Welcome to the new era of Islanders hockey.

Nearly everything about the way the Islanders operate off the ice and about their long-term plans on the ice took a 180-degree turn this offseason. Lou Lamoriello is gone, Mathieu Darche is in. Noah Dobson is gone, Matthew Schaefer is here. A prospect pipeline bereft of talent for years on end is now brimming with players.

What was almost a second thought within all of that, though, was the 2025-26 Islanders, who are in the middle of moving from one era to the next.

The goal is still the playoffs, and in a weak Metropolitan Division, that’s more than possible. But the Islanders are no longer in the business of sacrificing the future for the present.

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