Islanders’ once-promising offseason has taken a nosedive
After a brief honeymoon period with new general manager Lou Lamoriello, the New York Islanders offseason has gotten off to a horrible start.
The New York Islanders have lacked a sense of direction since the early 1990s. A once proud organization that can boast one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history has fallen to a new low.
The hiring of Lou Lamoriello was supposed to give the Isles some much-needed accountability and structure. Things were looking good at first, as he started wooing former captain John Tavares early in his tenure. Lamoriello even managed to hire Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz. This was supposed to convince Tavares to stay.
However, the former Isles captain is now with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The greatest player the Isles have had since the days of Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy left, and they lost him for nothing.
A promising 2018 NHL Draft had Islanders fans optimistic for the future. And they still should be. But after the first few days of free agency, it appears the honeymoon is over.
Lamoriello entered July 1 armed with more than $25 million in cap space. Usually, it’s not a good idea to make a lot of news early in free agency. Signing Tavares is the exception, not the rule. While the Isles have been making news, it has been for all of the wrong reasons.
The first move Lamoriello made was re-signing defenseman Thomas Hickey. A decent move, but a lateral one at best. Next, Lamoriello signed forward Leo Komarov to help the Isles address their horrible penalty kill. Unfortunately, he got a four-year deal. You don’t give four years to a bottom-six forward who is declining. Somehow, Komarov got a modified no-trade clause too.
Lamoriello knew he needed a center, but lost out on trading for Ryan O’Reilly. Let’s be fair, it probably wasn’t his fault. Lamoriello was operating under the assumption they would re-sign Tavares. O’Reilly got traded to the Blues, who had been talking with the Buffalo Sabres since at least the draft (and likely earlier). The Islanders made a strong late push, but it wasn’t enough.
How did Lamoriello react? He signed center Valtteri Filppula. On paper, his 33 points look decent. But some context is required. 129 forwards played at least 1,000 minutes at five-on-five last season. Filppula finished 126th, behind such names as Brock McGinn, Blake Comeau, Brandon Saad and Milan Lucic.
Isles fans will be quick to point out O’Reilly finished below him on the list. Again, context is necessary. O’Reilly was thrown to the wolves defensively, was deployed primarily in the defensive zone, and was relied on heavily to protect leads. Also, the Sabres scored the fewest goals in the NHL and he got minimal help from his defensemen. And O’Reilly still wound up with more than 50 points.
As scary as Filppula’s lack of production is, his possession numbers are even worse. Among the same 179 forwards with at least 1,000 minutes at five-on-five, no forward had a worse relative CorsiFor percentage than him. Even if you strictly look at goals, Filppula had the second-worst relative Goals For percentage among those forwards.
What about the rest of Lamoriello’s signings? Who else has he added to the Islanders with all of his cap space? Tom Kuhnhackl, Matt Lorito, Christopher Gibson, Seth Helgeson and Mike Sislo. In short, a bunch of depth guys. Kuhnhackl is a decent fourth-line forward, but the last thing the Islanders need is more of those.
After hearing the Leafs were shopping former Islander Matt Martin, surely Lamoriello took on the salary cap dump, right? Nope. In fact, he gave up something — goalie prospect Eamon McAdam. Sure, he probably won’t amount to anything. But how did Lamoriello not know the Leafs were hoping to clear his salary? He was with them as recently as a month ago. Instead of getting an asset, Lamoriello gave up one (albeit a tiny one).
The best addition the Isles have made is goaltender Robin Lehner, who got a one-year $1.5 million deal. He’s a talented goalie for sure. But perhaps there’s a reason Lehner was still around in a weak goaltending market. One in which Petr Mrazek, Cam Ward, Chad Johnson and Carter Hutton had no issues finding a job in.
So where does all of this leave the Islanders? Worse off than when they hired Lamoriello. The Isles don’t have Tavares and haven’t done anything meaningful in free agency other than re-signing Hickey and signing Lehner. They would have been better off doing nothing than acquiring Komarov, Filppula and Martin.
Next: Best hockey player from each state
The offseason is still young. There is still plenty of time for the Isles to improve and address a roster that has multiple significant holes to fill. But it’s hard to see how this offseason could have started worse for the Islanders.