The transformation of the Islanders under the ownership group led by Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky began to take shape late in the 2017-18 season, when they named Lou Lamoriello as President. Lamoriello would ultimately assume the General Manager duties as well, and then hired Barry Trotz as Head Coach prior to the 2018-19 season.
In year one of the Lamoriello/Trotz regime, the Islanders advanced to the second round of the playoffs, and in year two, the Islanders went on a run to the Eastern Conference Final, before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Year three saw the same result: a loss to the eventual champion Lightning, this time in seven games, in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.
Heading into season four of this Islanders renaissance, the mission statement is simple.
“There’s unfinished business,” said Trotz. “Our unfinished business is we’ve got to take the next step, being it getting to the final or winning a Stanley Cup. Anything below that is going to be considered a failure with probably the group, probably myself and probably the fan base.”
There hasn’t been this much excitement surrounding the Islanders is a very long time.
Given the events of the last 30 years or so, every single member of Islanders Country has to be pinching themselves over where this franchise is at the moment. Not only are the Isles a Stanley Cup contender, but they are also set to move into their brand-new state-of-the-art home when UBS Arena at Belmont Park opens on November 20 with a home game against Calgary.
The 2021-22 season will begin on Thursday night in Carolina, and the Isles will do so with a veteran club that has depth like this group has never seen before.
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“I think we’re happy with our roster,” said Lamoriello. “You try to improve each and every year. We’re a four-line team. This is the deepest team we’ve had here as far as the differential of the talent from top to bottom.”
The Islanders will welcome back Captain Anders Lee, who suffered a season ending knee injury during the regular season and missed the Islanders’ second straight deep playoff run. He’ll be joined on the top line by Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri, the latter of whom was added at the trade deadline using Lee’s salary cap figure thanks to long-term injured reserve (LTIR).
Lee understands that the hype is in place, but the NHL isn’t handing out any trophies on October 14.
“I think the results of the last couple of years I think has given us that positive energy coming into the year,” said Lee who had a team leading 12 goals when his 2020-21 season came to an end. “We take it day by day and game by game. We can’t get to where we want to go right off the bat. We’re looking forward to getting after it.
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Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, and Anthony Beauvillier will once again make up the second line, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau will center a third line that will have Oliver Wahlstrom and free agent acquisition Zach Parise.
Wahlstrom scored twelve goals to go along with nine assists last regular season, and then added a goal and two assists in five playoff games. This year, he’s being looked on to be a big factor for the Islanders throughout the season.
“I’m excited,” said Wahlstrom. “We got a great group this year with a lot of veterans I can lean on. I’m excited going into this year.
The fourth line, otherwise known as the “identity line” of Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck, and Matt Martin will eventually be together. Martin will make the season-opening 13 game road trip, but he won’t be ready for the start of the season because of injury, so his spot will be taken temporarily by Ross Johnston.
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On defense, the core of the blue line is back with Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, Noah Dobson, and Andy Greene. Free-agent acquisition Zdeno Chara is back with the team that drafted him and he’ll round out the Isles’ top six, with Sebastian Aho in the mix as the seventh defenseman. Between the pipes, Semyon Varlamov with start the season on the injured list but is expected to be back soon, so the opening night tandem will be Ilya Sorokin and Cory Schneider.
“We feel really good where we are right now,” said Lamoriello. “We’re excited to get going. We certainly have a veteran team.”
There are a number of so-called “hockey experts” who are picking the Islanders to finish first in the Metropolitan Division, but as the Islanders have shown over the last couple of seasons, you don’t necessarily have to finish in first place to make a deep playoff run. The Isles play a heavy game and treat every game like it’s a playoff game, so with the return of an 82-game schedule, there’s a long way between the start of the season and where the Islanders want to get to.
With expectations through the roof, each game is going to be magnified, but the Islanders know what they have to do.
“There’s going to be a little more pressure because people expect you to do well,” said Trotz. “If you don’t get off to a good start, everybody starts questioning everything. We’re built for the playoffs, and I think it’s going to be a grind for us to get to the playoffs. Our focus has to be on the task at hand, the game at hand, and the week at hand, and nothing past that.”
Those aren’t just clichés; they are words that make up the DNA of this Islanders franchise and it’s the way they go about their business – and business has been good in recent seasons.
“They have had some great experiences over the past couple of years,” said Lamoriello. “But right now, what we have to do is just focus in on who we are, focus in on playing to the best of our abilities and not think about anything other than getting ready for the first game and taking everything a game at a time.”
Between losing game six to the Lightning in overtime in 2020 and dropping game 7 last season 1-0 on a shorthanded goal, the Islanders and their fans have certainly experienced some painful endings. Sometimes, a team has to go through some adversity before they can knock down the door and win a championship.
“We’ve been going at this for a while now,” said Lee. “Now it’s time to put it all together.”
Before the Islanders’ Stanley Cup dynasty from 1980 to 1983 took place, there were some heartbreaking moments:
In the 1978 quarterfinals, the Islanders lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 at Nassau Coliseum when Lanny McDonald scored in overtime.
In 1979, the Islanders finished the regular season with the most points in the NHL, but in the semifinals, they lost to the Rangers in six games.
Those were two excruciating losses, but they were followed by four straight Stanley Cups, five straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final, and a record 19 straight playoff series wins.
The current Islanders are hoping that history can repeat itself.
“This group has been very diligent about trying to make their mark,” said Trotz. “We have a great history to fall back on with this organization with the glory years. This group feels very proud of what they’re starting to build. There’s internal pressure. There’s external pressure and we’re mature enough to handle it.”
The roster is deep. Training Camp is over. UBS Arena is set to open its doors to Islanders Country. It’s time for the Islanders to take care of unfinished business.
“We feel pretty good,” said Lamoriello. “We have to go out and perform.”
It all begins Thursday night in Carolina. It’s time to drop the puck on the most anticipated season of Islanders hockey in a very long time.
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