Lamoriello and the Islanders can talk about liking their team all they want, and how they may not have felt a need to retool a lineup that was competitive less than two years ago. But in those two seasons, the Islanders haven’t gotten any faster. And they certainly haven’t found a solution to jump-starting forward Mathew Barzal’s career. He should be an NHL superstar by now. But I don’t think he has the skill alongside him to make it happen.

It’s laughable to think the Islanders went into this offseason planning on making so few moves. There’s no way the team wanted to run it back with a few tweaks and a new head coach in 2022-23. I understand Lamoriello publicly supporting his club. Every NHL general manager should.

But the reality is that the Islanders failed to acquire the assets necessary to become an elite team. Free agency was a disaster. And while the Romanov deal helped shore up a blueline that will be without Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara next season, the trade cost the Islanders a first round draft choice.

-Mike McKenna of the Daily Faceoff where you can read more on this topic plus a look at Phil Kessel in Vegas.