TORONTO — If the Islanders were being led by a general manager without a 40-year history of constant fighting, there would be little doubt they would be on track to sell at the trade deadline.
But Lou Lamoriello has only gone in that direction once in recent memory. The deals were signed in quick succession in February 2016, during his first season as manager of the Maple Leafs.
It's a completely different set of circumstances than the Islanders face, and Toronto has only made the playoffs once in the 10 seasons before Lamoriello took over, and there's always a certain amount of structure in place. They had a young team.
They didn't have much of a nucleus to hold on to, but they've made the playoffs every year since, and the Isles will play for the second time in 10 days on Tuesday in the 2015-16 season, when the team's form was already falling into place. 19-year-old William Nylander made his NHL debut, 21-year-old Morgan Rielly played on top pair for the first time, and Lamoriello set a personal record. He was the Leafs' first draft pick, taking Mitch Marner with the fourth overall pick.
The Leafs' release of 11 players to rival Ottawa in February 2016, including then-captain Dion Phaneuf, helped clear the deck and acquire prospects and draft picks, ending the season at 8. The Leafs moved up in the standings by finishing with 12 wins and 1 loss. Acquires the No. 1 overall pick and the draft rights to Auston Matthews.
Lamoriello justifies the Islanders' moves for Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri in the Phaneuf deal, which sends five players to Ottawa in a four-player package that includes prospect Tobias Lindberg and a 2017 second-round pick. I explained that it is the same method as They are going in March of this year.
“This clearly wasn't the deal for today,” he told reporters, adding that the Leafs “had no choice” but to do something that was too logical to turn down.
While the Islanders don't have as many young forwards to develop as Toronto had in 2016, their group of under-25 defensemen, which includes Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, and Isaiah George, is a solid foundation. There's also Matt Barzal, Bo Horvat and Ilya. Sorokin are all on long-term contracts that basically don't move.
Prospects Cole Yzerman and Danny Nelson (both played for Team USA at the World Junior Championships) also plan to be part of the core someday.
The Islanders are hoping that transition happens without taking a step back, and they still have a chance to make the playoffs this season.
They started Monday with just a five-point lead, but remained in 13th place in the East with a record of 14-16-7. The fact that they're so close to the playoffs has less to do with the Isles doing well than with other teams struggling.
Nelson and Palmieri are both 33 years old and on expiring contracts and would be among the top players Lamoriello could sign at the deadline if he chooses to go in that direction, but both players have 16 He has a no-trade clause with the team, which could limit the Islanders' options.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is under contract through the end of next season, could be equally valuable if the Isles are willing to part with him.
Such a move would represent the biggest disruption to the Islanders' core in Lamoriello's six years as head coach, and a tacit admission that repeatedly favoring the same group of players was a mistake. Become.
Still, unless the Islanders start seeing different results soon, they may have little choice but to take a step back in order to take two steps forward.
It's safe to say that it's not the preferred option.
But Lamoriello has done it once before.
