Islanders five feel-good moments from the 2019-20 season

Trades

Lou Lamoriello went 593 days between trades from July 4, 2018, to February 16, 2020. It’s not like the team didn’t need help or that players weren’t available via trade. But for some reason, Lou just wasn’t using the trade market.

Finally, after almost 600 days, Lou made a trade. He acquired Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils. A few days later Lou made a few more moves, the biggest being the acquisition of Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators, and then locked him up for six years.

It’s clear that Lou felt this team needed a bit more help to get them over the top.

Now, Lou didn’t get a top-six winger, but getting Jean-Gabriel Pageau (who’s a top-tier third-line center) would help out the rest of the roster.

With Pageau, the Islanders would have a usable thrid-line again. Something they didn’t have all season long in 2019-20. Derick Brassard was brought it to fill the Valtteri Filppula role on the third-line and just didn’t do a good enough job.

With a functional third-line, the Isles could role out four lines with near even usage and get them back to playing the type of game they like playing. And maybe, that would be enough for this season.

Why is this a feel-good story?

While the trade wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, it was a good sign from management. It was clear that Lou sees the Islanders window opening and with some extra help, this team could find themselves in contention.

With years of inadequate management, it felt good to know that a window was opening and that Lou was trying to get the Isles over the hump.