Islanders make their first moves of the post-John Tavares era

Now Lou Lamoriello might have the hardest task of his legendary career as a NHL executive. No longer is it just about making personnel decisions, but Lamoriello is suddenly strapped with the job of trying to accelerate the Islanders through the stages of grief.

First, there was probably at least a mild bit of shock when John Tavares told the club he was moving on to sign a seven-year, $77 million deal with his hometown Maple Leafs on Sunday. Lamoriello, the club president since May 22, was likely then hit with some bouts of anger, while the fans went through a depression.

But the goal now is to move on, to get to the stage of acceptance. Then Lamoriello can get them to start thinking about life after Tavares and how to make it as best as possible.

Lamoriello tried to fill some holes with more stop-gap contracts Monday, the second day of free agency. He gave a one-year deal to depth winger Tom Kuhnhackl, a back-to-back Stanley Cup winner with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. Also picked up were two minor-league forwards — 30-year-old Mike Sislo, a former Devil under Lamoriello, to a one-year, two-way deal, and 27-year-old Matt Lorito, who got a two-year contract, the first year a two-way deal and the second a one-way.

Another former Devil came aboard in defenseman Seth Helgeson, once considered a top prospect in New Jersey who spent this past season as an alternate captain for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. The 27-year-old received a two-year, two-way deal.

see also

What Islanders can do now with their John Tavares money

John Tavares deciding on Sunday to sign with the Maple…

Goalie Christopher Gibson also re-upped, signing a two-year, two-way deal.

To go along with Sunday’s signings of Thomas Hickey, Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula, the Islanders are doing what they can to restock the organization. The high-end quality hasn’t been there yet, but it seems like Lamoriello was doing what he could to shore up what was an awful penalty kill this past season.

Lamoriello did strike out on trying to trade for the Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly — but the price ended up being very, very steep. The Blues gave up a first-rounder, second-rounder and three roster players for the center. Some other trades are out there, and the names of Blue Jackets’ Artemi Panarin and the Senators’ Erik Karlsson will remain at the top of the list of possible trade pieces.

That would ease the blow from Tavares’ departure, which, no matter how many small moves Lamoriello makes, still seems like it is bringing grief in large doses.