Five Takeaways: Lou Lamoriello's Press Conference

The 2020 NHL season officially ended on Monday night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisted the franchise's second Stanley Cup.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lou Lamoriello put a bow on the New York Islanders campaign, as the Isles' President and General Manager met with reporters for nearly 30 minutes to discuss a variety of topics from the bubble experience, free agency,
injury updates
and more.
Stay tuned to NewYorkIslanders.com over the next two weeks for player exit interviews, as well as draft and free agency coverage. For now, here are five takeaways from Lamoriello's season-ending availability.

LAMORIELLO COMMUNICATING WITH RFAS/UFAS, LOOKING TO KEEP TEAM TOGETHER:

With free agency set to open on Oct. 9 at noon, Lamoriello's focus has been on communicating with his restricted and unrestricted free agents. The Islanders' President and GM specified that no talks had taken place during the postseason and that he was confident he'd get his players - particularly restricted free agents Mathew Barzal, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews - under contract.
"I'm focusing in on communication with each and every one of our restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents and seeing what we can get done," Lamoriello said. "I feel like we'll get all of our players signed in due time."
There's less urgency to ink the RFAs, who can only negotiate with the Islanders, so the Oct. 9 deadline is more critical for unrestricted free agents like Matt Martin, Derick Brassard, Tom Kuhnhackl and Andy Greene. Lamoriello said he'd like to have them back and has communicated that accordingly. After a trip to the Eastern Conference Final, Lamoriello expressed a desire to keep as much of his lineup intact as possible.
"There's room for improvement internally," Lamoriello said. "If we can get better externally we'll certainly do that, but right now we're going to focus in on trying to keep our team together."
Lamoriello was candid about his goaltending situation, which he called "obvious" on the call. With Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin under contract for next season, it appears that Thomas Greiss' five-year run with the Islanders is coming to an end, though Lamoriello didn't go as far as to actually say it.
"Our goaltending situation is pretty obvious," Lamoriello said. "We'd like to sign and have our free agents back. That has been communicated to them. We have a period of time where we have to make some internal decisions and have to make some moves. Nothing specific at this point… The contribution that they gave was just fantastic and the quality of people they are, we certainly would like them back and we'll do everything we can."

ISLES TO PLAY AT COLISEUM NEXT SEASON:

The when for next season is up in the air, but Lamoriello confirmed the where on Tuesday, stating that his team would play home games at Nassau Coliseum.
"We will definitely be playing at the Coliseum next year," Lamoriello said. "That is a confirmation."
The Islanders are on track to play the 2021-22 season at UBS Arena at Belmont Park, which is currently under construction.
"It's an exciting time for our fans over the next couple of weeks," Lamoriello said. "It's my understanding that the seat selection for the season ticket holders who have already purchased at Belmont will be taking place next week and in the early part of the following week. It's exciting if you haven't seen the website to see what the building is starting to look like. The roof should be complete over the next couple of weeks, but it's just an exciting time."
Lamoriello also said he hopes fans will be able to return at some point next season.
"Hopefully, sometime in the coming year at the Coliseum we will have fans," Lamoriello said. "Hopefully we can get back to more normal situations for our sport, but the most important thing is having everyone safe and sound."

SOROKIN ACCLIMATING TO ISLANDERS:

After signing Ilya Sorokin to an ELC and one-year contract extension back in July, the Islanders used the bubble experience to help acclimate the Russian goalie to the team, its culture, style of play and life in North America - albeit a very different lifestyle than he'll experience next season.
Sorokin practiced with the Islanders and also worked separately with Director of Goaltending Mitch Korn and Goaltending Coach Piero Greco. The Russian netminder also took daily English lessons, to help alleviate any language barriers.
Michael Dal Colle and Barry Trotz relayed positive experiences with Sorokin in the bubble and Lamoriello felt the experience accomplished what it set out to do. The GM added that he was impressed with his first looks at Sorokin.
"It was a tremendous opportunity for him to integrate with the players also he was taking English lessons daily and we were pleased with what we saw," Lamoriello said. "He's only in practice each and every day, but we're excited to have him under contract, he's excited to be an Islander from every indication I've gotten from him, the coaching staff and the players. He was impressive, not only as a player, but he's a human being."

LAMORIELLO IMPRESSED WITH ISLES TEAM IDENTITY IN BUBBLE:

The Islanders run to the Eastern Conference Final was the franchise's first in 27 years and while that's a big achievement for the organization, it's only two-thirds of the way to the ultimate goal for Lamoriello, who's seen more than a few conference finals in his day.
So when Lamoriello was asked about what stood out to him during his team's third-round run, he cited the Islanders' camaraderie on and off the ice. Lamoriello's always maintained a team-first culture, so seeing contributions from up and down the lineup, shared sacrifice and players rooting for and supporting one another was the most gratifying aspect.
"It wasn't just one player or two players or three players, the whole roster participated in whatever success we did that in getting to where we found ourselves, a game or two from playing in the Finals," Lamoriello said. "The good feeling that each and every player had for each other when a player scored an overtime goal, or made a big defensive play, or the excitement that the goalie who didn't play had for the person who was in the net. Those are the things that were really gratifying that this was really a team. This was a collection of different talents who came together and wanted to have success as a group and put aside anything individually. That to me was the most gratifying."

Tweet from @NYIslanders: A note of thanks from Lou Lamoriello to #Isles fans. pic.twitter.com/FdnnU4tq8p

LAMORIELLO PRAISES NHL BUBBLE:

After a 55-day stay in the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles, Lamoriello was more than complimentary of the league for executing a full playoff and for maintaining the highest safety measures.
"A great job with the bubble," Lamoriello said. "For the sport itself, being able to get the season complete with everyone safe - and I will tell you that you felt completely safe knowing everyone was tested each and every day."

, the NHL administered 33,174 tests during Phase 4 of return to play with zero positive tests for COVID-19. Lamoriello joked that he had to re-adjust to life outside the bubble after returning home from a closed environment with daily testing. Lamoriello made note to thank all of the staffers and front line workers working tirelessly during the pandemic.
From a playing perspective, Lamoriello said the competitiveness was evident even without the emotional energy from fans and that the TV product also felt seamless in his eyes.
"As far as how the games were played from a spectator point of view, I've heard nothing but positive feedback," Lamoriello said. "A complete success, big-time kudos to the NHL and player's association for pulling this off with really no hiccups along the way."