John Tavares left for Toronto on Sunday, creating a major void at the forward position. Curiously, Lou Lamoriello has spent the days since acquiring … a bunch of fourth-liners?
Yeah, that’s right.
Since Sunday, the Islanders have signed or traded for Tom Kühnhackl, Leo Komarov, Matt Martin and Valtteri Filppula. In sum, the team will allocate $8.95 million on this quartet of fourth-liners.
That isn’t all. The team was already paying Cal Clutterbuck ($3.5m), Casey Cizikas ($3.35m) and Ross Johnston (RFA), so this fourth line will be one of the most crowded — and expensive — units in all of hockey.