Islanders Can't Rebuild Even If They Wanted To
Long-term deals and no trade clauses make a full tear down unrealistic.
When things don’t go well for an NHL organization, the word rebuild often gets thrown around. Unfortunately, The New York Islanders are stuck even if upper management no longer believes in the group behind closed doors.
It wasn’t a part of the plan to not even be in the Eastern Conference wild card picture with just days to go until the trade deadline. But there’s no turning back now, as the decisions in the last year or so take rebuilding out of the question.
Nothing But Term And No Trades
This includes the Islanders completing long-term deals for homegrown stars Mathew Barzal and Ilya Sorokin. That was followed up by then trading and giving out another big contract to Bo Horvat. As general manager and president Lou Lamoriello is met with a tough decision, whether to buy or sell at the March 8 trade deadline, all three of those players likely aren’t going anywhere.
Captain Anders Lee has a full no-trade clause that does not become limited until July. Also, defensemen Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield, and Adam Pelech have full no-trade protection. Good luck moving them too. Plus, a total of 10 players have at least some say in where their destination is if Lamoriello wants to move any of them to another area code.
What the Islanders Should Do
It’s a mess on Long Island – but it’s not entirely hopeless. The Islanders can’t rebuild – but they can still cash in on a retool and try to fix the team in the near future. The move between now and the trade deadline should be to retool. This means you move non-superstar, above-average older hockey players and snag future assets for them.
Forwards including Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Kyle Palmieri all fit the profile of what could be valuable to trade deadline buyers. Particularly, Nelson can bring the Islanders back a haul, as he has another season left on his deal after this one at a $6 million cap hit. We compared a potential return to the Matt Duchene trade to the Ottawa Senators in a three-team deal in 2017 when the Colorado Avalanche got back two prospects, as well as first, second, and third-round picks. If the Islanders make Nelson available, there should be big demand for the top six center’s services.
Pageau, on the other hand, is a little trickier. Teams probably know the bottom six-center isn’t worth $5 million per season. However, the Islanders might be able to entice interested parties by retaining some salary. Keep in mind they would be responsible for money on the books for the next two seasons after this one.
While Palmieri hasn’t quite lived up to his $5 million cap hit, he’s starting to heat up. In his last game against the Boston Bruins, he registered a hat trick. He has five points in his last two games. Overall, Palmieri has 37 points in 60 games this season. The Islanders may have to retain some salary on the Long Island native, who has another year left on his deal after this season.
But the question is will the front office do what’s necessary? Or will they let their recent three-game winning streak blind them with the hope this group can go on another postseason run?
Lamoriello’s history will tell you the second option is more likely. Plus, the 81-year-old executive told reporters recently in St. Louis that he still believes in the team he has built, according to Newsday.
“It’s only in recent years that ‘buyers and sellers’ have come out,” Lamoriello said. “Now it’s become something prevalent in sports where you think you’re going to be able to use it as a reason to bleed and try and reload. I’m not a believer in that. If there are players that are not in your plans, then you have to look at something like that if you felt you weren’t going to have a chance to be in the playoffs.”
But nothing positive will come out of just barely making the playoffs again and getting booted in the first round. Realistically, the Islanders have accomplished all they could with its core of players and it’s time for a little bit of a shake-up. Retool the team and reload for either next year or the 2025-2026 season. But a full-blown rebuild isn’t happening. And retooling doesn’t mean you can’t remain competitive in the process.