Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz hadn’t said much since John Tavares left the Islanders beyond Lamoriello’s brief statement on Sunday wishing the former captain well. That both the president/GM and coach appeared on SiriusXM’s NHL Network channel within a few hours of one another Thursday may have meant that the Islanders were ready to move on from Tavares after a few days of silence.



“We did everything I think we possibly could to keep John,” Lamoriello said Thursday morning. “He’s been an exceptional player for the Islanders and is a quality player. But he now is with another team, so that’s the past. What we’re doing right now is trying to get knowledge of who we are and learning more about each and every one of the players we have here. We’ll get Barry and I and our staff, we’ll get prepared for next year.”



Trotz, one of the better communicators among NHL coaches, reiterated that view later in...