Now what?
That is the question that is plaguing the Islanders in the aftermath of their captain and franchise cornerstone, John Tavares, leaving to sign a free-agent deal with his hometown Maple Leafs this summer. With a new team president in Lou Lamoriello and a new head coach in Barry Trotz, the team has established a new identity. Both have a history of winning, which the Islanders have lacked in the past three decades.
But the on-ice product is still something that is very much in flux. The questions abound with a team that might or might not be in the middle of a rebuild.