New York Islanders: Why They Made No Moves At The Trade Deadline

The surprisingly first-place New York Islanders let the trade deadline pass with no major moves. Ilya Kovalchuk would have been a logical addition, but the roster is fine as it sits.

There’s an old saying – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This seems to be the advice general manager Lou Lamoriello took with his New York Islanders as the NHL trade deadline passed Monday at 3:00 p.m. But unlike the old saying, the Islanders are far from broken as they still sit first in the Metropolitan Division.

The Isles have exceeded anyone’s expectations this season, their first under Lamoriello, as well as first in quite some time without John Tavares on the ice. Even though the Islanders seemed like buyers in every sense of the word, a quiet trade deadline came as no surprise to anyone who knows Lamoriello.

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Throughout his previous tenure with both the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, he was no stranger to trades. However, Lamoriello rarely made the biggest splash at the trade deadline or any splash at all. The obvious exception to this rule is the Ilya Kovalchuk trade that sent the then Atlanta Thrashers’ franchise player to New Jersey.

Speaking of Kovalchuk, there were some who thought he would waive his no trade clause from the Los Angeles Kings to go to the Islanders this season. All signs pointed to the now un-retired NHL player being a logical addition.

Kovalchuk would have slotted nicely into a second line top six forward with the Islanders, as he’s been playing the same role with the Kings as of late.

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Although his stats have gone down since the glory days of winning scoring records in Atlanta, Kovalchuk still logs heavy power play minutes with roughly half his goals every season coming on the man advantage.

That’s the analytics case, but there’s also the overlooked factor of a reunion between Lamoriello and Kovalchuk. They seems to have an amicable working relationship, as there doesn’t appear to be any ill will over Kovalchuk’s initial abrupt retirement.

He even mentioned that Lamoriello met to talk with him when the Kings played the Islanders this season, adding more fuel to the trade speculation. There’s also Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, who is used to coaching a similar player in Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin is a much more dominant, talented, and well-rounded player Kovalchuk is or ever was, but there’s no question that after coaching him for so many years, Trotz would know how to exactly utilize the likes of Kovalchuk on his roster.

Yes, there were bigger names on the market, but Kovalchuk’s history with Lamoriello, style of play fitting a few of the islanders needs, and the need for the Kings to sell made him a more realistic option than Matt Duchene or Mark Stone. That’s the trade deadline acquisition that could have been, and never was. Perhaps it was for the better, as Islanders fans wouldn’t be happy with how Kovalchuk’s contract looks in a few years.

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This year was a definite buyers’ market, with teams like the Kings and Ottawa Senators holding roster wide liquidation sales to the highest bidder. It’s when the trade market is over-saturated that leads to teams over paying and making impulsive trade decisions that rarely pay off long-term, if at all.

This, mixed with the uncertainty that would come with changing up his surprisingly successful status quo, lead Lou to be silent at the trade phones Monday afternoon. Let this be a lesson to all GM’s, just because you can buy, doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

The Islander’s ticket to the playoffs is all but clinched, but that’s where the real test will be. Often times in the playoffs, weaknesses that a team has that might have flown under the radar unnoticed are exposed when going against the NHL top teams in the ultra-competitive playoffs. If there’s any places the Islanders need to make an improvement, you’ll see them on full display here. Not to mention the Islanders have a plethora of expiring contracts and players heading toward free agency this summer.

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How Lamoriello reacts to fixing those problems will be a bigger make or break than a quiet trade deadline. But until then, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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