POP THE CORK!
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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — If there is one thing the Islanders have in abundance going into this season it’s flexibility.
New team president Lou Lamoriello is strapped with the task of rebuilding this once-proud franchise that has fallen into disrepair. In doing so, he has not committed to any player long term, and can still make more moves once the season starts to better advance his plan.
In the forward group alone, there are six players who are set to be unrestricted free agents next year. Depending on how the season begins, Lamoriello might be shopping them on the trade market sooner rather than later.
“I’m just trying to observe as many of the players, the little traits that they have, the things that they’re doing [that are] natural,” Lamoriello said recently. “Trying to get used to the different styles of people. We’ve certainly seen them, watched a lot of video in the summer, I’ve seen them live. But you really don’t get to know your players until you see them each and every day.”
One of the most interesting cases will be how Lamoriello deals with Jordan Eberle. The high-scoring winger was obtained last summer in a trade with the Oilers, a coup of a deal by then-general manager Garth Snow, sending underachieving young forward Ryan Strome back to Edmonton. Eberle, 28, has just this year left on his sixyear, $36 million deal, and his $6 million annual salary-cap hit is the highest of any forward on the team.
Lamoriello is going to have to decide how important he is to the team going forward, and therefore either try to negotiate a contract extension or start seeing what he could receive in return on the open market.
“Obviously there is going to be chatter about it,” Eberle said before he collected two assists in his team’s 5-2 preseason win over the Rangers at Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night. “But for me, I’m just trying to continue to play hockey and not worry about it.”
Eberle had some nice chemistry this past season with young center and Calder Trophy winner Mat Barzal, eventually putting up 25 goals and 59 points in 81 games. Yet first-year coach Barry Trotz has spent much of the preseason playing Eberle on the right side on a line with Anders Lee and Brock Nelson — two other players who are also set to be unrestricted free agents at season’s end.
Eberle has surpassed the 30goal mark once — notching 34 in 2011-12 with the Oilers — and the hope for the Islanders is he can reach that level again.
“I think as a guy, each player here, you want to find your game early,” Eberle said. “I think that’s the biggest thing in training camp — you want to feel comfortable and confident so when the season starts, there’s no question marks in your head. You want to be ready to go, and confidence is a big thing.”
Nelson, 26, was a restricted free agent this summer, and Lamoriello got him to sign a one-year, $4.25 million deal. Lee, 28, has proven to be one of the best netfront players in the league and is finishing up his four-year, $15 million deal. Lamoriello also inked one-year deals for veterans Valtteri Filppula ($2.75 million) and Tom Kuhnhackl ($700,000), while also taking a oneyear flyer on KHL veteran Jan Cover ($2 million).
Odds are the Islanders aren’t going to be pushing for tops in the Metropolitan Division, so Lamoriello is likely going to be faced with the chance to make some trades and acquire either prospects or draft picks. The options are plentiful, which is just the way Lamoriello wanted it in his first year running the show.
“It’s not fun when you have meaningless games to play the rest of the year and don’t have a chance to make the playoffs. Those are the toughest times,” said Eberle, who made the playoffs just once during his seven years in Edmonton. “But you come back at the start of the season like this, you have a fresh start. It’s a clean slate.”