With no top prospects in a weak prospect pipeline, Lamoriello is going to have to work his magic to upgrade the Islanders before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
With no top prospects in a weak prospect pipeline, Lamoriello is going to have to work his magic to upgrade the Islanders before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.
This past week, The Athletic released their prospect rankings, placing the New York Islanders in the basement at No. 32.
For many, the rankings mean nothing, especially if you disagree with how the prospect list played out.
One could say that the Islanders are going all in and have been over the last few seasons, even if those decisions didn't make sense in your eyes.
But having a bottom-tier prospect pool matters -- a whole lot -- and in each passing trade, the issue grows.
The Islanders' prospect pool is slim due to general manager Lou Lamoriello's trading of first-round picks in four of the last five years.
Lamoriello's first big trade came on Feb. 24, 2020, acquiring Ottawa Senators first-line center and top-three name on the market Jean-Gabriel Pageau for a 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick, a 2022 third-round pick.
Pageau immediately signed a six-year extension worth $30 million and is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025-26 season (16-team no-trade list).
A season later, on Apr. 7, 2021, Lamoriello acquired Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils for a 2021 first-round pick, a 2022 fourth-round pick, and forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst.
While Zajac wasn't re-signed, Palmieri inked a four-year deal worth $20 million and is set to become a UFA following the 2024-25 season (16-team no-trade list).
Then, at the 2022 NHL Draft, after standing pat at the trade deadline, the Islanders sent their first-round pick (No. 13) to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Alexander Romanov.
The Russian blue-liner inked a three-year deal worth $7.5 million and will be a restricted free agent following the 2024-25 season if the Islanders allow it to get to that point.
And finally, the trade that shocked the NHL just over a year ago when the Islanders acquired Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat in exchange for their 2023 first-round pick (flipped for Filip Hronek), top prospect Aatu Râty, and Anthony Beauvillier.
Horvat signed an eight-year extension worth $68 million and will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2030-31 season (NTC through 2026-27, M-NTC of 16 teams from 2027-2031).
So, over the last five years, the Islanders have moved four first-round picks to acquire players that are still on the roster today.
They've also traded away five second-round selections, getting three back.
So, nine picks were not made through the first two rounds of the last five drafts, leaving Lamoriello trying to make the most out of the later rounds, like defenseman Isaiah George (2022 4th rd) and forwards William Dufour (2020 fifth-round) and Matthew Maggio (2022, fifth-round).
In those five years, the Islanders have made the postseason four times, including back-to-back Semi-Final appearances in 2020 and 2021.
Looking at all the players and their value at the time of the trades, giving up a first-round pick was going to happen. That's not to say that what the Islanders gave up to get said players was right or wrong, but it's those decisions that have hurt the ability to grow a bonafide prospect pool.
There's no question that all three of these players can prove to be steals of their draft class, but other teams don't see them as valued assets, which doesn't help the trade game.
If the Islanders had won a Stanley Cup, or do at some point, with these players on the roster, then ultimately, those first-round picks -- and second -- and every other trade made would have been worth it.
The Islanders haven't done that -- yet -- and while they continue to add when they can, the slim prospect pool gets slimmer and slimmer.
It became clear last season that Lamoriello saw the true value of Râty -- their second-round pick in 2021 after falling out of the first round due to COVID-19 -- and knew that if he gave the young Finnish center some NHL games, he could increase his value.
We'll never know whether Lamoriello truly wanted to keep Râty or was showing him off for a trade.
Whether you think Räty was a legit prospect or not, he was viewed as the organization's top prospect and, well, image is everything.
Maybe defensemen Calle Odelius (2022 2nd rd) or George battle it for the top-prospect award while Dufour tries to shoot -- literally and figuratively -- his way to the top.
The fact of the matter is that their trade values likely aren't enough to go and get a big fish, even if the Islanders 2024 first-round pick is in play.
While the Islanders do have $4.2 million in available deadline space right now, the Islanders would have to move $1.95 million off the books to activate Ryan Pulock and his $6.15 million off Long-Term Injured Reserve.
A simple fix is just swapping him with the injured Adam Pelech, who, despite being listed as day-to-day, could be out a while after suffering a head injury last Thursday.
One would have a rather hard time thinking that if the Islanders are in a playoff spot or within striking distance of one come Mar. 8, Lamoriello will be looking to sell.
But they could do both, given the need for not just cap space to activate players but also roster spots.
With no true No. 1 prospect, Lamoriello will likely have to work his magic or focus on the smaller fish and hope that his injured players return and stay in the lineup.
But what if the Islanders fall way out of the playoff race by the deadline?
Is there any situation where the Islanders move on from Brock Nelson, whose production will fall at some point over the next few years? What about Pageau or Palmieri? How about Cal Clutterbuck?
Outside of Nelson, who has a first-round return potential, no one else on the roster that the Islanders would move has that kind of value.
Again, the Islanders would have to be either completely out of a playoff spot or a specific player shows not to be the right fit for the system new head coach Patrick Roy is trying to implement.
The commitment to Roy through at least this season and next certainly impacts the route Lamoriello will go and who he will look to add.
You can watch Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert live on Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook.