The harsh reality for the New York Islanders, after an emotionally draining few days, is that there’s still a lot of work to do. John Tavares – the face of their franchise, captain, and number one center – left as a free agent for the Toronto Maple Leafs, leaving a gap right down the middle of their lineup. The Islanders are now left to pick up the pieces and find a way to at least somewhat fill the void he’s left them with and move forward as best as they can.



Even with Tavares, the Islanders have been a flawed team for quite some time. In recent years, those flaws primarily were their coaching, goaltending, and defense. There’s been a regime change this offseason though, with general manager Garth Snow shifting elsewhere in the organization and Lou Lamoriello taking the reins. His first notable change was replacing head coach Doug Weight with Barry Trotz. Then, that new iteration of the Islanders’ management shifted all of their attention...