Islanders’ Coaching Isn’t the Problem; A Lack of Talent Is

The New York Islanders have continued to lose games at the beginning of the Patrick Roy era, but the biggest flaw in the organization cannot be ignored. The lack of star talent and difference-makers is obvious throughout the lineup.

When at the top of their games, Mathew Barzal and Ilya Sorokin are superstars without question. Bo Horvat, who the Islanders acquired ahead of last year’s trade deadline, and Brock Nelson have been two steady top-six centers for the team. Noah Dobson, who leads the team in ice time this season, has had a breakout season on the score sheet. And when healthy, Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have shown they can be dependable first-pairing defensemen. But the rest of the lineup has its flaws.

What’s Going On?

But outside of those players, nobody else stands out, and the lack of difference-makers is killing the Islanders. Lou Lamoriello is responsible for being the architect of the organization. Since the 81-year-old took the job as general manager and president of hockey operations, he has failed to bring in game-changing talent. He even lost home-grown superstar John Tavares for nothing and traded Devon Toews for pennies. Two other big names that Lamoriello whiffed on were Johnny Gaudreau and Artemi Panarin in free agency, both of whom signed with rival teams.

Instead, Lamioriello has given out big contracts to either underachieving players or nonsuperstars. Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who count $12 million combined against the cap, individually are barely on pace to score 30 points this season.

Plus, bottom-tier players, including Scott Mayfield and Pierre Engvall, have multiple years left on their contracts, both of which combine for $6.5 million against the cap. In comparison, the Islanders could have signed Vladimir Tarasenko for only a $5 million cap charge and filled a goal-scoring need on the wing.

In total, 10 Islanders under contract have no-trade clauses – making it tougher to clear cap space. And to make matters even worse, The Athletic has ranked the Islanders’ prospect pool dead last out of 32 teams. It’s a result of decisions to trade first-round picks and prospects while trying to contend in the last few years.

“The Islanders have a couple handfuls of B-minus prospects (which gives them maybe a little more depth than a couple of the other teams ranked at the bottom right now), but their pool is…