Outside of the Stanley Cup Final, the big NHL news this week was about the salary cap, which will increase significantly for the first time since the pandemic. It’s a sigh of relief for many teams and the big news involving the salary cap (the subsequent big news came a few days later when the Washington Capitals decided to purchase CapFriendly leaving many fans who use the site annoyed). Suddenly, every team has more room to spend, make big moves, or re-sign players.
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The New York Islanders needed this boost. They’ve stagnated in recent seasons and the extra cap space should give them new life. The question is what will General Manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello do with the extra space? Predicting what he’ll do is like predicting how much the cap will go up when you don’t have a go-to website to do that.
Islanders Can Make a Big Signing
The Islanders now have the space to make a big signing, especially with veterans Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin projected to come off the books. They could target a few skaters to address needs on the roster, notably at the forward position where the team lacks scoring. Jake Guentzel will likely sign a $9 million or $10 million per year deal and that extra cap space could allow the Islanders to add him this offseason.
The problem is that this type of move goes against everything Lamoriello believes in. As much as he loves scorers and finding centers who can find the back of the net, he hates spending for it. The past few offseasons should be a reminder of his unwillingness to spend on scoring.
In the 2022 offseason, Lamoriello could have signed Johnny Gaudreau or Nazem Kadri, but he didn’t, allowing them to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames instead. He could have made a push for Alex Debrincat last summer but didn’t want to go all-in to get him, so the star scorer went to the Detroit Red Wings, his hometown team. It’s easy to look back and regret these moves, but great teams make big signings in the offseason, something the two teams in the Final have proved. Lamoriello might remain quiet in free agency, but he can and should use the extra cap space somewhere.
Lamoriello Can Take On a Contract in a Trade
The Islanders taking on a big contract in a trade would mean one of two things. Either they are looking to compete and acquire a star in…
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