Islanders ‘probably moving on’ from Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin in potential changing of guard

The pathway for longtime Islanders Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin back to a locker room in which they are viewed as consummate leaders isn’t sealed off in stone.

But, general manager Lou Lamoriello acknowledged Friday in a conversation with The Post, it appears to be extremely narrow.

“We’ll probably be moving on,” Lamoriello told The Post. “That isn’t saying things can’t change. We’re talking about two veterans, two quality individuals. Two team leaders and two real good hockey players, so we’ll have to see how things come about. But we haven’t changed our thought process today any different than the last time we spoke.”

When Lamoriello last talked to reporters at the draft in Las Vegas, he did not sound optimistic about retaining the pair.

But this marked stronger language than he used either then or when he talked after the Islanders were eliminated from the playoffs.

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While the two fourth-liners would mark the biggest departures for the Islanders, the roster comes into next season with a distinctly different flavor a month from training camp.

Aiming to improve the forward group, the Islanders brought in Anthony Duclair on the first day of free agency and signed Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov out of the KHL.

“[Duclair] has speed, he has a knack of scoring,” Lamoriello said. “Extremely competitive and has played in high-level games with reference to, he knows what the playoffs are all about. And I think that all of that, plus he is of high character. I had the opportunity to spend a full day with him and I was completely impressed.”

Much as it’s been a common criticism that the Islanders don’t change, the forward group has turned over significantly over the past 19 months.

While that process hasn’t come quickly, since January 2023, the Isles have brought in Bo Horvat, Pierre Engvall, Duclair and Tsyplakov, while Kyle MacLean has broken in from the AHL.

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Likewise, Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey — two players once considered part of the core — are gone, to go with the likely departures of Martin and Clutterbuck.

It looked all but certain at the start of the offseason that Oliver Wahlstrom would join the list of departures.

But after signing a one-year, $1 million deal as a restricted free agent — a tradeable contract if things go that way — Lamoriello indicated the former first-round pick will be given every chance to make the team in training camp.

“I have no crystal ball right now to say what will and will not transpire,” Lamoriello said. “He’s preparing to be here and we’re preparing to have him here right now unless there’s something that changes from now until training camp.”

The biggest change from a year ago, however, isn’t what the roster looks like but who’s behind the bench.

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After taking over midseason and getting the Islanders into the playoffs with a 20-12-5 finish, Patrick Roy will get a chance to run training camp for the first time.

“It’s a tremendous difference coming into a full season with a full training camp,” Lamoriello said. “Especially having the knowledge, whether you call it limited, of what players can and can’t do. And some will be more of a surprise to him, too, because some adjust differently over a longer period of time than some adjust over a quick period of time. There’s no question it’s a decided asset having a full training camp with the team.”

Training camp intrigue aside, it appears the next major piece of business for the Islanders regards potential contract extensions for Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, all of whom became eligible to re-sign on July 1.

Dobson and Romanov are eligible to enter restricted free agency after this season while Nelson and Palmieri will be unrestricted if they don’t sign.

While the Islanders have signed core players to extensions early in the game in recent years — Mathew Barzal, Ilya Sorokin and Horvat being the operative examples — Lamoriello pointed out that hasn’t always been the case during his tenure, while declining to get into specifics on any of those four.

“We’ve signed people during their last [contract] year and post-last year,” he said, with Adam Pelech, Anders Lee, Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock all falling under those categories. “There’s nothing in cement. It’s not saying something couldn’t happen. It’s not something will happen.”

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