The clock is ticking with the trade deadline looming.
Know this about Lou Lamoriello, the Islanders’ president of hockey operations: No one will tell him what to do, including Islanders owners Jon Ledecky and Steve Malkin. With the Friday trade deadline around the corner, he’ll decide whether the Islanders should add or sell off his players.
Lamoriello will not say anything, but he doesn’t have to. His history should tell us how he operates, and to think he will sell is unrealistic.
But it’s not that simple. Watching the Islanders these last few years, including this year, the Islanders hockey czar needs to be realistic about his team. He is being reckless by holding this team together and hoping a miracle can help them make the playoffs and win in the postseason.
From watching the Islanders play this season, forget about making the playoffs. Their problems stem from not having a sniper in a very long time, which explains why their power play (last in the league) has been awful for a long time and why they entered Tuesday night’s game 27th in the league in goals scored. In today’s hockey, if a team does not have a sniper, there’s no chance of winning a playoff series.
Yes, they are in the periphery of the wild-card race mainly because of the points they get for losing in overtime. But it doesn’t make them a playoff team.
When the season started, the hockey wonks picked the Islanders as mediocre teams that missed the playoffs. They wouldn’t be mentioned in the playoff race if they didn’t have the seven-game winning streak. Still, they must leapfrog many teams to get one of the final two Wild Card spots. Does anyone think that’s going to happen?
Of course, Lamoriello will believe in them. He would rather quit his job than give up on them. He is all about winning first; the late George Steinbrenner admired that attribute. But it would not be the right thing to do. This Islanders team should have been rebuilding since two years ago. It’s time to get younger to play today’s hockey by being built on speed and skill rather than just grit.
We have seen the Islanders get outmatched against skating teams such as the defending Stanley Cup champion, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. We saw the last two cameo playoff appearances by the Islanders, who were ousted in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in the previous two years.
Maybe Lamoriello believes the Islanders have a chance against anyone, but Islanders fans don’t. Fans know the score of this team. They know their team is not good enough. Watching them go down in the first round again would be tiring if it weren’t already.
After an awful 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, the Islanders made it easy for Lamoriello to finally give up on his players and start the process of rebuilding. We saw this same roster for years. It’s insanity to expect different results from this group.
The Islanders are in nowhere land. They are not a great team, and they are not a bad team, either. Being mediocre is going nowhere.
Yes, there’s no guarantee the Islanders will succeed in rebuilding, as the San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres are demonstrating, but staying the course isn’t the solution, either. Islanders fans want to see some action. They are tired of watching this team.
After watching Tuesday night’s game, there’s no reason to watch this team anymore this season, and there was never a reason to watch them in the first place. It was the worst performance of the season, with the Islanders generating nothing offensively, and then Ilya Sorokin imploded. That sums up the team’s season right there.
The Islanders have no answers. After 57 games at 25-25-7, this is who the Islanders are. Lamoriello can stand pat and hope for a miracle. Another option is for ownership to assess Lamoriello’s future.
It’s time for Lou to step down. This game has passed him by. His drafting has been poor . Dobson and Holmstrom has been the only two players who made it to the Isles.He failed to sign Taveras, Panarin,Necas, and others.Plus giving ridiculous contracts to players.
Thanks for reading and responding, Bob. I appreciate it you checking in.
Lou should have been gone a few years ago. He served his purpose here. He did a fine job creating stability and bringing order to an organization that needed it badly. He also deserves credit for his work in building that sparking UBS Arena. But sports are about what have you done for me lately, and these last few years have been uninspiring for the reasons you stated.
It’s frustrating Lou rather be mediocre rather than just start all over again since he does not have the stomach for rebuilding at his age of 82.
The Islanders need a succession plan when you look at Lou’s age, and this team has really need to start over from the ground up for them to move forward here.