Daily Faceoff Live: New York Islanders are on life support right now

The New York Islanders seem to be in big trouble right now. They are slowly slipping away from a playoff spot and have just one win in their last 10 games.

Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk spoke about the Islanders’ recent struggles on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: It now becomes a mathematical improbability whether or not they can get back in the running and catch a team like the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins.

What worries me about the New York Islanders is their inability to score. They have scored more than three goals in a game just once in the 2023 calendar year. The last time was 11 games ago. This is not a new story. We know they have playmakers, they have Mat Barzal, one of the best in the league, but they don’t have finishers. They need to find more goal production.

The problem is, when you look at how their salary cap is structured on an aging squad with a lot of terms already given out, there isn’t a ton of flexibility for Lou Lamoriello at the trade deadline. And that’s the problem, it’s every Islanders fan’s worst nightmare because they’ve gotten to this point, because they’re in a place where they might not make the playoffs, and they’ve already basically doubled over this summer list, so a really tough place to live if you’re a New York Islanders fan.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, and you’re not mentioning a lot of pieces for sale right now, and when you look at their pending UFA list, it’s not exactly a ton of options here on the list, where you go « Oh yeah , they can get a second for this guy or a first for this guy Zach Parise up front, Scott Mayfield on the blue line could be a guy that would have some value if they decide to leave him.

Frank Seravalli: I don’t see the Islanders selling, that’s the problem.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Do you think Lou is going to be stubborn?

Frank Seravalli: Well, it’s been that far. We didn’t see any kind of indication. You take a look at the pending UFAs you just mentioned, we haven’t seen any indication that they’re going to go down that route where they’re starting to rip pieces off. I guess they are trying to re-sign someone like a Scott Mayfield for example.

So I don’t know where they go from here. That’s the thing about the deadline, only God and Lou Lamoriello would know. But in this case, given the posture they’ve shown so far, we have no reason to believe they’re going to be anything other than what they’ve been so far.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Maybe they are candidates for some sort of hockey trade?

Frank Seravalli: Or a purchase? Would you throw good after bad this year?

Tyler Yaremchuk: I don’t know, it’s hard. They’re in a good place, and as you see with the rankings, the math just isn’t in their favor. And again, I’ve said that phrase before, but it’s getting late early for a lot of these teams. And when you’re a team like the Islanders and not only are you out of a playoff spot, but you have to skip 2-3 teams just to get in.

Frank Seravalli: I will say this, if they come in they could be a really interesting team because of Ilya Sorokin. Look at their defensive measures, look at their numbers. Barry Trotz is gone, but they still play a bit like a Barry Trotz team in the sense that they sound defensively. And Ilya Sorokin did such a good job of keeping the puck out of the net that maybe that’s why you’re trying to push for an add, because you have the goalie to get you there once you get through the door.

You can watch the full episode here…