New York Islanders Daily: The Dog Days of Summer

As the offseason has seemed to come to a dead halt, let’s reflect on the New York Islanders changes over the past couple of months.

Usually, these daily links segments are super easy. You just find the biggest New York Islanders story or talking point from the previous day, write it up, include some links to the previous days work as an in case you missed it, and that’s it, we’re off and running for the day content-wise on the website.

Days like today are challenging. There’s nothing going on, it feels like the offseason has come to a screeching halt with just under two months to go before the season starts. So, what I wanted to do during the quiet time, is reflect on what’s went down with this team since the season ended.

From the top, the change at General Manager and Coach are going to pay dividends. Both Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz are well-respected figures in this league and are very good at their job. It might not look good right now, but down the line, the introduction of these two is going to be the most important piece about the Isles 2018 offseason.

As for the immediate 2018 on-ice product, it’s hard to get excited about it. Losing John Tavares in the fashion they did was genuinely one of the worst things to happen to this franchise. How they’re going to replace his talent is still a mystery.

Sure, Mathew Barzal is extremely talented and the new face of the team but if you move him up to the top line you still have a gaping hole at second line center.

The Isles look like they’re going to struggle, and struggle with a mostly veteran group, leaving Josh Ho-Sang and Kieffer Bellows off the roster. I always say if you’re going to be bad, be bad with youth. That way you can at least see how your future is developing.

I still believe in the process, it’s just likely going to be an underwhelming season after an offseason from hell (outside of the GM and Coach hiring).

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