A few Islanders items of interest as we creep up on a fairly huge three weeks in the life of the organization:



— Lou Lamoriello has the cone of silence firmly over his coaching search but the timeline appears to be on the shorter end — it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Islanders name a new head coach before the draft begins on June 22. It would, in fact, be more of a shock if the search lasts beyond next weekend’s draft in Dallas.



One of the main reasons, clearly, is the looming John Tavares decision. Tavares, as you may have heard, is 19 days away from free agency and 13 days away from being able to talk with prospective teams that are not the Isles. He’s certainly not out there making demands on Lamoriello, but the Islanders president and general manager is no novice — he is well aware the new coach will be a big factor as Tavares decides whether to stay or go.



This timeline means that if the Islanders are interested...