The roster of men who didn’t speak on breakup day stated all of it.
Anthony Duclair, who didn’t play the season’s final eight video games after Patrick Roy known as him out in terribly harsh phrases, didn’t tackle reporters, with an Islanders spokesman declining to say whether or not Duclair was even on the premises.
Roy didn’t speak both.
Nor did basic supervisor Lou Lamoriello.
Pierre Engvall wasn’t there as a result of his spouse is having a child — an excused absence, to be clear, however one which’s fairly on the nostril.
There can be recriminations for this disappointing Islanders season, and it wouldn’t be a shock if all or any of these 4 had been on the incorrect finish of them.
For now, there’s a complete lot unanswered about how the membership will transfer ahead after lacking the playoffs.
The themes from those that did speak Saturday: The Islanders felt they lacked consistency and identification; the failures to shut out video games early within the season had been introduced up repeatedly; so had been each particular groups after the ability play and penalty kill every ranked thirty first within the league.
“It’s having that confidence in ourselves,” Casey Cizikas stated. “I think it’s learning and knowing that we can close out games when we need to. Not giving up late goals or giving up leads and things like that, having that confidence in ourselves and in our group that we can get the job done, put teams away when we need to. That’s something we need to learn how to do.”
It doesn’t really feel prefer it, particularly to the gamers themselves, but it surely’s been a very long time for the reason that Islanders persistently executed the type of play they rode to 2 NHL last fours underneath Barry Trotz.
Whether or not within the playoffs or not, they’ve been within the league’s mushy center for 4 seasons now.
Closing out video games, the penalty kill, the ability play — these aren’t new points.
Buying and selling for Bo Horvat was supposed to repair the ability play.
That was 2 ½ seasons in the past.
Hiring Roy was supposed to assist the entire above and didn’t; the pinnacle coach’s destiny goes to should be determined quick now, with the NHL’s teaching carousel getting stepping into earnest Saturday.
“I feel like coming out of camp, we felt ready for the season,” Kyle Palmieri stated, when requested what he fabricated from Roy’s first full season behind the bench. “There was some stuff we had to adjust on the fly when he came in last year. We had more time to meet and play around with things in preseason games and stuff like that, so I think everyone felt a little more comfortable. But as far as adjustments, there’s things we probably have to do to become a better team and a more complete team.”
As lately as a month in the past, it might have been a stretch to think about Roy on the recent seat.
The way in which the Islanders crashed out of the season, with Roy primarily exiling Duclair initially of April, places a giant query mark there along with the one which’s been over Lamoriello’s head all season.
So too does the parade of gamers Saturday citing issues that had been, in essence, unchanged from a 12 months in the past or two years in the past.
Roy clearly is way from the one offender there and isn’t the one particular person whose job is in query.
Lamoriello constructed this roster and stood behind the core for years when the outcomes weren’t as much as par.
Loads of particular person gamers didn’t carry out as anticipated, and lots extra acquired harm.
Who and to what extent isn’t but recognized, however the place the previous few breakup days primarily conveyed a defiant self-belief, the vibe Saturday — actually, the vibe for the reason that commerce deadline — felt extra like an acceptance that change is coming.
“You go to the consistency. I think we lacked that throughout the year,” Anders Lee stated. “I believe we had moments the place we put good video games collectively and didn’t get outcomes. We had moments the place we didn’t shut out video games. You possibly can pinpoint a couple of, however begin with these.
“You start playing consistent hockey over and over again each night, the results will come. We did our best to get to that, but we didn’t get to it nearly enough.”
And now the Islanders are going residence.
