First things first: Lou Lamoriello will return as the Islanders’ president and general manager next season, and Patrick Roy will return as head coach.
In other words, the owners aren’t going to burn down the house after failing to win a playoff series for three straight seasons.
But on Friday’s team breakup, Lamoriello, for the first time in a while, seemed open to the idea that some changes were needed for the Islanders.
“First of all, change is inevitable,” Lamoriello said. “Looking at the roster, it’s clear we’re going to have some young players coming in that demand more ice time. And we’ll make whatever changes we need to make to get better. We’re happy with where we are right now. Do you do it? Absolutely not.
“But we’re going to make whatever changes we can to make this team a better team.”
The Islanders have eight free agents, five of whom are unrestricted.
That includes longtime stalwarts Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, both of whom made it clear Friday they want to play in the 2024-25 season, but there are no plans for the Islanders to bring them back. It’s not very clear whether there is.
Coach Lamoriello declined to say whether he intended to re-sign the pair, but the decision was about winning and loyalty to the duo that has been synonymous with the franchise for the better part of a decade. He emphasized that it is not.
“We’re going to make whatever decision is in the best interest of the team to be successful,” he said. “We need to take personal circumstances out of the equation. We certainly value loyalty, but we cannot allow it to hinder progress. Therefore, we must take personal circumstances out of the equation.” It will be.”
Please don’t misinterpret it. The messages from Roy’s co-reporters were generally positive.
Both players took encouragement from the way the Islanders rallied to make the playoffs. Lamoriello feels a better training camp and season under Roy will make a difference, and like many players, Roy sees the five-game series against the Hurricanes as proof in favor of the current group. He pointed out that it was a close battle.
However, there has been a notable shift in tone compared to the past, when group steadfastness was more accommodating.
“Nothing is sacred,” Lamoriello said. “There’s nothing we can’t do. But he needs two people to make these changes, and when the opportunity arises, they will be changed appropriately. But we will make changes just for the sake of change.” I have no intention of doing so.”
The draft won’t be complete until the end of June, so it’s too early to do more than speculate about what that actually means.
The Islanders still need to conduct internal exit interviews, and Lamoriello can’t say whether Bridgeport’s assistant coaches or AHL staff will return for another year, much less give a general idea of how the franchise will approach the summer. It is not possible.
A goal the Islanders haven’t been able to successfully accomplish since opening UBS Arena in 2021 is giving fans a Stanley Cup contender worthy of a gleaming new building.
And those making the decisions still seem to believe the Islanders are closer to it than not.
“It doesn’t feel good to be short,” Roy said. “But at the same time, watching the team grow and play has definitely motivated me to be even more prepared for next year.
“There were a lot of positives this season. The resiliency the players had, the way we ended the year, the push we made to get to the playoffs and the way we played in the playoffs. So I think this summer will be a good time to think about how we want to approach training camp, how we want to prepare, and what we want to do to have a strong year.”
