What the Islanders announced on September 1 was that they re-signed Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Beauvillier, Ilya Sorokin and Casey Cizikas. But the Islanders didn’t any mention any of the implications of those re-signings.

Let’s start off with probably the biggest rumor of the offseason for the Islanders, trading for Vladimir Tarasenko. The Islanders have essentially no remaining cap space left, which means they need to unload a roster player to acquire his $7.5 million annual cap hit. That’s unlikely to happen.

But considering the Islanders are getting Anders Lee back, general manager Lou Lamoriello sees that as the biggest addition for the team. With Tarasenko ruled out due to limited cap space, the Islanders will need to look elsewhere for another offensive weapon. That new weapon is looking a lot like Zach Parise. Although it has not yet been announced by Lou Lamoriello, many news sources have confirmed, including Zach Parise himself, that the two parties reached a contract agreement.

Yet there is still a big missing piece for the team. The Islanders’ re-signings were possible partly because they traded Nick Leddy and his $5.5 million annual cap hit. Ever since trading him, however, they have acquired a replacement for a sixth defenseman.

The Islanders showed a lot of interest in Ryan Suter until he signed for the Dallas Stars. Since then, the Islanders are still searching and it looks more and more likely they will be looking inwards for a replacement. The three candidates are likely Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho and Samuel Bolduc. Hickey is the most experienced but hasn’t played a full NHL season since 2017-18.

The Islanders will be active on the trade market looking for a new defenseman, but also to perhaps offload Leo Komarov’s contract. For the Islanders to make any additional moves than the ones already confirmed, they will need to create some more cap space. The Ideal player to trade is Komarov. However, the trade market isn’t exactly high for “uncle Leo.”

Additionally, considering the Islanders already gave up multiple draft picks in a trade to offload Andrew Ladd, it’ll be unlikely to see Komarov be traded on a salary dump. This means it will be difficult for the Islanders to trade for a new defenseman.

The September 1 re-signings were good for the Islanders, but it has limited what the team can do for the remainder of the offseason. Anything can happen and if anyone in the league can make a splash, it’s Lou Lamoriello. But it is looking more and more likely that the only real addition to the team will be Zach Parise. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for a team that came one win short of the Stanley Cup Final. But it’s worrisome that the Islanders do not have a definitive replacement for Nick Leddy. Yet, even if this is it for the Islanders’ moves this offseason, this team will still contend. Perhaps they’ll win the Stanley Cup.

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.