However, the Islanders could receive a boost as early as Tuesday when they host the Calgary Flames at Nassau Coliseum (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, SNW, NHL.TV). Left wing Andrew Ladd, who has been out since Nov. 13 because of a lower-body injury, and defenseman Thomas Hickey, who sustained an upper-body injury on Dec. 17, are likely to return.
"It'd be pretty tough to add those two types of players at a trade deadline right now," Lamoriello said. "There's no question it helps.
"You have to be extremely careful at this time because whenever you add somebody, it takes away from somebody else and somebody moves in a different spot. You have to make sure, and in our opinion, whatever we potentially could have done would not have been the best thing."
Perhaps what makes the Islanders' success this season even more remarkable is they've done it without center John Tavares, the former face of their franchise and captain who signed a seven-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2018. Left wing Anders Lee, who was named captain on the morning of the season opener (Oct. 4), expressed his belief in the players within the locker room a few hours before the deadline arrived.
"We're extremely comfortable," Lee said. "We've done a lot as a group, and it's been everyone from top to bottom. Whether it's guys that have played a couple of games or all of them, we've all made a positive impact on each other and stuck together. Everyone's role is equal."
Lee is one of four key players on New York's roster who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, along with center Brock Nelson, right wing Jordan Eberle and goalie Robin Lehner. Lamoriello said keeping each in the fold post-deadline reaffirmed the Islanders' desire to re-sign them.