Offseason Review: Lamoriello’s Cap Magic Has Made Isles Cup Contenders
This summer for Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders was all about keeping the band together.
The Islanders came into the offseason pressed right up against the salary cap, but, as always, Lamoriello worked his magic and found a way to make it all work out. Their only additions were league-minimum deals to a pair of veterans while the focus otherwise was on getting players already on the roster locked up to new contracts.
The pesky Islanders, who have reached the Conference Final in back-to-back seasons only to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning, are locked and loaded and ready to take another stab at getting over the hump.
They’ll have a bit of an uphill climb, though, as the Islanders won’t play at home until their 14th game of the season when their new $1.1 billion stadium at Belmont Park is ready.
What happened in 2021?
Despite a poor start to the season, which was highlighted by an ugly five-game losing streak in late January, the Islanders pulled themselves together and grabbed the fourth spot in the East Division standings.
The East was a top-heavy division in 2021, with perennial contenders like the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at the top of the standings. A couple of months in, the Islanders found themselves in the mix with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers jockeying for the fourth spot in the division.
The Islanders pulled off a big nine-game winning streak in March at the same time the Flyers and Rangers went sideways and they ultimately grabbed the fourth spot and ran with it.
Come playoff team, New York pulled off an upset over the top-seeded Penguins in the first round and then beat the Bruins in six games in the second round. They then took the Lightning to the limit but wound up getting dropped in Game 7 by a score of 1-0.
At the very least, the season featured a beautiful send-off of Nassau Coliseum.
What did they do in the offseason?
Notable Additions: Zdeno Chara, Zach Parise, Richard Panik.
Notable Subtractions: Jordan Eberle, Nick Leddy, Travis Zajac, Braydon Coburn.
The Islanders moved on from a couple of veterans in order to free up salary cap room over the summer.
They left Jordan Eberle exposed in the Expansion Draft and the Seattle Kraken happily picked him up. They also dealt Nick Leddy to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Richard Panik and a second-round pick.
New York didn’t make many additions over the summer. The two players they signed were a pair of veterans who came in at the league minimum. There’s Zach Parise, a player who Lamorellio knows well from his time in New Jersey, and there’s also Zdeno Chara, who’s back with the Islanders after a 20-year absence.
Rather than bringing new players in, New York priority was getting everyone from their successful last two seasons signed to new deals.
Casey Cizikas signed a six-year deal with a microscopic $2,500,000 cap hit, a pair of restricted free agents, Anthony Beauvillier and Ilya Sorokin, got three-year bridge deals, and Kyle Palmieri, who was acquired ahead of the trade deadline, got a four-year contract.
The biggest play for Lamorellio was getting his top defensive pairing inked long-term. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock both got eight-year contracts at a combined cap hit of $11,900,000. That’s pretty tidy business when Seth Jones pulls $9,500,000 annually.
What to expect in 2021-22?
The Islanders will move back to the very, very competitive Metro Division in 2021-22, arguably the deepest in hockey.
They’ll be competing with aforementioned perennial contenders Pittsburgh and Washington, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season. The Flyers and Devils also got better over the summer and the Rangers boast a wealth of young talent. The only weak spot here is Columbus.
Despite that difficult competition, the Islanders might be the team to beat here. They’ve continually proved everybody wrong in the Barry Trotz era with their rock-solid defence, timely scoring, and elite goaltending, and there’s no reason to believe that’ll change.
While losing Eberle and Leddy is unfortunate, there are internal options who could step up and make a difference. A pair of former top picks, Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson, appear ready to take on larger roles and become key contributors.
One bold prediction…
The Islanders finally get over the hump and reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2022.
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