened last season when they faced the Hurricanes and the offense fell flat in the six-game series.
Silence Could Be Lamoriello’s Final Impression as GM
There’s a lot of optimism at the moment based on how the Islanders have looked lately. In the last five games, they’ve outscored their opponents 24-10 and have looked great across the board. Yet, it’s hard to ignore where this team stands in the grand scheme of things.
Under Lamoriello they’ve done the same thing time and time again yet remain the same middling team. On rare occasions, they can make a deep playoff run but for the most part, they are a good but not great team in the Eastern Conference where every team around them is improving. Lamoriello keeps stating that he’s confident in this group, but he can only do that for so long. Eventually, changes have to be made and if they won’t happen from a roster standpoint they must happen at the top.
Lamoriello will remain the GM until the season ends. After all, it’s tough to move on from him when the Islanders are fighting for a playoff spot. However, the lack of movement could be the last straw for an ownership group hoping this team can make a deep playoff run, something they haven’t been able to do since 2021.