LAS VEGAS — News of Mikhail Sergachev being traded to Utah broke here in the desert just before 9 a.m. With deals still to be finalized for players like Nikolaj Ehlers and Rutger McGroarty and players like Jake Guenzel and Steven Stamkos potentially becoming free agents on Monday, there could be more excitement in the coming days.
But the Islanders remained at the low end of the table for the time being.
For the Islanders, who decided to stick with the status quo on Day 2 of the draft and selected five players as planned, the only thing that seems clear is that making the changes Lou Lamoriello promised on breakup day won’t be that easy.
“It depends on what’s available, what we can do,” Lamoriello said on the Sphere floor after the draft. “I’m not taking back what I said. I’m fully willing to change it. But it’s a cliché to just do it and not do it, and I hate to even say that. But it might take some time. It’s not something I’m rushing into.”
“If there are changes that are in our favor, we will implement them. We are committed to winning. That’s the bottom line.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Lamoriello is saying the Islanders don’t want to give up assets to clear the cap, at least not without knowing for sure that it will ultimately be profitable.
The Islanders aren’t about to part with a player they don’t value in Oliver Wahlstrom either. Lamoriello said the team plans to acquire Wahlstrom as a restricted free agent and won’t lose him for nothing.
“If you give him a chance, it didn’t work out. [we will]”But we’re not just going to let him go,” Lamoriello said. “He’s still a hockey player.”
Looking at their cap sheet, they have $5.65 million in space due to go into free agency, not including qualifying offers that must be extended by Monday at 5 p.m. (Lamoriello didn’t say whether all four of the team’s restricted free agents will be eligible), so it’s clear that as things stand, the Islanders don’t have the luxury of making a major player in free agency.
The only way the Islanders can make a difference beyond a bottom-six or bottom defense pairing is to either acquire a player via trade or free up cap space.
This summer is shaping up to be more eventful than the past two years, but the Islanders have opted to be conservative in a draft that gives them the opportunity to make some explosive moves.
There are plenty of people in this city who can tell you firsthand that going all in isn’t always the best move, and the Islanders could benefit from restructuring their prospect pool, especially if players like Cole Yzerman, Jesse Pulkkinen and Kamil Bednarik (the team’s first-round pick and two second-round picks, respectively) pan out.
Lamoriello was pleased with the product of the draft, which included two goalies and defenseman Xavier Weill as the team’s final sixth-round pick, and was pleased that Yzerman and Bednarik will be joining Boston University coach Jay Pandolfo this fall.
But it was significant that Lamoriello said extensions to existing contracts (Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov are eligible July 1) were “not a focus right now.”
“No disrespect meant to those guys,” he said. “I think right now I’m just focused on putting this team in the best situation to win.”
Change will be a process.
There is still a chance that things could improve in the coming days.
