Today is the most hectic day of the year for the NHL. Do the Islanders finally get involved at the Trade Deadline and make something happen?
Shane Prince, Chris Wagner, Brandon Davidson, and Tyler Kennedy, what do they all have in common? They are Islanders trade deadline (or about as close to the deadline as you can get) trades in recent history.
That crop of players isn’t necessarily one that sticks out all that much in terms of production. The last time the Isles made a deadline acquisition that had a major impact was Ryan Smyth all those years ago.
Well, today is a pivotal day for the Islanders and the direction of their team. They can go into the deadline quiet, and with a team that has been better offensively, granted it was two games at home against two bad teams, or they can make some noise and actually try to do something with their window.
With Lou Lamoriello, it’s nearly impossible to tell. Andy Greene wasn’t necessarily a name linked to the Islanders when he traded for him.
After last year, Barry Trotz admitted to needing more “pop”, the Islanders tried to sign Artemi Panarin and when that failed they were unable to land another big-time scorer so they rolled essentially the same team.
If it were up to me, I’d check in heavily on JG Pageau, Chris Kreider, and Mike Hoffman. Those seem like three obtainable pieces that would actually impact the Islanders forward group. If Leo Komarov is on the second line again tomorrow after today’s deadline, it was a failed day for Lou Lamoriello it’s as simple as that.
Isles Tweet of the Day
Tyler Kennedy. Michal Neuvirth. Brandon Davidson. Sebastian Collberg.
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 24, 2020
Those have been the #Isles ’ “big” moves at the trade deadline this past decade.
If there was ever a time for it to change, it’s now.
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