New York Islanders: 5 burning questions for 2018-19 season

The New York Islanders have a lot of uncertainty right now, as they must deal with these five burning questions.

The New York Islanders are undergoing an offseason full of change and turnover. It all started when they removed general manager Garth Snow and head coach Doug Weight from their respective roles. The Islanders replaced the duo with Lou Lamoriello and Stanley Cup-winning head coach Barry Trotz, respectively.

These moves were done to try to convince captain John Tavares to sign long-term. However, the mistakes made by Snow, which included not trading him in the first place, were too much. Tavares wound up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his childhood team.

The Islanders have since shifted focus to try to fix other issues. But have they done enough to contend for a Stanley Cup? The Islanders have made it past the second round just once in the past 25 years. It’s worth noting they have to keep their fan base engaged and interested since they’ll be moving to Belmont shortly.

Entering the 2018-19 season, the Islanders face a number of questions. However, these are their five most important.

5. Can Barry Trotz save another franchise?

Barry Trotz is great at saving franchises. For starters, he coached the Nashville Predators for over 15 seasons and got them on the right path to greatness. Despite operating with limited resources, he made them consistently competitive.

When Trotz came to the Washington Capitals, he saw a team desperately needing structure. He provided that for them. And though Trotz’s road to the Stanley Cup certainly wasn’t straight, eventually, he led the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. He helped resurrect Alex Ovechkin’s career as well, helping him return from two slumps (2013-14 and 2016-17) to return to the top where he belongs.

Now Trotz faces his toughest challenge yet. The Islanders are a team completely devoid of accountability. They have a losing culture. It’s up to Trotz to change that. And he’ll have to do it with a team much different than the recent Capitals teams he coached. There’s no Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen, or Braden Holtby to help him out.