Just when the New York Islanders looked done this season, they started winning. A six-game winning streak has them boasting a 37-27-15 record which is the third-best in the Metropolitan Division and they are only a few points away from securing a spot in the playoffs.
Related: Who Should Be the Islanders’ Starting Goaltender in the Playoffs?
A lot of factors have been in play to help the Islanders finish the season strong. One of them was head coach Patrick Roy’s decision to start Semyon Varlamov down the stretch, a bold but necessary move. Ilya Sorokin was overworked from earlier in the season and Varlamov has been the hot hand in the net to allow the Islanders to string together a few wins.
Roy’s decision to start Varlamov saved the season, quite literally. However, the decision to keep him around goes back to the 2023 offseason. That move was made by general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello who made a lot of questionable decisions, notably by re-signing a handful of veteran players. With Lamoriello, the good must be taken with the bad, and with the team on the doorstep of reaching the playoffs, it’s easy to look back at his offseason decisions as wise ones that kept this team competitive.
Varlamov Saves Islanders’ Season
The deal Lamoriello gave Varlamov was ridiculed at the time and understandably so. To sign a backup goaltender in their mid-30s to a four-year contract is the type of deal that usually leaves a team in a mess for the seasons to follow. The Islanders didn’t need a backup playing a minimal role when Sorokin was expected to carry the team in the net, or so it seemed.
Varlamov has been great all season. He has a .917 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.69 goals-against average (GAA) on 798 shots with 10.9 goals saved above average (GSAA) and more importantly, has been lights out down the stretch. He’s only allowed seven goals in his last four starts, highlighted by a 41-save shutout performance on April 6 against the Nashville Predators and it’s put the Islanders into a playoff position.
He’s 35 years old and will turn 36 in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs yet he’s proving he can still play at a high level. Varlamov can be a reliable backup and assume the starting role when needed and this season, it was needed. That four-year deal is off to a good start and for Lamoriello, it looks like one that will age well, something he can’t say about all the contracts he handed out.
Mayfield Costs the Islanders
This is the deal Lamoriello can and should be criticized for. It’s one thing to re-sign Scott Mayfield, a veteran defenseman playing a depth role on a team that had plenty of younger options. It’s another thing to sign him to a seven-year contract when he’s 30 and on the decline. Lamoriello did it anyway stating the same thing he’s been saying since taking over as the GM, which is that he’s confident in the group that’s in place.
This season was a disaster for Mayfield. Along with battling injuries, he became a liability on the ice. He lost a step as a skater and mishandled the puck in all three zones, allowing opponents to find easy scoring chances the other way. The last game he played this season was the Feb. 22 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues and since then he was placed on the long-term injured list. With Mayfield out of the lineup, the defense has not only looked faster but significantly better. The Islanders allowed 3.41 goals per game before placing the veteran on the injured list, since then, they’ve only been allowing 2.81 goals per game.
The Mayfield contract is only one season old and it’s not crazy to start thinking about a buyout. Lamoriello gave out a contract that would have most GMs in the league fired, yet because the Islanders haven’t seen their season fall apart, they won’t do that to the long-time GM. Instead, Lamoriello must pivot, since the sooner he moves on from this deal, the better off he and the Islanders will be as a whole.
Pierre Engvall
The hope was that Pierre Engvall would become an integral part of the top six when he signed a seven-year deal in the offseason. He’s struggled to find a role in the forward unit and has had a rough season with only 10 goals and 16 assists. The good news is that he’s 27 and there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. He has the speed and the shot to become a staple in the forward unit and in the long run, he’s poised to become a key part of the offense.
Better yet, Engvall has stepped up in a big way for the Islanders recently. He has two goals and an assist in the last four games and found the back of the net against the Montreal Canadiens on April 11 in a game the Islanders needed and ended up winning in overtime. He can flip a switch at any time and with the playoffs around the corner, he looks poised to finish the season strong and help the team put together a great playoff run.
The Give & Take of Lamoriello
The bottom line is that the offseason decisions left the Islanders in a middling state and the lack of movement at the trade deadline didn’t help his cause either. The Islanders look like a playoff team and the decision to run it back is helping them put together a strong finish to the season, but the question is what this team’s ceiling is. If it’s still a playoff exit in the first round, it’s hard to say if that secures Lamoriello’s tenure as the GM for the future.
The Varlamov deal however is a reminder that Lamoriello at times is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. The rest of the league was devaluing the goaltending position and investing elsewhere. He doubled down on the position with the Varlamov contract with the belief that good goaltending is necessary to make the playoffs.
Fast forward to the home stretch of the season and a lot of teams are flailing while the Islanders continue to surge up the standings largely because of the stability they have in the net. Sure, the Lamoriello tenure is a frustrating one, but it’s hard to deny that it’s been a successful one for the most part.
