Do Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz Have Too Much Faith in the Islanders?
When the New York Islanders were inactive at the NHL Trade Deadline, it became apparent to fans that general manager Lou Lamoriello and head coach Barry Trotz were content with their roster despite the team’s record this season.
“Obviously we felt pretty strong that the core still has the ability to do some damage for sure,” Trotz said in an interview after the deadline.
While it may be nice that Lamoriello and Trotz believe in their team, with a record of 29-27-9, they may have too much faith in the Islanders.
Poor Team Performance
In the 2021 season, the Islanders made it to the final four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year, they are 17 points out of a wild card spot and have a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs per MoneyPuck.com.
The Islanders have struggled both offensively and defensively and this season. In 65 games, the Isles have been shut out five times. They are also twenty second in the league for shots against per game with 32.4. Cumulatively, the Islanders are a –26 with only five players having a positive rating.
The team’s lack of a goal-scorer has become the most apparent in shootouts. The Islanders are 1-6 in the shootout this season—one of the worst shootout records in the league.
Poor Individual Performance
Not only have the Islanders had a tough season as a group, but they have also struggled individually. There have only been two players to score more than 15 goals this season—Brock Nelson (32) and Anders Lee (25). Additionally, only six players have a shooting percentage over 10%.
Even though Lamoriello and Trotz expressed having faith in this team, they are not naïve about how this season has been going.
“Over the next period of time we’ll find out about our scorers,” Lamoriello said in a post-Trade Deadline interview. “That’s where we’ve certainly underproduced this year to this point. In fact, I would say disappointed, what has transpired here.”
Hope for the Future
Despite the Islanders’ lackluster performance this season, there have been some good things to come out of it and spark hope for the future. Four players in particular have shown significant improvement—Ilya Sorokin, Noah Dobson, Oliver Wahlstrom and Brock Nelson.
Sorokin has a save percentage of .936 and is tied for second best in the league. He also has the second most shutouts with six.
Dobson is currently having the best season of his career. He leads the Islanders’ defensemen in goals (10), assists (28), and points (38). He also has 16 power-play points to lead the team.
Wahlstrom has scored 12 goals this season to be among the top three goal scorers for the Isles. He also has 138 shots to tie with Nelson for the second most shots on goal.
Nelson is currently red hot. He has 13 goals in his last 14 games and shows no signs of slowing down. Nelson’s shooting percentage of 23.2 is the best in the NHL.
Trust in Lamoriello and Trotz
The 2021-22 season has definitely been a disappointing one for the Islanders. Many Isles fans have taken to social media saying things like “sell the whole team” or demanding that Lamoriello and Trotz be fired. But when you consider all the adversity that this team has gone through from injuries to COVID-19 outbreaks to a 13-game road trip, this season could very well just be an outlier. And perhaps Lamoriello and Trotz’s faith in the core group is therefore justified.
Trotz summed it up best in a post-trade deadline interview, “Management has said this group can get it done. So it’s the responsibility to, let’s not start next year. Let’s continue where we are and build from here.”
I am a huge Islanders fan and love spreading my passion for the team here at Drive4Five. Along with writing, I also co-manage the Drive4Five TikTok and Facebook accounts.
