Rumor: Islanders have agreed to deals with 3 unrestricted free agents.

Lamoriello making moves.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Rumor: Islanders have agreed to deals with 3 unrestricted free agents.
Joel Marklund/Bildbyran/Zuma

In spite of the fact that this was expected to be a rather tumultuous offseason for the New York Islanders things have been relatively quiet with the possible exception of the trade that sent defenseman Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche. The trade was clearly designed to be a cap cutting move on the part of Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello but, perhaps thanks in large part to the injury that forced Islanders defenseman  Johnny Boychuk to retire, he has thus far avoided having to make any other moves of that nature.

In fact according to recent comments from National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman it would appear as though the Islanders have actually been quietly making additions to their roster rather than subtractions. Now admittedly the names being linked to the Islanders here are relatively underwhelming, but it is a clear sign that Lamoriello intends to shore up the depth on his roster by adding established NHL veterans to the Islanders current roster. Interestingly enough, although none of these deals have been announced, Friedman claims that the Islanders have some kind of agreement in place with Matt MartinCory Schneider and Andy Greene.

"The Islanders have a bunch of deals that they haven't announced yet," said Friedman on Boomer in the morning.  Everyone believes they've got a deal done with Andy Greene, they've got a deal done with Cory Schneider, and I think they have a deal done with Matt Martin and they haven't announced them yet because they've got other things to do."

The addition of Schneider will no doubt be the move that leaves most members of the Islanders fan base scratching their heads. The former Devils goaltender is now an aging veteran who seemingly has little left in the tank. In the 2019 - 2020 regular season Schneider made just 13 appearances and posted an abysmal 3.53 goals against and an equally ugly .887 save percentage for the Devils who were admittedly a bad NHL team. 

Martin and Greene on the other hand are well known commodities given their play with the Islanders this past season both under normal circumstances and in the unusual environment of the bubble. I suspect both Lou Lamoriello and Islanders head coach Barry Trotz view the gritty veterans as players that play an integral role in their tough brand of hockey.

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