When Lou Lamoriello took over as the New York Islanders general manager (GM) following captain John Tavares’ departure, he created an identity on Long Island. This identity became a well-structured, tight-knit team rooted in defense, responsibility, and most importantly, loyalty. He achieved this loyalty through long-term contracts with no-trade clauses and in return, he received two deep playoff runs.
While Lamoriello has made two significant betrayals, such as moving on from Barry Trotz as head coach and not protecting Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey at the Seattle Kraken’s Expansion Draft, he has been excruciatingly loyal, arguably to the Islanders’ demise. On the contrary, the Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon built his team by exploiting fellow GM’s blunders and created a no-nonsense, everyone-is-available environment. He has a Stanley Cup ring on his hand to show for it. If Lamoriello is going to lead the Islanders to success in his final chapters, he will need to take a lesson from McCrimmon’s book.
Golden Knights’ Trade Model
Since joining the NHL, the Golden Knights have been absolutely ruthless to their players. They made a handful of deals prior to the Expansion Draft to bring in draft capital in exchange for taking on “bad” contracts. From there, they made the 2018 Stanley Cup Final and established themselves as serious Stanley Cup contenders.
They proceeded to add elite talents such as Alex Pietrangelo, Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, and Jack Eichel to play with their core of Jonathan Marchessault, Marc-Andre Fleury, Reilly Smith, Nate Schmidt, and Shea Theodore. However, once each of these players was no longer integral to the team, they were shipped out, even the fan favorites.
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Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks, Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes. Additionally, Marchessault, not offered the contract he sought before entering free agency, signed with the Nashville Predators.
Beyond these players, the Golden Knights have consistently cycled through their roster during their brief history. While some former players may be displeased, the team’s on-ice performance speaks for itself, and you won’t find a Golden Knights fan regretting most of the team’s decisions.
Winning a Stanley Cup makes fans forgive the seemingly ruthless decisions, a lesson McCrimmon has shown the NHL. If Lamoriello wants to bring a fifth Stanley Cup to the Islanders, he must follow McCrimmon’s mindset.
What This Means for the Islanders
What this means for the Islanders is very simple. The team must shed its underperforming players on bad contracts. While Anders Lee played a pivotal role in the team’s success as captain following Tavares’ departure, he has not produced on the ice to warrant a $7 million annual average salary.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau was acquired at the 2020 Trade Deadline and immediately became a fan favorite after getting into a fight with the New York Rangers in his first game. However, given his point production, it does not make sense to be paying him $5 million annually to win faceoffs and play on the penalty kill.
While the Pierre-Engvall and Scott Mayfield contracts would not be easy to move, the Islanders should find a way to shed these two deals. If Lamoriello believes in this current core, pairing draft capital or prospects alongside one, or both, of these players to clear their cap hits is worth it.
Obviously, a lot of this is playing through the mindset of an armchair GM. Lamoriello cannot, and will not, go against everything he has represented with the Islanders in an attempt to win a final Stanley Cup in his esteemed career. To ship out a bulk of the current core is unimaginable, but making one final big move this offseason should occur.
With Oliver Wahlstrom electing to go to salary arbitration, the Islanders have the ability to utilize a second buyout window. While adding dead salary to a roster is never ideal, Lamoriello must consider buying out Lee or Pageau if he cannot find trade partners to take on their salaries. There are still a ton of low-risk, high-upside free agents available, and Lamoriello must take a risk to enhance the current roster. If he does not, the Islanders are likely in store for another extra-long summer.
