Free Agent Frenzy: Lamoriello’s Wait Until 12:01 Eastern on Wednesday

Wednesday at 12:00 pm ET kicks off free agent frenzy in the National Hockey League. And that is a minute before New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello will pick up his phone and start making phone calls to free agents on his wish list.

Lamoriello has his strict rules that he expects others to follow. He also has his own set of rules that he follows.

In the latest edition of Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek’s podcast ‘32 Thoughts’, Friedman was discussing the internet level of the New York Rangers and New York Islanders in recent Stanley Cup winner Nazem Kadri, who is likely leaving the mile-high city.

“Lou Lamoriello is notorious for not calling until 12:01 Eastern on Wednesday. He is old school. He does not break the rules,” Friedman said. “And that’s why this guy [Elliotte’s source] said to me was you might have to wait for some clarity if the Islanders are indeed part of this.”

Forgetting the Kadri move for a second, which does not seem ideal for Lamoriello given the fact that he already has four centers that are not going anywhere, it’s about the principle.

Lamoriello waits. Lamoriello doesn’t cheat. Lamoriello plays by the rules.

But does that negatively affect his chances of acquiring the top available free agents?

Let’s be real for a second. Teams talk to players before they are allowed to. It happens not just across the NHL, but in every league. General managers not only want to jumpstart their hunt of a said player but also want to begin building relationships and showing their interest as early as can be to try to sway that player in signing with their club.

And although Lamoriello does not make a phone call, that does not mean his staff have not reached out.

The biggest fish as of right now is Johnny Gaudreau, who has until 11:59 PM on Wednesday to return to the Calgary Flames on an eight-year deal.

It was reported a few days ago that the Philadelphia Flyers had not engaged in talks with Gaudreau as of yet, but as of Tuesday are doing all they can to clear cap space. There’s no coincidence there.

On the Gaudreau front, there is not much information to be shared, in terms of which teams talked to him or reached out. But teams have.

If Johnny Gaudreau returns to Calgary or the Islanders don’t see themselves landing him on the free-agent market, there are other names. Obviously, you have Nazem Kadri, but others like David Perron and Ondrej Palat are set to hit the market and they will be garnering heavy interest.

How much does waiting even a minute impact the likelihood of signing players?