Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello stands pat at trade deadline, expresses confidence in team
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello speaks with the media before a game against the Flyers at UBS Arena on Nov. 25, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
ANAHEIM, Calif. — These are the Islanders.
President/general manager Lou Lamoriello made no moves before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, again showing his trust in a group that has won a season-high five straight games — four in a row in regulation — heading into Sunday night’s game against the also-ran Ducks at Honda Center.
“Our players and our team determined what would happen on a day like this,” Lamoriello said after the 3 p.m. deadline passed quietly for the Islanders. “There’s no question I feel good about who we are, where we are at this point. My intent was certainly not to dismantle in any way whatsoever.
“And then it comes to the next step: Can you get better? We did not feel that we could have upgraded.”
The Islanders (28-20-14), who opened this four-game road trip with a 7-2 win over the toothless Sharks, are four points behind the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and two points behind the Lightning for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot. The Islanders have played two fewer games than both those teams.
The Lightning added to their depth by acquiring forward Anthony Duclair from the Sharks and defenseman Matt Dumba from the Coyotes. The Flyers traded away defenseman Sean Walker for the Avalanche’s first-round pick but then acquired defenseman Erik Johnson from the Sabres.
The Devils, four points behind the Islanders, tried to shore up their goaltending by acquiring Jake Allen from the Canadiens. The second-place Hurricanes, a potential first-round playoff matchup for the Islanders if they can qualify, acquired top-six scoring wing Jake Guentzel from the Penguins.
“The only thing that one can do in this position is do everything they can to make their team better,” Lamoriello said. “You don’t look at what other people are doing and you don’t make a trade for the sake of making a trade.
“And what you have to consider, too, is the chemistry of the team. That’s extremely important.”
The Islanders are 9-5-3 under coach Patrick Roy since he took over for the fired Lane Lambert on Jan. 20.
Their recent play suggests the systematic changes Roy has implemented have been an improvement. Roy said after Thursday’s victory that he would be fine if Lamoriello did not make a trade before the deadline.
“I’m so happy with the way we are playing,” Roy said. “Lou does his things and we have to do our things. I’m very excited about the way the team is playing and that’s all that matters to me.”
For sure, there were opportunities presented to Lamoriello as he spoke with his fellow GMs in advance of the trade deadline. But Lamoriello said he did not want to make a “lateral move.”
He also has retained — for now, at least — the Islanders’ first-round pick in this summer’s draft. The Islanders have not picked in the first round since 2019 as Lamoriello has used those picks to acquire core players Jean-Gabriel Pageau — his last deadline-day acquisition in 2020 — Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and defenseman Alexander Romanov.
“It’s always nice to have your first pick,” Lamoriello said. “But if our first pick would have done something for us like it has done in the past, we would have done that.”
Lamoriello said defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, acquired from the Blues on Dec. 8 for a seventh-round pick and out since Jan. 4 with a lower-body injury, will rejoin the group “in the next several days.”
Lamoriello also said there had been no discussions regarding contract extensions.
Forwards Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck and defensemen Sebastian Aho, Mike Reilly and Bortuzzo are pending unrestricted free agents.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
