The Islanders’ acquisition of Andy Greene on Sunday addressed a need the team had on the blue line. The Isles have struggled without Adam Pelech on the backend and Greene takes the pressure off rookie defenseman Noah Dobson and others as well.
It was a good first step for an Islander team that sits third in the Metropolitan Division, but it cannot be the only one they make before next Monday’s trade deadline.
The good thing is it seems Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello isn’t done looking to improve the team. As always though it comes with the caveat that it has to be the right deal and that he won’t make a trade just to make one.
“I don’t think there is any question we’d be willing to make (a trade),” Lamoriello said on a conference call Sunday afternoon. “It certainly has to be the right situation and the right player and the right fit. Also, we cannot lose sight of tomorrow, but wherever we can get help we’re going to do that.
“I stayed back from the trip specifically for this reason and we’ll see how things play out.”
The next area of concern the Islanders to need to look at is upfront and addressing their scoring issues. The Islanders were never an offensive juggernaut, but the defensive struggles have highlighted the lack of scoring more and more.
The Islanders are coming off back-to-back games where they were shutout.
Plenty of names have been bantered about as potential targets for the Isles. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tyler Toffoli are the two big names that have fans salivating over heading towards the 3 p.m. trade deadline on Monday.
Another thought now is that Lamoriello could also circle back to the Devils to take another look at some of New Jersey’s forwards who may be available.
Regardless, the Islanders need to make another move to help shore up things offensively. Trading to pick up Andy Greene was a good first move for the Islanders, who are in win-now mode it appears.
Lamoriello has never been one to make rash decisions or to make a trade just for the heck of it — and that isn’t going to change now — but another deal should be made before the deadline to give the Islanders a better chance at a deep postseason run.
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