With the Stanley Cup playoffs almost over, each team will have issues to solve. With the offseason upon us, the New York Islanders have some tasks in front of them that need to be fixed, both on and off the ice. Here are five things the New York Islanders should do this coming offseason.

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Get Back To Full Strength

This issue will go under the radar for a lot of the fans and is more a certainty than a suggestion, but this was what held the Islanders back from going to the Stanley Cup Final. Before the playoffs, Anders Lee went down due to a knee injury. In the playoffs, Oliver Wahlstrom was knocked out of the playoffs with a lower-body injury in game six of the first round. For a team that is known that struggles, they will need those two at full strength to succeed. And for the Islanders to get back into the playoffs, they will need Lee and Wahlstrom to produce like they were before their injuries.

One final player that was dealing with an injury during the playoffs was Jean-Gabriel Pageau. During the exit interview period, the Islanders announced that he underwent surgery on his hand. This didn’t come as a shock to fans as it was very obvious that something was wrong with Pageau after failing to get on the score sheet against the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. He will need to be fully healthy by training camp as he is so important to the Islanders and how they play.

Re-Sign Players That Are Vital to the Success of the Team

Lou Lamoriello will have quite a job this summer as key players in the Islanders’ lineup have expiring contracts. Adam Pelech, Anthony Beauvillier, and Ilya Sorokin are all restricted free agents. Those three players are key to the team’s success and future and need to be priorities for the front office. Pelech will likely get a significant pay raise of some kind after the performances he has had under his previous contract. For Beauvillier and Sorokin, they could possibly get bridge deals, but negotiating contracts is not an easy task. Re-signing them won’t be a problem if, like Barzal, enjoy playing on Long Island and want to win.

In terms of unrestricted free agents, the four featured names are Kyle Palmieri, Casey Cizikas, Travis Zajac, and Andy Greene. Palmieri will likely be in high demand on the open market, so bringing him back could be a tough task. Casey Cizikas could also be in high demand on the free agency market and could listen just to do his due diligence, but the hope for Islanders fans is that he would re-sign on a team-friendly contract, which could be longer-term with a smaller cap hit. While Andy Greene and Travis Zajac are getting older, they can both contribute in different ways. What makes Greene and Zajac so important are their leadership abilities. They have seen everything and have been through everything, and stepped up big when Anders Lee went down to injury. If they want to come back at an affordable price tag, especially Greene, who has helped with the development of Noah Dobson, they might have a fit as depth players on what should be a deep roster next season.

Also headed to restricted free agency are Michael Dal Colle, Kieffer Bellows, Dmytro Timashov, Otto Koivula, Anatoly Golyshev, and Bobo Carpenter, while Cory Schneider, Braydon Coburn, Cole Bardreau, Joshua Ho-Sang, and Tanner Fritz head to unrestricted free agency.

Try and Shed Salary

When it comes to the most cap-crunched teams, the New York Islanders are sure up there. With a projected cap space of $5.7 million, the Islanders will definitely need to make moves to re-sign key players. There are many ways to deal with this situation, but not all of them are logical, or even possible. It would be ideal for some team to take on Andrew Ladd’s contract but that will simply not happen. There are a few realistic ways that the Islanders could look to clear up cap space. The one that is at the front of everyone’s mind is the 2021 Expansion Draft for the league’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken. It would be nice for the Seattle Kraken to take on a larger contract, but it is highly unlikely unless the Islanders pull off a trade to either protect extra players or force a pick like they did with the Vegas Golden Knights.

There have been many rumors that have been flying around regarding trades for the Islanders including some players that take up a fair amount of cap space such as Jordan Eberle, Leo Komarov, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Thomas Hickey, and Semyon Varlamov. Some trades are definitely more realistic than others due to the player in conversation and the impact they make on the roster, but Lou Lamoriello will need to think of something to keep this team under the cap until the next salary cap negotiations.

Look For a Possible Nick Leddy Replacement

Nick Leddy has done great things for the Islanders. Ever since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, Leddy has been a mainstay in the lineup. In his seven years with the Islanders, he has recorded 243 points and 605 blocks. This season, he struggled defensively at points, especially during the playoffs. With the offensive prowess he usually possesses, recording six points in the playoffs does not make up for the defensive mishaps he had during the season’s most important games.

Now as for replacements, there are few options. You could give a younger player a shot such as Samuel Bolduc or Grant Hutton or they could acquire a defenseman via trade or free agency. Obviously, a lot of this is contingent on the Islanders trading Leddy, which is not a certainty heading into the offseason.

Finish Building UBS Arena

Now, this is obviously a certainty rather than a suggestion. I’m going to speak about this subject not purely as a writer but as a fan. I love Nassau Coliseum. I still remember my first ever game at Fort Neverlose and the amazing atmosphere it brought, and you can really see how much the fanbase cares about this arena during the playoffs. While watching at home, you could easily see a difference in atmosphere between the Islanders and everywhere else in the league, and the building really did give the team an advantage in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Islanders fans need to understand that it is time for them to move on from this arena and how the team has overstayed its welcome the same way New York Mets fans did with Shea Stadium. The team cannot play in that small of an arena anymore while hoping to compete to bring big names to Long Island. UBS Arena will never recreate the atmosphere in the Coliseum, but in the end what makes an atmosphere isn’t the place, but the people in it, so no matter what building the Islanders play in, you can always expect Islander fans to be loud and show hockey fans worldwide that they are some of the best fans a team can ask for.

Thanks for the memories, Nassau Coliseum. #Isles pic.twitter.com/smyRxNfWmm

— Isles Territory (@IslesTerritory) July 2, 2021

These five things are not the only things the Islanders should have to consider this offseason. They need to reinvent their power play, figure out who exactly is part of the team’s future, and evaluate the state of the Bridgeport Islanders. There is the possibility that all of these could be considered and resolved, but there is also the chance that only one or two could, but the Islanders faithful trusts Lou Lamoriello to do what is necessary to make sure this team can continue being competitive.

Jack Kobil

Hi, my name is Jack Kobil. I am currently attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC. I am a huge Islanders fan and I love to share my passion for this team.