Islanders: Biggest headline from each month of 2019-20 season

February – TRADES

Record: 6-6-3  0.500 Pts% (Season: 35-21-8)

The fan base was dying for the GM to do something with the roster. The Islanders still desperately needed scoring. They also needed to figure out what to do with the third line which had become a black hole of late. And they needed another defenseman to fill the gap left by Adam Pelech.

On February 16, Lou made his first trade in 593 days by acquiring Andy Greene for a second-round pick in 2021 and defensive prospect David Quenneville.

And then came the trade deadline. Lou was active from the first minute of the trade deadline the Islanders were active. They sent a first-round pick in 2020 (lottery protected), a second in 2020, and a conditional third-round pick in 2022 (if the Isles win the cup) to the Ottawa Senators for Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Isles immediately signed the center to a six-year $30 million deal.

And Lou wasn’t done there. Up until late at the deadline, he was in discussions with the Minnesota Wild on a deal that would send Andrew Ladd to the Wild (along with other pieces) for Zach Parise.

Lou was actively trying to improve the Islanders who had turned into a .500 team while the rest of the division was trending upwards. It was exactly what we wanted to see from our GM at this pivotal point of the season.

Nassau Move

At the end of February, New York Islanders got some incredible news. Delivered by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Isles would play all playoff home games in 2020 and all 2020-21 home games at the Nassau Coliseum. The Barclays Center was effectively over.

Even though the Isles still had three games to play in Brooklyn in the month of March. But who cares. The Isles would be heading back to Nassau County and play on the Island.

They were back home.

Other notable headlines:

–Isles retire Tonelli’s number 27
–Josh Ho-Sang is re-assigned to AHL’s San Antonio Rampage