Sunday afternoon’s game against the New Jersey Devils did not matter. Neither does Tuesday’s final home game against the Washington Capitals or Thursday night’s regular-season finale in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.
The New York Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention following Saturday night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
After scrambling their way back into the payoff picture toward the end of March — they were just two points out of a playoff spot on March 21 — the Islanders lost nine of their next 11 games to fall out of the race. This is just the second time in the last seven years that they will not be participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“This isn’t a place we want to be,” captain Anders Lee said. “It has been a year where we left games on the table. We fought through a lot of adversity and did our best to keep our footing. We gave ourselves a chance the last 15 games, but stretches at times that lasted a game or two too long put us in a spot where it was out of our control. It’s disappointing no doubt to not have a go at this thing.”
It might have been the last chance for a number of Islanders skaters to have one more run with the organization.
Following two consecutive Stanley Cup semifinal appearances in 2020 and 2021, the last four years have been nothing short of mediocre: A playoff miss in 2022 followed by two straight first-round eliminations at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Spending the majority of the 2024-25 campaign on the fringe of the playoff picture, general manager Lou Lamoriello promised significant changes during the offseason after assessing his moves at the deadline. He shipped long-time center Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche, but could not find a deal for Kyle Palmieri, who is on an expiring contract.
While there have been talks of an extension in the works for Palmieri, the likes of Lee and veteran center Jean-Gabriel Pageau — each of whom have one year left on their contract — could be prime trade candidates for a team that needs to shake things up. The window has closed on the largey unchanged core that made those two deep playoff runs five and four years ago.
The Islanders will have five unrestricted (Palmieri, Matt Martin, Hudson Fasching, Mike Reilly, Ton DeAngelo) and seven restricted free agents to contend with. The restricted list is a bit more pressing with defenseman Noah Dobson, who regressed this season, and winger Simon Holmstrom, who just hit his first 20-goal season, on it.
Getting Anthony Duclair right will also be a priority. The veteran winger who signed a four-year deal with the Islanders last summer lost 28 games due to injury, was called out multiple times by head coach Patrick Roy, and was ultimately admitted a leave of absence for the final weeks of the regular season.
