Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has critical offseason ahead to rework his team
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello speaks to the media at the Northwell Health Ice Center on May 3, 2024. Credit: Brad Penner
If Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello is to be taken at his word, there finally will be significant cast changes this offseason to the longest-running show in the NHL. So these final 17 regular-season games, starting Sunday night against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers at UBS Arena, should represent one last hurrah together for some longtime teammates.
Of course, Lamoriello’s comments on March 8 — one day after the NHL trade deadline — that “there will be change this summer” and “we know we have to do more than what just transpired” barely resonated through the dressing room.
“To be honest, that’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Casey Cizikas said when asked by Newsday for his reaction. “I don’t have social media anymore. A lot of those things I don’t find out until later on.”
“I don’t think about that stuff,” Adam Pelech said. “I don’t even have any social media. I try to stay away from any sort of distractions and just focus on what I can control.”
Lamoriello did trade core member Brock Nelson to the Avalanche. Of course, he acknowledged that he tried to re-sign Nelson first and dealt him away only after Nelson rejected the Islanders’ final offer, which Newsday reported was for three seasons with an annual average value of $7.5 million.
Lamoriello acknowledged that the team is working on a contract extension with Kyle Palmieri, Nelson’s former linemate.
Still, Lamoriello said he wants the Islanders to get “younger and better” rather than just accumulating draft picks through trades. He believes the market will be better in the offseason.
Lamoriello likely will consider moving many longtime Islanders if the price is right, including Cizikas, Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Pelech and Scott Mayfield. Ryan Pulock still has a full no-trade clause this offseason, but that might not stop Lamoriello from asking him to waive it if a good deal materializes.
The Islanders are very likely to miss the playoffs this season for only the second time in Lamoriello’s seven seasons.
This group has been together a long, long time, unusual by NHL standards. And now its run is coming to a close. Yet if this is the end for them, there should be some warm memories. The Islanders did not win a Cup, but they did lose to the eventual Cup champion Lightning in the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021. And that’s something.
For the players, particularly those who started with the organization more than a decade ago such as Mayfield, Cizikas, Pelech, Pulock and Lee, the appreciation of these tight-knit friendships will always remain.
“Definitely,” Pelech said. “I tell my friends around the league who have kind of bounced around, I feel really lucky to have kind of had the same group of teammates since I’ve come into the league. We had a few changes the past offseasons with guys like Clutter [Cal Clutterbuck] and Bails leaving. But so many of the guys stayed the same, and that’s rare in this business.”
“It’s pretty rare and it’s something special that we have in here,” Cizikas said. “We want to achieve more as a group and we believe we can still do that. Looking down the line, there’s going to be a lot of memories and special moments we can go over and reminisce on.”
Duclair embracing change
The NHL trade deadline came and went with Anthony Duclair remaining an Islander. That was wholly expected, given that the well-traveled Duclair — playing for his ninth NHL team in 11 seasons — is in the first season of a four-year, $14 million deal that carries a no-trade clause for the first two seasons.
He said he’s tried to make the most of his meandering path.
“It’s not something I wanted, but it’s something that’s happened,” said Duclair, drafted in the third round in 2013 by the Rangers. “I’ve just embraced it, honestly. I’ve just enjoyed every stop I’ve been every time I got traded. The first reaction is a bit of a shock or surprise. But then once it settles in, I’m excited for each and every opportunity. I’m grateful for it, too.
“I’ve made a lot of friendships along the way. You see how each organization is run and living in different cities, having different teams, it’s been fun for me. But now I’m at a stage of my career I want to stay in one place.”
Consider Goring
Butch Goring’s No. 91 proudly hangs at UBS Arena to honor his time with the Islanders, which, of course, included four Stanley Cups.
But, gazing at the rafters at Crypto.com Arena this past week just a day after the 45th anniversary of his trade to the Islanders, it felt fair to wonder why Goring’s No. 19 does not hang alongside the Los Angeles Kings’ other retired numbers: Rob Blake (4), Marcel Dionne (16), Dave Taylor (18), Luc Robitaille (20), Dustin Brown (23), Rogie Vachon (30) and Wayne Gretzky (99).
Butch Goring was a standout with the LA Kings. Credit: NHLI via Getty Images/Steve Babineau
Goring spent his first 10-plus NHL seasons with the Kings before being traded to the Islanders on March 10, 1980. At the time of the deal, Goring led the Kings in career goals (275), points (659) and game-winning goals (28). He’s still seventh, ninth and 10th, respectively, in those categories.
No doubt, though, two-time Cup winners Drew Doughty (8), Anze Kopitar (11) and Jonathan Quick (32) will be the next to have their numbers retired by the Kings. And rightfully so.
But Goring should be considered, too.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
