Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
Neil Smith slams Islanders’ offseason: Haven’t ‘improved at all’
By Christian Arnold,
6 hours ago
A former Islanders and Rangers executive seemed to be less than impressed with the Isles’ offseason moves with the NHL season quickly approaching.
Neil Smith, the general manager who built the 1994 Stanley Cup-winning Rangers and infamously spent only 40 days in the GM’s chair on Long Island before being fired by former Isles’ owner Charles Wang, believes that the Islanders are “stuck in park” after a relatively quiet offseason.
Smith was discussing the Islanders on the “NHL Wraparound Podcast,” which he co-hosts, when he made the comments on the Metropolitan Division preview episode.
“I don’t see this team having improved at all,” Smith said. “I don’t think they’ve moved. I think they’re stuck in park to be honest with you.”
“Duclair was able to get Lou to give him a four-year deal, which I was stunned at because, as you said at the open of the Islanders segment here, Anthony Duclair is on his ninth team in 11 years,” the former NHL exec said. “Well, you know what, there’s something going on if every time you go to a team they don’t re-sign you, they move you on to the next team. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know the young man, but there’s something going on.”
He wasn’t entirely down on the signing, seeming to take a bit of a wait-and-see attitude about Duclair as Smith continued his thought on the addition.
The former Isles GM acknowledged that Lamoriello has long had a reputation for “being very conservative” during the offseason and still suggested that the Islanders could end up being third in the division again.
“The good news for the Islanders, the division’s not very good,” Smith said.
The Isles finished third in the Metro last year and made it into the playoffs, but were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
The Islanders have made the postseason in five of their six seasons with Lamoriello at the helm, but they’ve been eliminated in the first round the last two years and completely missed the playoffs in 2022.
Patrick Roy, who was hired in the middle of last season to replace Lane Lambert as head coach, will have his first full season behind the bench this year.
For the latest in sports, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/sports/
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0