Islanders Mailbag: Is Change Inevitable?

The New York Islanders have lost seven straight games as they head into their Saturday night matchup with the Calgary Flames to cap off a four-game road trip.

The penalty kill has struggled mightily while the power play is soaring. 

Despite the Islanders struggles right now, they have points in back-to-back games and are two points behind the New Jersey Devils for fourth in the Metropolitan Division and three points back of second.

They were incredibly close to snapping that streak before they fell in an eight-round shootout to the Seattle Kraken Thursday night.

Let's start with the shootout, shall we?

No disrespect, but why would Lane go with Simon Holmstrom in the bottom of the 3rd in the shootout when a goal wins the game? (@Occupancy)

On the surface, Simon Holmstrom going third in a shootout in a game where the Islanders were desperate for two points seems ludicrous right? Holmstrom has four goals on the season, two coming on the penalty kill, and Lambert is giving him a shot to win the game over Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson.

What I will say is that one of the first things Lambert said about Holmstrom when he got recalled from Bridgeport last season was his shootout ability. He’s got sneaky quick hands and has had success in Bridgeport in shootouts. 

Here’s a video from a morning skate where Holmstrom put on the moves against Varlamov.

It’s also a move that shows Holmstrom how much confidence his coach has in him at the current moment, and it’s also a message to the players that shot after him, right?

Sure, you can argue when Holmstrom went, but Holmstrom going in the shootout isn’t as crazy of a scenario as you think.

Why doesn't Lane change up the PK? Same guys rotated out there, same system. It's not working. Be more aggressive, they are getting too much time to make decisions or shoot the puck. Part 2, do something about constantly screening the goalie. Seems like most goals are screens. (@Goody_NYC)

If we are being honest, Lambert is switching up the penalty kill because his penalty killers are the ones taking the majority of the penalties. Over this seven-game skid, no one has taken more penalty minutes than Scott Mayfield, their top penalty-killing defenseman. He took two trips to the box in the first period on Thursday night, with three over the span of two periods, and has five penalties over his last seven games.

I don’t think it’s the system that is flawed because the ones that the Islanders have killed have run the same system as the ones who have failed.

Lambert has said they’ve been too passive, while Noah Dobson told me that they are hesitating, and when they hesitate, that’s all she wrote.

That hesitation means not just failing to clear the puck but failing to get to a puck first, failing to get to the point quickly, and also failing to get to their assignments which includes moving people out of the goaltender's way.

It’s easy for teams to exploit the screen in front because there’s just one extra guy for the team on the power play. The Islanders just need to find a way to bear down more because if they can figure out the penalty kill, they can save their season before it’s too late. The personnel they have on the units are the personnel that need to get the job done and have in recent past.

Do you think some change is inevitable? If Lane doesn’t go, do you see them dismissing Houda or MacLean? (@JoeyPickles30)

I think change is likely inevitable. Being able to interact with Lambert on a daily basis, he’s not someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing. Does it come off that way sometimes with his answers? Sure. But at the end of the day, he’s protecting his players, and you can tell, based on locker room responses, that the players love playing for him. The question is, has Lane been given a fair shake as a head coach with this team? Could he have used more support from his assistant coaches?

You bet.

Lambert said before the start of the season he was going to be more involved with special teams, especially the power play. The man advantage has been better, and it seems John MacLean has figured something out. However, Doug Houda’s penalty kill has taken exponential steps backward. I could see a situation where if Lambert is fired, all three are gone. but only if Lamoriello has people in mind to replace all three.

Would love to hear your thoughts on potential coaching options IF they did finally make the move and fired Lane. (@RichZagon1)

If the Islanders did make a coaching change, the two that stand out are John Hynes and Jay Woodcroft. Hynes is technically under contract with Barry Trotz’s Nashville Predators (would need Barry’s permission) but is one that certainly is waiting for that next opportunity. Woodcroft, who was fired by the Edmonton Oilers recently, is a strong coach whose firing was the result of piss-pour management that failed to get him averaging goaltending and solid depth to surround his superstars.

I’d lean towards Hynes between the two just because it’s unlikely that the Islanders would hire a head coach who just got fired. Hynes was relieved of his duties at the end of the 2022-23 season because Trotz wanted to bring his own coach in, so he hired Andrew Brunette.

When will the owners wake up and fire Lou and hire someone to begin a proper rebuild? @JMcDowell36)

We need to erase the term “rebuild” from the Islanders faithful dictionary.

Ilya Sorokin is locked up for eight years after this one. Mathew Barzal is locked up for eight years. Bo Horvat is locked up for eight years. Pierre Engvall and Scott Mayfield are locked up for seven years. Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov are on their way to getting long-term deals. Brock Nelson is going to need a new contract, and it’s incredibly likely he stays put.

How are they rebuilding?

The signing of Sorokin immediately meant a rebuild wasn’t in the near future because he’d ruin it by stealing wins.

Retool is the word you are looking for, as the Islanders do have a few assets that can garner a return and ultimately create some cap flexibility to add another strong defenseman and maybe, just maybe, an elite forward to complement Horvat and Barzal.

Think they will inquire about Hanifin while in Calgary? (Angela02937360)

Just wrote a piece Friday afternoon on Noah Hanifin, as well as Nikita Zadorov. Both are capable of playing big minutes on the penalty kill, and both being left-handed would allow them to slot in alongside Scott Mayfield or wherever the head coach sees fit to strengthen the defensive structure on the backend, which has been too leaky this season.

Here’s the story:

I wouldn’t be shocked to see either of them on the Islanders at some point this season. Zadorov would cost way less and, given his lesser cap hit, would make the logistics a bit easier to manage.

Ik it's early in the season, but do you see the team selling players off if this losing trend keeps up? (@SauberAvi)

Yeah, if the Islanders losing streak continues, and they fall into a hole that they are just not capable of getting out of, Lamoriello will have no choice but to sell.

With the cap rising exponentially this summer and with a handful of players taking 1-year deals last summer because of that, cap space becomes incredibly valuable.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau has struggled mightily this season offensively, but because of his defensive IQ, face-off ability, and penalty kill prowess (not right now, but you know what I mean), he becomes a player playoff hopefuls would love to have. The same can be said for Cal Clutterbuck, who brings a physical presence that is needed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Kyle Palmieri, who turns up the offense in the postseason, is another player that would garner interest.

Has Lee had any closed-door meetings with the team? Has he done any captain-like stuff during this atrocious skid… (@ariel_confield)

This is a great question but one I don’t have the answer too. Anders Lee has been given a bad rap this season for “not speaking” after losses, but it couldn’t be more wrong from the truth. After every practice and every game, Lee sits at his locker. We may talk with him 1-on-1 and end up not using his quotes, and not every game does the broadcast go to him. But he’s there, saying all the right things, and there’s no question they’ve likely had closed-door meetings.

Lee and the group are frustrated with their play, just like the fans. They care more, believe me.

1. I might sound really dumb if it were to come down, who fires Lou? 2. What changes do you see happening? (@TheOnematt1)

So, the Islanders have a majority owner and a few minority owners. The one you see around the most is Jon Ledecky, but as a minority owner, he can’t make hockey operation decisions. He can certainly share his thoughts and opinions, but Scott Malkin is the majority owner, so if anyone is going to fire Lou Lamoriello, it would be him.

As for the changes, I do think we see a new head coach, even though the problems this season cannot be put on Lambert alone. I do think his coaching staff hasn’t done a good enough job helping, and I do think his players haven’t played to the level they are capable of. But at the end of the day, it’s easier to fire a head coach than a whole team. The Islanders have to hope that if they fire Lambert, the person that comes in sparks the group.

I'll throw one in that's not about firing Lou and Lane. Compare UBS to Climate Pledge. @TommyBruno16

So, UBS Arena and Climate Pledge Arena were both built by the same company, The Oak Group.

The similarities are that they are both state-of-the-art arenas that understand the importance of having sound bounce around rather than get lost in space.

There’s a plethora of restaurants and shops with unique historical elements.

The press row is very similar, as it’s a long one going across the entirety of one side of the building.

The lower bowls seem to be similar.

The main difference is just the architecture of Seattle’s home as you enter on the second floor. The building looks like a compound from the outside to be honet, but when you walk in, there’s tunning glass and the ceiling has wood pieces to help sound bounce.