Islanders finally facing hard truth fans have dreaded for years

When I heard the Islanders and former general manager Lou Lamoriello parted ways, I rejoiced. It was a long time coming, and now, finally, real changes can be made. Under Lamoriello, the Islanders aged, their play grew stale, and they often had their backs up against the salary cap. 

To be frank, I was impressed with nothing regarding the Isles, and far too often they became far too predictable. No wonder it took a late-season run for them to just make the playoffs in 2024. And it’s also no wonder they took that dreaded and inevitable step back this season. 

It’s a harsh truth that fans probably saw coming. This season, the Isles couldn’t score and they were inconsistent, at best, in stopping opponents from scoring. In 2023-24, despite finishing third in the Metropolitan, they also had a tough time finding the net and they played just well enough defensively to stay in the hunt. But, let’s remember that the Metro was also weak last season. 

Islanders finally face the harsh truth, but a rebuild may not be painful

NHL rebuilds take a little longer than what you see in most sports. Typically, anyway, since prospects don’t often see NHL ice immediately, or even after a few seasons. But there’s a lot about this team I like. Bo Horvat, Simon Holmstrom, Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal, Ilya Sorokin, and Alexander Romanov are all players who can at least make up a core. 

Yeah, I’d do all I could to see if there’s a way to send Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri, and Jean Gabriel-Pageau elsewhere. Palmieri will be an unrestricted free agent, while Lee and Pageau both have just a season left on their respective contracts. Each has just modified no-trade clauses. 

Cizikas doesn’t carry as much of a cap hit, so he’d be easier to move. He also has no clauses holding him back, so he should be an easy one to send to a team that figures to contend. At that point, suppose I could move all of the above, I’m signing just rentals in free agency while I simultaneously work on my prospects pool. 

With at least some remnants of a core, maybe you could call this one a retool instead of a rebuild. And for Islanders fans, that could be welcoming news. 

A couple of harsh seasons may await, but that’s nothing

Yeah, the Islanders may be in for a rough season or two as this retooling process goes down. But they can also turn it into a St. Louis Blues situation, where the team struggles for a couple of years, before breaking out in Year 3 of a retool.

It may not be ideal news to some fans, but give this team an identity change for a couple of seasons and watch the results speak for themselves. 

And in even better news, the Penguins and Flyers look like they’re behind the Isles, even if they got rid of some of their older, more experienced players. The Rangers seem to be in massive turbulence, while the Capitals won’t have Alex Ovechkin causing nightmares for opponents forever. That could mean opportunity is knocking for the Isles.