from Kevin Kurz of The Athletic,

... But perhaps the greatest factor in the discontent is that general manager Lou Lamoriello himself all but guaranteed that there were going to be changes to the forward group this offseason and that “hockey trades” were on the horizon.

Instead, the exact same group of forwards that finished the disappointing 2021-22 season will be back with the team in 2022-23. It seems likely now that the 12 players who will comprise the four lines for the season opener against Florida on Oct. 13 will be players whowore Islanders sweaters last season.

No Alex DeBrincat. No Johnny Gaudreau. No Kevin Fiala. No Nazem Kadri.

So should the fan base be downcast? Not according to Lamoriello, who spoke Monday for the first time since the draft last month, primarily to announce contract extensions for restricted free agents Noah Dobson (three years), Alexander Romanov (three years) and Kieffer Bellows (one year).

“There shouldn’t be any disappointment from anyone,” Lamoriello said. “When we hear the word disappointment, I wonder what that is. Free agents have to make decisions, and also teams have to make decisions. … There’s no disappointment where we’re at because we feel very good about who we are, or we would have made drastic changes last year if we didn’t feel good about the group we have and what they’re capable of doing. I say that with comfortability. I say that with confidence. We’re looking forward to getting back at it and proving everybody wrong.”

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