Islanders rumors: Will there really be change this summer?

Considering where they are in the standings and an increasingly familiar trend of scrambling to sneak into the playoffs, the New York Islanders were supposed to amongst the NHL’s biggest sellers before Friday’s deadline.

They seemed primed and ready on Thursday night when they sent Brock Nelson, one of the best forwards the franchise has had over the last 35 years, to the Colorado Avalanche after failing to come to terms on an extension for the 12-year veteran.

The haul was exactly what the franchise needed: Twenty-year-old center Calum Ritchie immediately becomes a thin farm system’s top prospect. A first-rounder in either 2026 or 2027 provides another avenue to bolster the pipeline, too.

But that momentum ceased immediately after. They were unable to find a deal for Kyle Palmieri and instead, are reportedly trying to work out an extension with him. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, whose name has been a mainstay on the trade market for three years now, did not go, either.

“If we could have gotten younger and better, other than draft picks, we would have done it without question,” Islanders general manager Lamoriello said in a somewhat contrasting statement considering he is trying to bring back 34-year-old Palmieri. “We felt that where a few of our players are — when I say a few, several of our players we could have made moves with — they would be better done at a different time. What we need to infuse in the lineup, those players would be available. That’s a decision we made.”

Now what?

The Islanders woke up Monday morning four points out of a playoff spot, with four teams separating them from the Ottawa Senators, who currently hold the final Wild Card berth in the East.

With 19 games to play, it is not an insurmountable deficit to overcome even with the number of teams sitting ahead of them, but a lot would have to go right to see New York sneak into the playoffs this year.

Consider it a last hoorah for the current core of the franchise, which has been tweaked but not heavily changed since its last of two straight Stanley Cup semifinal appearances in 2021.

At least, that’s what Lamoriello is teasing.

“There will be change this summer,” the Hall-of-Fame executive said. “Until there’s change, you can’t say how much. But I can assure you there will be change.”

Such a matter-of-fact, almost foreboding sentiment is not necessarily new. Back in May after the Islanders were bounced from the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-straight year, Lamoriello ensured that, “We will make whatever changes are necessary to get better. Are we satisfied where we are? Absolutely not. We’ll make whatever changes that we’re able to make to make this a better team.”

The only significant move was the acquisition of Anthony Duclair, who has disappointed in his first season with a team in which he was supposed to its top-line winger. Instead, he was healthy scratched as recently as last week during a stretch that has featured just two goals and zero assists in his last 14 games.

As has been the case for at least three years, though, more has to be done; even if that means trading key veterans like Pageau or team captain Anders Lee. Lamoriello seems to recognize that, but only actions will prove it.