Lou Lamoriello finally pulls a series of moves which could lead to significant trade

The summer has been tough on the New York Islanders. The team was linked to Johnny Gaudreau and Nazem Kadri in this summer’s free-agent market, but failed to get them to come to New York… Fans are blaming GM Lou Lamoriello for his lack of actions on the free agent market, but might see a glimmer of hope on Monday as Lamoriello announced several signings by the Islanders.

On Monday, the Islanders signed forward Kieffer Bellows to a one-year contract, defenseman Noah Dobson to a three-year contract and newly acquired defenseman Alexander Romanov to a three-year contract as well.

Of course, they are not the solution the Islanders need to to improve his club’s offense for the coming season… There are some options left on the market: former Anaheim Ducks winger Sonny Milano remains available as well as Phil Kessel and Evan Rodrigues, who are the top remaining UFA wingers.

One option that could be revisited by Lamoriello is the possibility of acquiring J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks, which he reportedly attempted to do during the draft in Montreal back in July. NYI Hockey Now’s Stefen Rosner recently wondered if Lamoriello could go back to the Canucks, whose asking price remains high due to Miller’s value to their franchise.

With these new signatures on Monday (AAV on Bellows is $1.2M, Romanov’s contract holds a $2.5M AAV and it's a $4M AAV for Dobson) Lamoriello would have to shed some salary to make room for Miller.

Today’s moves are nothing extraordinary but are still the only action fans have gotten out of the Islanders so far this offseason. Lamoriello might pull a trigger on a significant trade or… he could also stay put until Miller and another forward becomes more affordable during the season…

With Lamoriello, we can never tell.