LAS VEGAS — Two months out from the NHL’s trade deadline, selling off assets is “not even a thought” in the mind of Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello.
That is in keeping with his history, and the Islanders waking up Thursday morning in 15th place in the 16-team Eastern Conference — with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri both on expiring contracts — is not enough to change things as of now.
“Where we are in the season and where we are in the standings, where everything’s in reach, that’s the focus,” Lamoriello said, citing the five-point gap between the Islanders and Blue Jackets, who currently occupy a second wild-card spot that has changed hands constantly of late. “The focus is on who we are here, right now, not how hypothetically or if this, if that. [I’m] just not from that school. Right now, we’re just focused on playing the best hockey we can and seeing where we’re at, at the appropriate time. But I’m not even thinking about that.”
What about the possibility that the Islanders could see Nelson or Palmieri — both of whom would be among the most valuable assets available at the deadline — walk away for no return, as infamously happened with John Tavares in 2018?
“Once again, you’re dealing with a hypothetical situation. I don’t get into that,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t mean that not to answer your question. It’s just fact and truth, if you have any sort of background to what I believe. And it’s not something in my mind right now.”
So if one thought, at the midpoint of a season which has so far run totally opposite to how the Islanders envisioned, that the organization’s modus operandi would change, well, no.
During a 20-minute session between Lamoriello and reporters before the Islanders took on the Golden Knights on Thursday, that was the big takeaway.
The five-point margin to the playoff cutline is more encouragement to Lamoriello than the way they’ve played for much of the season is discouraging — and at least right now, they are going to operate as if they still have a shot at this thing.
(Whether merely making the playoffs would constitute a successful season if the Islanders again fail to get past the first round is a question for another day).
The president of hockey operations and general manager’s outlook could always change between now and the March 7 deadline.
But while Lamoriello acted early in the calendar two years ago to make an additive deal, he did not sound anything like someone ready to wave a white flag early and subtract.
Despite the Islanders’ 2-3-0 record since the holiday break, he cited the 7-1 loss to the Sabres in the final game before Christmas as a wake-up call, echoing what has been a consistent message from coach Patrick Roy that even though the results haven’t necessarily been there since then, the play has improved.
While the Islanders have certainly gotten unlucky in terms of injuries — almost as soon as Anthony Duclair, Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech returned, Simon Holmstrom, Hudson Fasching and Isaiah George went down, plus Duclair and Barzal are still trying to find a rhythm — there is no running from a 15-18-7 record.
Everything the Islanders have done for the past four seasons, though, has shown that if there is even a shred of hope, they will cling to that in the face of everything else. It’s no different today.
“I can’t dispute your doubt because of what you have seen so far yourself,” Lamoriello said when asked what made him confident the team could turn things around. “But I know the players. I know they’re capable of doing [it]. But you have to do it.
“My comfortability is they have the ability to do that. In my opinion, we have the talent in there to do that. Now, the results aren’t what we want. I don’t take anything off them. It’s up to them. We have to get it done. My comfortability is we have the ability to do that.”