In their last opportunity to show management that they should stick together for at least a few more weeks, the Islanders came up with another dud.
Dominated 4-0 by the crosstown-rival Rangers on Monday — the second time in a week they lost by four goals to the Blueshirts — the Islanders as you know it should be over with the NHL trade deadline looming on Friday afternoon (3 p.m. ET).
The Islanders woke up on Tuesday morning five points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with five teams sitting in between them and that final berth; the Rangers being one of them, as their two wins against Lou Lamoriello’s group over the last week have helped lift them into a tie with the Detroit Red Wings for a playoff spot at 66 points.
Lamoriello, the Islanders’ general manager, has run out of time with this group — and they have received more than enough chances since their back-to-back Stanley Cup semifinal appearances in 2020 and 2021.
The previous three seasons have featured a postseason miss followed by two non-competitive showings against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. All the while, the core has remained virtually unchanged. Thirteen members of the last semifinal team from four years ago are still on the roster.
It has not been enough. Injuries have certainly played their part this season, but this is a team that entered Tuesday night’s matchup with the west-best Winnipeg Jets just one game over NHL .500.
While five points does not seem like a big hole, this is a team that has won four straight games just twice this season — and given some of the names that are missing from the roster (Mathew Barzal, mainly), a hot streak to leapfrog six teams in total over the final month of the season is a longshot.
So, following a night in which they were outshot 14-7 in a third period they entered trailing by only two goals, the for-sale sign should be staked into the front lawn of UBS Arena.
“I think as a group we’re disappointed in ourselves,” forward Kyle Palmieri said. “What kind of message that sends to whoever it is, we’re the guys in the room that control it.”
Palmieri is one of the veterans on expiring contracts that could very well be playing somewhere else come Friday. There are legitimate contenders out there who need a boost up front, and the Islanders are flush with options.
Brock Nelson is still the No. 1 potential name on the trading block — a center who has spent his entire 12-year-career with the Islanders and scored 34 or more goals in each of his previous three seasons. He has 19 goals in 60 games before he hits free agency.
Palmieri is enjoying another strong season in the goal-scoring department during the final year of his deal. Last year, he scored 30 goals for the first time since 2015-16 and has 19 this year.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is signed through next season, is one of the more well-regarded two-way centers in the NHL. A staunch defensive game makes him a plus penalty-killer and he is a reliable face-off man, as well. He has already matched last season’s goal total with 11 in 25 fewer games.
Perhaps Lamoriello will also explore trading his captain, Anders Lee, whose value has experienced a renaissance, of sorts, this year. The 34-year-old left-winger has 23 goals in 60 games this season, which already eclipsed the 20 he put up in 81 last year. He has one year left on his deal and his value will never be this high again.
The Islanders have an opportunity to haul in some considerable assets, especially when it comes to stocking up a bare cupboard that is the prospect pool, because this is a seller’s market.
The Nashville Predators got a second-round pick from the Minnesota Wild for 35-year-old forward Gustav Nyquist, who has just nine goals this season and is on an expiring deal.
The Colorado Avalanche gave up two defensemen and conditional second-and-fourth-round picks to the Rangers for Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey.
While the Islanders can re-stock their warchest, they can also part ways with some integral faces of their franchise, who have constantly professed their love for the organization, with a simple message: If they want to come back, the tide of free agency can always pull them back to Long Island over the summer.
But this is an organization that needs a significant overhaul, and it has long been overdue.
