Calling into Question
Some of you are casting doubt on Lou's plan
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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
On July 1st, my wife scheduled a family day with friends on Long Island’s Atlantic Beach (toll is now $3!). Upon learning of this, I calmly pointed out this was the first day of NHL free agency, and there could be a frenzy of activity. I couldn't be expected to be lugging coolers, digging holes, and chasing a toddler all day.
My wife, the non-hockey fan, calmly countered, “Yea, but don’t you always say the Islanders never announce anything until September?”
I was silenced. I was defeated. To the beach, we went.
All I have to say is that I’m glad July 1st is on a Monday next year.
Lou Lamoriello deserves the benefit of the doubt. Right? Right….?
If he doesn't, after 40 years as a hockey executive and three-time Stanley Cup Champion, who would? Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped a steady amount of criticism from coming around the league, including from those inside Islanders circles, about how he went about his business on July 1st.
Lamoriello achieved his stated primary objective of retaining all of his priority free agents this summer, but it came at the expense of jaw-dropping term for defenseman Scott Mayfield (7 years), forward Pierre Engvall (7 years), and backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov (4 years).
In typical Lamoriello fashion, he made a move that nobody saw coming. Even if some understand the thinking and like the players the Islanders retained, the length of the contracts took a B or B+ signing down to a C or D for them, such as these post-trades grades from The Athletic:
Ironically, his longest July 1st is regarded as his best, locking up Vezina Finalist Ilya Sorokin to an eight-year extension that starts after next season. That move has received high marks all around; Sorokin is just THAT good.
Meanwhile, others wondered why the Isles were playing the long game with their free agents while teams were focused on signing short, modest contracts for players that have a track record of producing. That list includes Matt Duchene with Dallas (1 year, $3M), Max Pacioretty to Washington (1 year, $2M + performance bonuses), or D John Klingberg signing with Toronto for 1 year/$4.15M.
Instead, the Islanders played it safe in some ways by bringing back known quantities and were risky in others by giving out term double the length those players would've received anywhere else. The deals have the Islanders up against the cap yet again and have them being criticized for “running it back” with mostly the same team for another go. Though that last part is not really true, more on that in a bit.
Is the bar too low for Lamoriello?
Seeing the majority of fans applauding the deals led to former VP of Communications Chris Botta asking, "Why is the bar so low in Islanders Country?"
Are fans, to a degree, satisfied with where the organization is overall compared to where it was? Are they comfortable with a roster that is likely good enough to compete for the playoffs but not contend for a Stanley Cup?
It's tough to say.
Given the alternatives, many fans believe the moves made on July 1st were in the best interest of the organization in the short and long term, beyond what any one-year deal for a veteran could bring to the roster.
If Lamoriello had signed any of those players at the expense of Mayfield or Engvall, I'm not too certain they would be better next season. Plus, with one-year contracts, the team would need to spend more to retain those players or have to spend in a market flush with cash next summer when the cap goes up.
Maybe fans are applauding that the team didn’t get worse when that was a distinct possibility as free agency opened.
Are the Islanders Retooling?
The debate as to whether this team should rebuild or retool last January was a fair one, they were on the outside of the playoff picture, they weren’t scoring, were dealing with injuries, and have veterans as pending UFAs. That all ended when Lamoriello traded and extended Bo Horvat. The team wasn’t going to rebuild. In fact, they were never entertaining the thought of it.
This is a retool. It’s just not unfolding the way we thought it would last winter. The Islanders didn’t trade off their assets for draft picks, clear cap space, and target a top-tier free agent. Instead, they acquired Horvat and Engvall and locked them both up long-term.
The narrative surrounding the team is that things are stagnant. No one ever leaves (or is allowed to leave) the Island! Yet, if you look at the opening night roster from last season and compare it to the current one, you’ll see that there is no Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier, Nikita Soshnikov, or Robin Salo.
This year, you’ll presumably see a full season of Bo Horvat playing with Mathew Barzal, see if the Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri chemistry has longevity, and watch if Oliver Wahlstrom can (finally) break out. Plus, a more mature Alexander Romanov, a healthy Adam Pelech, and, well, Sorokin being Sorokin. Things are also set up for the Identity Line to have a new identity soon.
The Isles roster has changed - maybe not as much as some desired, but more importantly, it’s better than it was for most of last season, and while they did barely make the playoffs last year, it happened during a season where a whole lot went wrong. All that and Lane Lambert should be better behind the bench as well. This can be a 100-point team again.
What’s Next?
The pursuit of Senators star winger Alex DeBrincat is this year’s more complicated version of Nazem Kadri, with “smoke” being substantiated by numerous reports. Though for a few reasons, the fanbase is more primed to be disappointed this time around. DeBrincat won’t sign long-term with Ottawa and maybe only willing to do so with a handful of teams.
One of them is rumored to be his hometown Detroit Red Wings, who have freed up the necessary cap space to extend the two-time 40-goal scorer to an $8 x $8.75M number he and his agent are reportedly demanding. The Islanders would almost certainly need to trade JG Pageau and then make another move to fit DeBrincat into their plans for this season and beyond, something we don’t know if he’s even willing to commit to.
The signing of Julien Gauthier to a two-year, one-way contract put the Islanders even more firmly up against the cap, and Wahlstrom, an RFA, is yet to sign. Certainly, the front-office brass has thought through contingencies, and there are ways to shed some salary off the roster, including sending Simon Holmstrom down to Bridgeport and waiving Ross Johnston. But perhaps, a bigger move is still to be made, a move that would answer questions and quell doubts for those of you that still have plenty of them.
Stay tuned, things aren’t waiting for September this time. If you go to the beach this summer, there’s a chance you may miss something.
Coming up, the Isles are parting ways with the AHL’s top goal-scorer, and it’s back-to-back for Zach Parise in collecting Islanders awards. Plus, the Islanders prospect pool is shallow, Brock is back playing pick-up hockey, and it’s been one year since the Lou landed Romy.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders continue to make moves that may or not be signaling that there are more to come. After signing three depth forwards on Wednesday, the team placed veteran forward Andy Andrehoff on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
The 32-year-old had a massive season in Bridgeport in 2022-23, scoring 37 goals and 28 assists in 69 games. He finished the season red-hot, tallying 13 goals in the team's final 15 games. The 37 goals were a career-best for Andrehoff, who captured the Willie Marshall Award as the American Hockey League's (AHL) leading goal scorer.
If last season didn't give present Andrehoff, who plays center, an opportunity to make the Islanders out of training camp this season, it's understandable if this was a mutual decision between the player and organization to provide an opportunity for Andrehoff to catch on somewhere else.
Parise wins Bob Nystrom Award (again)
Two years with the Isles and two Bob Nystrom Awards for Zach Parise
Parise was the favorite to win the award for the second consecutive season after the 38-year-old played in all 82 games for the second year in a row, scoring 21 goals in his 18th NHL season.
Per the team's press release, he is the fourth Islander to win the award multiple times, joining Matt Martin, Claude Lapointe, and Casey Cizikas.
Whether or not Parise returns for his third Islanders season and 19th in the NHL is up to him. Lamoriello has made it clear that there will be a spot on the roster for him if he decides to come back, and Parise has stated that he will either play on Long Island next season or retire.
The team expects to know soon what Parise has decided.
If he does retire, they'll have to replace not only his 20+ goals but all the intangibles he brought to the lineup every night throughout the season in two memorable years with the Islanders.
🤩 HE’S A BEAUTY: Islanders center Brock Nelson will be returning to Da Beauty League this summer, but this time as an All-Star. The Minnesota-based league was established in the Fall of 2015 by local business people in an effort to bring professional hockey to Minnesota on a year-round basis. It’s basically a glorified pick-up game for NHL players and other professionals in the off-season.
📚 SOUND SMART: It’s challenging to build a formidable prospect pool when trading high draft picks year after year. Without a selection in the first round the past four years, the lack of quality prospects has caught up with the NY Islanders.
Near the bottom of the Team Strength Rankings by Byron Bader of Hockey Prospecting, Bader's chart has the Isles prospect pool ranked 31st in the NHL.
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On July 7, 2022, the Islanders acquired 22-year-old defenseman Alexander Romanov from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. In his first season on Long Island, he scored two goals and 20 assists in 76 games, delivering the thundering ope hits the Habs fans promised us he’d make when the trade was announced.
🔗 What the Julien Gauthier signing suggests about the scoring-needy Islanders’ plans by Ethan Sears, New York Post “By signing Gauthier to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $787,500, the Islanders took their available salary-cap space down to $299,167 and signed a 22nd player to a one-way deal. The Islanders need cap dollars. The Islanders have just spent what amounts to all of their cap dollars. And they have done so to bring in Julien Gauthier.”
🔗 If Islanders Move Pageau, There's Only One Free Agent Replacement, Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “If the Islanders do make a trade to upgrade their roster using Pageau, the hole he would leave behind would be massive. But one free agent centerman still available could fill the hole to a tee. His name is Jonathan Toews.”
And we leave you with this…in honor or Zach Parise winning his second consecutive Bobby Nystrom, hear from Mr. Islander himself and other winners on what the award means to them and the organization
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I really don't agree with the idea that they 'stood pat' simply because they made their biggest impact move in February instead of July. They added a major piece, potentially a top line center and on top of that they also added an additional top 9 forward. I would like them to add someone to this current group, but would the tenor be the same if they just signed Horvat and Engvall now instead of re-signing them and then extending them. The team was markedly better after they were added and most of that was without Barzal.
The core is old and slow. The team missed the play-offs then made them and went out in the first round. Lamoriello and his stand pat defensive system are outdated losers. The owners seem not interested in building a long term Cup contender. They just hope to get in and hope again that lightning strikes in the play-offs. Steve Cohen recently said "Hope is not a strategy." All they have to do is look across the Hudson and copy the Devils approach. They've had chances to avoid a major NJ like rebuild but stuck with "I never rebuild Lou". They ignore that Lou left the Devils with no prospects and a non-descript team. Malkin and Ledecky are responsible for letting a faded GM do whatever he wants. Now the Isles have little that would bring back a lot in a deal and no top prospects.