New York Islanders Lou Lamoriello Wants to See What He Has First

There has been plenty of speculation on what moves the New York Islanders would do after they lost John Tavares to free agency. It appears Lou Lamoriello wants to see what he has first before making any big moves.

The New York Islanders have appeared in the rumor mill many times this summer. They have been linked to numerous prominent players on the trade market. So far no major moves have been made by Lou Lamoriello.

Lou wants to see his own hand first before putting any chips into the middle of the table.

Keep in mind Lou has addressed a couple of needs even though he hasn’t made a major trade. He improved the bottom-six by signing Valtteri Filppula, Leo Komarov, Tom Kuhnhacki, and trading for Matt Martin.

He took a chance on Jan Kovar in terms of center depth, as well as signing Robin Lehner to be one of the two Isles netminders.

It isn’t over. Lou still has a lot of work to do.

Many Decisions Ahead

Lou has set things up to see what certain players possess both on and off the ice before making any long-term commitments.

Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson, and Anders Lee all are on the last year of their contracts and become unrestricted free agents next July 1st.

Lou must figure out who is part of the future core and who will they use as trade chips to build this organization into a contender. That doesn’t just go for the Islander players who are a year away from free agency.

Right Deal Then Yes

Keep in mind if Lou can acquire a player that can help the team next season and beyond, he will be active. If Winnipeg calls and says we are listening on Jacob Trouba, Lou will get aggressive. Same with Ottawa regarding Matt Duchene.

With the examples of Trouba and Duchene, it would have to be the right player for both today and tomorrow. The Isles are still looking to improve the blue line, add an impactful center, and find that elusive number one goaltender.

Keep in mind some of these answers could come from within the organization, as the Isles have a number of young players ready to step up.

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It would be exciting if the Islanders pulled off a big trade. But remember it has to be the right move for the franchise. Islander fans should have their trust in Lou.