Perhaps the biggest move of the Islanders season was the acquisition of Head Coach Patrick Roy on Jan. 20. The Isles are 9-5-3 under Roy and while it took some time for Roy to implement his system, it’s paying dividends. Roy’s line changes have also been the catalyst of their current five-game winning streak.
“He’s got things where he'd like to see them,” Lamoriello said on Tuesday. “The players have certainly responded to that at this point, and I can't see that not continuing. For me he's done everything that I thought he could and would do.”
By standing pat, the Islanders still hold their first-round pick in the 2024 Draft. The Isles have dealt their previous four first-round picks, acquiring JG Pageau in 2020, Kyle Palmieri in 2021, Alex Romanov at the 2022 NHL Draft and Bo Horvat last season.
“It's always nice to have your first pick, 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.
While the Isles were idle, the teams around them were certainly active. Lamoriello said the moves around the Islanders did not have an impact on their approach to the trade deadline.
“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.”
See below for trades made by the teams in the playoff hunt with the Islanders.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning, who the Isles are two points behind for the second Wild Card, but hold two games in hand, made a splash by acquiring winger Anthony Duclair from San Jose for Jack Thompson and picks. The Bolts also added defenseman Matt Dumba from the Arizona Coyotes.
- The Philadelphia Flyers acquired forward Denis Gurianov from Nashville for Wade Allison and acquired defenseman Erik Johnson from Buffalo for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 Draft. Philadelphia also dealt defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado for Ryan Johansen and a conditional 2025 first-rounder and subsequently assigned him to the AHL. The Isles are four points back of the Flyers for third in the Metro Division with two games in hand.
- The Washington Capitals dealt Evgeny Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes for a third-round pick in the 2025 Draft. The Caps traded Anthony Mantha to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2024 second-round pick and a fourth-round pick in 2026. Washington also dealt defenseman Joel Edmundson to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third-round pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025. Washington is three points back of the Isles with a game in hand.
- The New Jersey Devils sent pending UFA Tyler Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets and overhauled their goaltending. New Jersey acquired Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens for a conditional third-round pick in 2025. The Devils also dealt goalie Vitek Vanecek to the San Jose Sharks for Kaapo Kähkönen. The Devils are four points back of the Isles, but New York holds a game in hand.
