The silly season is upon us.



The contact period for pending unrestricted free agents is underway and the calls and meetings have begun in earnest. Starting Wednesday, the window to contact restricted free agents begins — a period that has never mattered much but suddenly, with a lower-than-expected salary cap and a who’s who of RFAs, means quite a lot in the run up to July 1, when all these discussions can turn into deals.



The Islanders are still talking to their own UFAs, even as other teams are calling on Anders Lee and Robin Lehner. They are also starting to make the rounds of the league’s agents, with some holes to fill now and possibly more should they fail to agree with their captain or their rejuvenated goalie.



Lou Lamoriello hasn’t dropped any hints on the team’s plans, of course. So we’ve gone ahead and made a long list of free agents, unrestricted and restricted, who fit the Isles roster best, from the dreamiest...