New year, same problems for the New York Islanders
While some teams have had surprisingly good starts to the 2024-25 season, others have struggled in the early going.
One of those teams is the New York Islanders. The team came into this year with plenty of question marks, especially after a quiet offseason where the only notable addition was signing Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract. With the lack of changeover, many problems that plagued the Isles last season have carried over into this year.
There was plenty of off-ice drama involving head coach Patrick Roy and general manager Lou Lamoriello after the Isles signed Matt Martin and recalled Pierre Engvall from the AHL, with some believing Roy threw shade at Lamoriello for the roster decisions.
#Isles HC Patrick Roy was asked about Pierre Engvall postgame:
"We know what he did for this team the past two years, and I guess Lou thought it was a good moment for him to be back and play."
Through eight games, the Islanders are a measly 3-3-2. While they are tied for the eighth-fewest goals allowed in the league (24), they have scored just 21 goals, the least in the Eastern Conference, and tied for third-fewest in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators.
On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Colby Cohen explain the continuing issues that are hindering the Islanders.
Colby Cohen: [For Morning Cuppa Hockey] We reached out to a number of players in and around Long Island–nobody would come and talk about this. We then reached out to media members that cover the New York Islanders on a day-to-day basis. Nobody would come on and talk about this…To me, that tells me there’s you that there’s a story. That tells you everyone is scared about what Lou’s going to think, and is Lou going to retaliate, and how he’s going to react.
When you put all these pieces together…it’s hard to sit here and say that there is not an issue on Long Island and that there’s not a situation brewing that this marriage between Lou Lamoriello and Patrick Roy potentially could be sour.
Frank Seravalli: The fact that those comments were thrown in there…there’s really no comment needed. Given the past history, I’m not going to say it’s nothing.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…