Islanders, Lamoriello remain confident after quiet offseason

The New York Islanders didn't make many offseason moves because the cost was too high, but they like where they are entering the season.

"There's no disappointment with where we're at because we feel very good about who we are, or we would've made drastic changes," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday. "I say that with culpability, I say that with confidence, and we're looking forward to getting back at it and maybe proving everybody wrong."
The Islanders (37-35-10) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four seasons, finishing 16 points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. Coach Barry Trotz was fired on May 9 and was replaced seven days later by associate coach Lane Lambert.
Lamoriello said the Islanders looked at "many different options" this offseason.
"Unfortunately, the options that we looked at, as I mentioned, to make hockey trades, we would not have gotten in return for what we had to give up to make us, in my opinion, a better team," he said. "I'm actually really excited about the team that we have right now going into the season. So I feel very good. But if we could've gotten better, we would've done that. That's no different than throughout the season. But it's the price you have to pay to do something to upgrade in one position, then what do you do if the plusses and minuses don't work out? You've really downgraded your whole team."

The Islanders
signed three of their restricted free agents
on Monday: defensemen
Noah Dobson
and Alexander Romanov each to a three-year contract, and forward Kieffer Bellows to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dobson had NHL career highs in goals (13), assists (38) and points (51) in 80 games last season. Romanov was acquired, along with a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (No. 98, defenseman Isiah George), from the Montreal Canadiens for the No. 13 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft on July 7. He had 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 79 games for the Canadiens.
Bellows finished with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 45 games.
Lamoriello said it's still possible the Islanders make moves between now and the start of the season.
"I think there's always an opportunity," he said. "It's timing. We have 32 teams in the National Hockey League that every day are trying to get better. The sets of circumstances change, and then when you get an opportunity for whatever reason it is, you have to take advantage of it and be willing to make that decision.
"It's not unlike at the draft this year. There was no intent of trading our first-round pick, but circumstances came up that Montreal was looking to do something else, they had their eyes and they needed a pick. And for them to acquire our pick, it had to be a player that we felt was better than our pick at that given time, so you make that decision. And that's exactly what transpires every day throughout the season. So yes, there's always opportunities, but you have to be careful when you say that. You're always looking for them, but they don't always happen."