NY Islanders GM Lamoriello has done a little bit of everything at the trade deadline

The NHL Trade Deadline is Friday, and New York Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello has made it clear that if they do anything by tomorrow afternoon, it will be an addition, not a subtraction, to a roster that is playing its best hockey of the season and now four points out of a playoff spot.

In his previous five seasons as GM on Long Island, the Islanders have been in a variety of positions at this point in the NHL calendar, and Lamoriello has shown us a little bit of everything during his tenure. He's done nothing when we expected a move and made a splash when we didn't see it coming. He's even announced new contracts.

Here is a look back at how Lamoriello has done business at the deadline with the Islanders.

2018-19: "Stood Pat"

Lamoriello's first trade deadline as Islanders' GM was motionless despite a lot of wheeling and dealing around the league. The Islanders, in their first season with Barry Trotz, and first without John Tavares were the surprise of the league, battling Trotz's old team, the Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Unlike most seasons since the Islanders had cap space and their upcoming first-round pick. Players on the market included Matt Duchene (who they may have made an offer for), Mark Stone, and Artemi Panarin, who didn't go anywhere until the summer.

“We weren’t going to sacrifice our plan here,” Lamoriello said. “You don’t do something just for the sake of doing it. We’re pleased with where we are … We’re in a foundation situation in trying to get ourselves in a winning situation over a number of years.”

Forward Andrew Ladd and defenseman Thomas Hickey were due to return to the lineup after injuries at around the same time, which likely also played a factor in Lamoriello's unwillingness to overpay for a player that would've shaken things up considerably up and down the group.

The Islanders finished with 103 points, one behind the Caps, but did secure home ice in the first round in the playoffs for the first time in over 30 years.

2019-20: Pageau, Pageau, Pageau

The Islanders were once again on track for the Stanley Cup playoffs as the 2020 trade deadline approached. Fans have been waiting over a calendar year for Lamoriello, a noted bold hockey executive make a significant trade. The team was battling multiple injuries to their forward group, with Casey Cizikas out with a leg laceration and Cal Clutterbuck suffering a wrist injury. However, Lamoriello had added depth defensively earlier in the month by acquiring Andy Greene from NJ.

Then, on deadline day, Lamoriello made his first big move, trading for versatile center Jean-Gabrielle Pageau of the Ottawa Senators. To acquire the 27-year-old Pageau, who was having a career season in Ottawa with 24 goals, the Isles sent to the Senators a first-round pick in 2020, a second-round pick in 2020, and a conditional third-round pick in 2022. The bigger news came minutes later when it was announced that the team signed Pageau to a six-year extension.

"To have the chance to be joining the team, it's just such an honor for me. I couldn't be more excited just to go on a team that's going to be competing every year for a playoff or for a championship," said Pageau after the trade and extension was announced. "I couldn't be more excited as a player. That's what we play for; that's what drives us. That's why I'm excited to go and play for them."

The Islanders didn't win a game in the regular season after acquiring Pageau and were on a seven-game winless streak and in danger of missing the postseason when the season was suspended due to Covid-19. Of couse, the team got healthy and found their game in the Toronto bubble, and Pageau, who also famously won the team's hotel ping pong tournament, was instrumental in their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1993.

2021-22: - Extensions?

Besides UBS Arena opening, not much went right for the Islanders during the 2021-22 season. After falling well short of high expectations, they were in the position of being sellers at the deadline for the first time under Lamoriello. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was discussed as a trade candidate with one year left on his contract, along with veteran defensemen Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara.

There were also forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Zach Parise, the type of players that are viewed as playoff performers and could fit nicely on a team primed for a deep run. However, the trade deadline came and went without the team making a move, though they did have news to share.

Lamoriello announced that Clutterbuck had signed a two-year extension, with Parise signing a one-year deal. Clutterbuck’s will be for $1.75 million average annual value, while Parise will make $1.5 million. “This organization is home for me,” said Clutterbuck.

“The players that we have here right now and the core players that we have and the people who are not having a good year, this will give them an opportunity to get back where they think they should be,” Lamoriello said. “But as far as the fans this is without question an indication to them that we believe in the group.”

Lamoriello stated that he had spoken to Chara and Greene, and both indicated their preference was not to be traded at the deadline, so they remained with the team and finished their careers on Long Island. Varlamov was retained and then signed a four-year extension this past summer.

2022-23: First Horvat, then Engvall

The Islanders had already made their major acquisition by the time the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline was approaching. Lamoriello went out and traded for Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat in a deal that sent a 2023 1st-round pick, Anthony Beauvillier, and Aatu Raty, to Vancouver. The Islanders then quickly signed Horvat to an eight-year extension before he stepped onto the ice for his first practice with the team following the All-Star Break.

Despite losing Mathew Barzal in mid-February due to a knee injury, the team was playing some of it's best hockey heading into the deadline and were in the mix for the two Wild Card spots. That led to Lamoriello making one more deal to round out the forward group, acquiring Pierre Engvall from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2024 third round pick.

"We’re extremely pleased,” Lamoriello said after the trade. “Pierre is a very versatile player. He’ll bring a dimension that he can play any one of the forward positions and probably his biggest asset is his skating ability. He’s got a long reach being 6 [foot]-5, 220 [pounds]."

The added depth helped the Islanders finish with 93 points and return to the playoffs as the first Wild Card team, but they lost in six games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.

Lamoriello has shown that when he trades for a player, he does so with the present and future in mind. Engvall did enough to impress while playing with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri during the regular season to earn a seven-year, $21M contract in the summer.