NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 8-Sept. 8. Today, the New York Islanders.
The New York Islanders are eager for the chance to prove the critics wrong.
They had a relatively quiet offseason after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017-18, but from the point of view of general manager Lou Lamoriello, prospective trades would not have made them better than the core that reached the third round of the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The belief is the goalie tandem (Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov), five solid defensemen no older than 29, a 37-goal scorer at first-line center and a rugged fourth line is enough to compensate for being the only team yet to sign an unrestricted free agent.
For the underachieving Islanders (37-35-10), the answers must come from within to compete in the Eastern Conference, where eight teams (four from the Metropolitan Division) had at least 100 points last season. Although Lamoriello said with culpability there’s no disappointment, otherwise there would have been drastic changes, there was also confidence about “getting back at it and maybe proving everybody wrong.”
“Everybody gets better, either by addition or internally,” Lamoriello told NHL.com. “In our case, at this point, internally is where we have to get better. We did add, in my opinion, a top-five defenseman, a left-hand shot we needed, and we feel very good about that. We have to compete against ourselves more than worry about what the other people are doing.”
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That top-five defenseman is Alexander Romanov, a 22-year-old acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on July 7 for the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Romanov (three years), emerging defenseman Noah Dobson (three years) and forward Kieffer Bellows (one year) each signed a contract Aug. 22. Center Brock Nelson is back after scoring an NHL career-high 37 goals. Captain Anders Lee scored 28 goals in 76 games after the forward had ACL surgery in March of 2021.
“When you look at Anders, he’s coming off a very serious year-ending injury that you don’t come back and heal from in a short period of time,” Lamoriello said, “so I think you’ll see a better Anders Lee.” this year on the ice. As far as Brock, he’s gotten better and better every year. He doesn’t think about scoring. He thinks about winning, so whatever his statistics are … it’s just the wins and when you get the points “
Although the Islanders need offense after averaging 2.79 goals per game last season, tied with the Buffalo Sabers for 22nd in the NHL, they will not give up an identity established in the previous four. New York’s average of 2.56 goals against per game since 2018-19 is second behind the Boston Bruins (2.52).
“Our team is built a certain way,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t apologize for it. I believe in it. It starts with our goaltending, goes through our defense. I’m a goal-differential type of a person. You win hockey games by scoring more goals. It doesn’t any matter how many, it’s differential that allows that to happen.”
Video: Top 15 Ilya Sorokin Saves from the 2021-22 Season
Asked to put it all together is new coach Lane Lambert, promoted May 16 after four seasons as an associate to Barry Trotz. Lambert was also a Trotz assistant for 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals, the 2018 Stanley Cup champions. The Islanders were 2-1-0 when Lambert coached from Jan. 1-17 with Trotz in NHL COVID-19 protocol and attending his mother’s funeral in Dauphin, Manitoba, an unsettling portion of the season due to attendance restrictions in Canada-based cities and a postponed game at the Seattle Kraken.
“A lot of familiarity there,” Bellows said. “When he took over during that time, he did a fantastic job.”
Lambert built a reputation as a great communicator with a human touch tailored for the modern athlete, coaching Milwaukee of the American Hockey League from 2007-11, clinching four straight Calder Cup playoff berths and two West Division titles. How soon he transitions to NHL coach is one of many dynamics facing the Islanders, but if you ask one of his former players, there will be a lot of motivation to try.
Because Trotz was fired May 9 and Lamoriello put the Islanders on notice, they have no choice.
“I would run through a wall for Lane,” said Blake Geoffrion, a Milwaukee forward from 2010-12 and grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Geoffrion. “He has a really good feel for what each individual player needs to get him to play at their top level. I think these guys will get behind him full force. Hopefully, the entrepreneurial mind that Lane has will bring some new concepts and ideas to the table, leveraging who he has on his roster.”
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