from Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post,

... Which brings us back to the present, to that aforementioned executive, Lou Lamoriello, who has had an underwhelming summer thus far after his team played over its talent level before getting swept in the second round by the Hurricanes.

Lamoriello seemingly bungled the negotiations with goalie Robin Lehner — the Vezina Trophy finalist who continued his tour of candidness by exposing the ultimatum he was given from Lamoriello: Sign now or forever hold your peace. That one left everyone around the league scratching their heads, as Lehner went to sign an extremely modest one-year, $5 million deal with the Blackhawks...

Credit is due for Lamoriello getting three of his core pieces from this past season — captain Anders Lee, along with forwards Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle — to all sign relatively team-friendly deals. But a roster that lacked top-tier talent behind Mat Barzal remains exactly that. Even the possible trade of defenseman Nick Leddy before training camp in September won’t result in the windfall the team needs to contend this season.

This was always considered a long-term plan, a work in progress. The aforementioned coach, Barry Trotz, deservedly won the Jack Adams Award in his first year behind the bench. And he might be unable to keep the squad from taking a step back this year.

But now the timeline is set. By the time the Islanders move into their new digs in 2021-22 — assuming there isn’t a lockout — they will need to consistently win to keep the people coming.

The Islanders are once again a big league team. Sooner rather than later, it will be on them to meet those expectations.

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