from Andrew Gross of Newsday,

...Lamoriello is looking to add. And he is looking at character as much as contribution, that combination being why the organization pursued Jean-Gabriel Pageau at last season’s trade deadline.

If that’s all the case, Devils’ impending free agent right wing Kyle Palmieri — who was born in Smithtown — may be the perfect fit.

He plays the hard-edged game coach Barry Trotz prefers. He has scored at least 24 goals in each of his five full seasons with the Devils, with a career-high of 30 in 2015-16. His reasonable cap figure of $4.65 million would also allow the Islanders to pursue a defenseman. Off the ice, Palmieri’s foundation Squad 21 has afforded military members the chance to attend Devils games and interact with him.

Lamoriello will do what he thinks best, and tell nobody about it in advance.

But Palmieri is his and Trotz’s kind of player.

more