The New York Islanders are currently sitting four points out of a division playoff spot and six points out of a wildcard spot at the All-Star break. The Islanders quickly must decide whether they will be buyers or sellers at this year’s trade deadline on March 8th. Having an aging core group of players, General Manager Lou Lamoriello has a tough decision to make. This decision entails whether he wants to pursue a strong push for the playoffs or if it’s best to sell off some of their better players and re-tool for next season. This will likely be decided depending on how the team responds after the All-Star break with crucial games coming up.

Imagining the Islanders can string together a few wins to keep them in playoff contention, like recent years it is more than likely Lamoriello will take the option to buy at this year’s deadline. Last year, Lamoriello was able to acquire center Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks. This trade was rather successful for the Islanders considering Horvat is signed to an eight year extension that is worth $8.5 million.

However, this season seems like the Islanders will address the team’s defensive core in which they have been struggling all season. They currently rank 23rd in the league in goals against average, surrendering a whopping 3.12 goals against per game. Being a playoff contender, this needs to drastically change. Players like Noah Hanifin (Calgary Flames), Chris Tanev (Flames), Jacob Chychrun (Ottawa Senators) are all defensemen being shopped around that are most likely to be traded upon the deadline.

As bad as the team’s defense has been, it’s important to note that they have been suffering a handful of injuries. Therefore, in the eyes of Lamoriello it may be more of a “get healthy” situation for the team and target forwards to contribute to more goal scoring. There have already been a few forwards coming off the market due to early trades and if the Islanders want to pursue a goal scorer, they must act fast. Lamoriello is known for getting players who you least expect so it is hard to predict who he might target.

The other option besides buying at the deadline is selling. If the Islanders struggle to win games coming out of the break, it may be best for Lamoriello to trade away some of the players with decent trade value. This would be to acquire younger players or draft picks in an attempt to get a head start on next season. It would be unfortunate for Islanders fans, but if the playoffs seem unlikely then there is no reason for the team to not try and set themselves up for next season. Players that may have some value is star forward Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Cal Clutterbuck, Adam Pelech, and Samuel Bolduc.

It is no question that the next couple of weeks will be a rollercoaster of a ride for not only the team, but for the fan base as well.