Christian’s Daily Links: Let the Offseason Begin

It took nearly a full calendar year for Stanley Cup Champion to be crowned for the 2019-20 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning closed out the Cup Final on Monday night with a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars to secure the franchise’s second Stanley Cup.

The Tampa Bay victory will bring some Islanders fans some comfort over New York’s Eastern Conference finals loss.

A reminder that the #Isles trailed the eventual #StanleyCup winners for a total of 8.8 seconds over 4 games — that close.

— Eric Hornick (@ehornick) September 29, 2020

With a champion crowned, that means the offseason is officially upon us. The Islanders offseason began a little over a week ago, but now things will kick into high gear. The Islanders have plenty of items to deal with during the offseason from RFAs and UFAs to sign to handling their current cap situation.

On the latest episode of Hockey Night in New York, my co-host Sean Cuthbert and I dissected what the New York Islanders offseason will entail.

New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is scheduled to address the media this afternoon for the first time since their season came to an end earlier this month. Stay tuned for complete coverage of that.

Hockey Now

While the Islanders figure out what the 2020-21 team will look like, our friends over at Pittsburgh Hockey Now explore what the Pittsburgh Penguins lines could look like whenever next season starts. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Patrik Laine is an intriguing option for just about every team in the NHL, but how much does it make sense for certain teams? Sheng Peng examines that question for the San Jose Sharks. (San Jose Hockey Now)

We have a trade to announce! The Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights made a trade on Monday. (Vegas Hockey Now)

Around the Island

Is there some light at the end of the tunnel in ending New York’s championship drought? (NY Post)

Radar, the guide dog which the New York Islanders helped groom, has been helping a young swimmer from New York as she trains for the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo. (ITK)

Is there a market for a defenseman like Thomas Hickey? (Eyes on Isles)