The old boys club of Queens is in session as the Islanders are in transition from the Lamerillo era and the young Darche years.
Since drafting Schaeffer, Eklund, and Aitcheson in 2025, the Islanders surprised rivals with adding Brayden Schenn, Carson Soucy, and Ondrej Palat at the deadline.
While not making the playoffs, their captain, Andres Lee, left in free agency and signed with Utah. Bo Horvat earned the C through adversity in Vancouver, and being a top performer since the move on the Islanders. This could also be a mentorship program to transition the C to the franchise defender eventually.
With Varlamov hoping to return to the ice this season, Vanacek joins from Utah to give depth to the pipeline and Maccelli added to the offense.
New York feels old and stale after the conference final days, do they continue to tread younger or find a star and win?