Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello makes no more moves at trade deadline
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello watches practice at the Northwell Health Ice Center at Eisenhower Park on Sept. 23, 2021. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
Lou Lamoriello likely spent the hours leading into Friday’s NHL trade deadline seeing if he could add to the Islanders’ defense depth.
But the president and general manager made no further deals after acquiring top-line center Bo Horvat from the Canucks on Jan. 30 and versatile forward Pierre Engvall, who will play against the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena after his trade from the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Lamoriello held on to three impending free agents in left wing Zach Parise, defenseman Scott Mayfield and goalie Semyon Varlamov. The Islanders could lose all three this offseason for no return, but with his team in playoff contention, Lamoriello clearly indicated he was not a seller.
Lamoriello did not address the media on Friday.
So the Islanders have their group for the playoff push over their final 18 games.
“I think both are great adds,” Mayfield said of Horvat and Engvall. “They both bring a lot of speed to the lineup. They’re big guys. You see Bo on the puck, he’s hard to get the puck off of. Pierre has always been tough to play against. He’s got speed that you don’t see in bigger guys like that.”
The Islanders expect third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body), who will miss his ninth game Saturday, to return for their playoff push. They also are holding out hope that top-line playmaker Mathew Barzal (suspected knee injury), who will miss his sixth game, can make it back before the end of the season.
Fourth-liner Cal Clutterbuck (upper body), out since Jan. 21, is skating on his own.
The Islanders (31-25-8) are in the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point behind the Penguins, who have played three fewer games. The Sabres are four points behind the Islanders but have played four fewer games.
The Senators and Panthers also are four points behind but have three games and one game in hand, respectively. The Red Wings sit five points back and have played three fewer games.
The Islanders, who went 6-3-3 in February and have been off since Tuesday night’s 2-1 road shootout loss to the Wild, will play the Sabres on Tuesday night and visit the Penguins two days later.
“We know what all the games mean,” coach Lane Lambert said. “All we can do is focus on how we play. We feel like we’ve been playing pretty well. We have to continue to do so, but we know the importance of the games.”
The Islanders missed the playoffs last season after two straight losses to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Lightning in the NHL semifinals.
“The playoff runs, we’re far removed from that, but we’ve really liked the way we’ve played hockey lately,” Kyle Palmieri said. “We know we’re capable of winning games, whether it be 1-0 or 2-1. It’s impossible not to be confident in our two goalies [including Ilya Sorokin] and they’re going to give us a chance to win and be in every game. So it’s up to us to find a way to win.”
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.
