Not Ken Holland or Jarmo Kekalainen.

I don't pretend to know exactly who the best candidates are, but if the search were up to me I'd be starting with AGM's from teams like Dallas/Tampa/Carolina/Florida (among others) who regularly draft well outside of the first round and have built teams that are perennial contenders.
- Gabe Athaus

This is the line this organization should be looking at.

Agreed. What about Roy getting the GM job?
What would you think about that?
- nyisles7

It actually makes a lot of sense. He is the GM, his assistant from Quebec becomes the HC, Benoit Desrosiers and you bring your choice for defense and offense. Finally get rid of John MacLean and Tommy Albelin

Newsday has Rob Blake, Gregory Campbell, Mathieu Darche, Jeff Gorton, and Don Sweeney as possible replacements. Maybe they should hire Campbell so his dad can stop his Islanders hate.

I like Darche out of that list from Tampa.
- ses111

Jeff Gorton is not a bad either.

It actually makes a lot of sense. He is the GM, his assistant from Quebec becomes the HC, Benoit Desrosiers and you bring your choice for defense and offense. Finally get rid of John MacLean and Tommy Albelin
- Nfdbulldawg

John MacLean and Tommy Albelin. FINALLY. The isles over the last few decades have put together quite an all star coaching/management team. The coach should always pick his assistants…..ALWAYS.

It actually makes a lot of sense. He is the GM, his assistant from Quebec becomes the HC, Benoit Desrosiers and you bring your choice for defense and offense. Finally get rid of John MacLean and Tommy Albelin
- Nfdbulldawg

There is a lot of talk that Collins hired Patrick and Patrick is not going anywhere. We will see.

John MacLean and Tommy Albelin. FINALLY. The isles over the last few decades have put together quite an all star coaching/management team. The coach should always pick his assistants…..ALWAYS.
- kindlyrick

These GM's in a lot of these sports are out of control. They want to be the coach as well and install puppets.

Jeff Gorton is not a bad either.
- Nfdbulldawg

I couldn't figure out the inclusion of Jeff Gorton on that list. He's the president of hockey ops in Montreal and I can't see a reason he'd leave a job like that to come to the Islanders.

Mathieu Darche is the guy I am most intrigued about. His name has been thrown around out there in the past and obviously Tampa has a stellar track record in the last 10 years (not sure exactly how long he's been with them). Maybe Don Sweeney leave the Bruins at the end of his contract (he was mentioned in that article as well) and becomes the president of hockey ops here and Darche is the GM, something like that could be good.

I couldn't figure out the inclusion of Jeff Gorton on that list. He's the president of hockey ops in Montreal and I can't see a reason he'd leave a job like that to come to the Islanders.

Mathieu Darche is the guy I am most intrigued about. His name has been thrown around out there in the past and obviously Tampa has a stellar track record in the last 10 years (not sure exactly how long he's been with them). Maybe Don Sweeney leave the Bruins at the end of his contract (he was mentioned in that article as well) and becomes the president of hockey ops here and Darche is the GM, something like that could be good.
- Gabe Athaus

Sweeney and Darche would be good. Blake was mentioned because of Patrick. I also cannot see Gorton leaving.

Sweeney and Darche would be good. Blake was mentioned because of Patrick. I also cannot see Gorton leaving.
- ses111

I'm not particularly impressed with Rob Blake's work in LA. He's made some poor decisions (Dubois being the most recent) and he's pretty low on my list of potential candidates.

I'm not particularly impressed with Rob Blake's work in LA. He's made some poor decisions (Dubois being the most recent) and he's pretty low on my list of potential candidates.
- Gabe Athaus

I agree about Blake. Would someone like Dean Lombardi work as a President?

I agree about Blake. Would someone like Dean Lombardi work as a President?
- ses111

Maybe, I don't know. He's working as a senior advisor with the Flyers, so no idea if he's interested in leaving or not. I don't love him either, but probably like him more than Blake.

Frankly, I don't even really know what the division of duties between the president of hockey ops and the GM are.

Maybe, I don't know. He's working as a senior advisor with the Flyers, so no idea if he's interested in leaving or not. I don't love him either, but probably like him more than Blake.

Frankly, I don't even really know what the division of duties between the president of hockey ops and the GM are.
- Gabe Athaus

No question about Lombardi's past success. I believe he turned down the Islander job before the committee. Lot of unanswered questions with the Islanders and if Collins will be President and if they are just looking for GM.

No question about Lombardi's past success. I believe he turned down the Islander job before the committee. Lot of unanswered questions with the Islanders and if Collins will be President and if they are just looking for GM.
- ses111

I would assume that Collins won't be the president, not great to have an owner involved in the day-to-day hockey ops decisions. If they go with a first-time GM hire, I would imagine they'd hire a president to oversee things. If they go with a veteran GM maybe there is no president but mixing ownership into things would be a disaster.

I would assume that Collins won't be the president, not great to have an owner involved in the day-to-day hockey ops decisions. If they go with a first-time GM hire, I would imagine they'd hire a president to oversee things. If they go with a veteran GM maybe there is no president but mixing ownership into things would be a disaster.
- Gabe Athaus

I'd rather Collins not be President. It's telling Patrick was not let go.

These GM's in a lot of these sports are out of control. They want to be the coach as well and install puppets.
- ses111

Yeah agreed. The isles need to do their due diligence and find the guy who’s got the pedigree. Plenty of AGMs would love to take the leap to GM so the isles will have options. Whether it’s Florida, Carolina, Tampa….interview all the AGMs from the winning, well built organizations and make your best selection for the isles needs of drafting better and special teams.

Nelson 0 points in the first two games.
- ses111

From The Athletic:

DENVER — The answer was shorter than the question.

“What do you need to see from your second line?” a reporter asked Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar after Monday night’s game in Dallas.

“I need to see more,” Bednar said matter-of-factly after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

That No. 2 line of Brock Nelson between Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin has yet to fully get going two games into the playoffs.

But at the heart of it, too, is the continued adjustment period for Nelson, the Team USA 4 Nations forward still finding his way after playing the first 12 years of his NHL career with the New York Islanders.

Nelson had six goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games with the Avs after the March 6 blockbuster trade and hasn’t hit the scoresheet yet in two postseason games.

“I think it’s been a slow build,” Bednar said Sunday when asked about the 33-year-old’s game with Colorado. “I think his game is getting better as the season has gone on. I don’t think he had any problems with the adjustments when it comes to systems or anything like that, or tactical play, I think it’s just chemistry with linemates and finding ways to get more dangerous offensively. What I’ve learned about him is that he’s always in the right spots. He’s got a great skill set, obviously, but he plays with a really good conscience. He doesn’t give up quality scoring chances very often.

“On the defensive side, he’s super responsible, which I love. I still think there’s another step to his offensive game that we can’t see (now) … because you’re in the highest checking part of the season, right?”

Nelson is hardly the first player traded at the deadline who’s needed a bit of time to find his stride in a new environment. It’s been well documented that Mikko Rantanen is still finding his way across the aisle with the Stars. It’s why teams would much rather make these trades as early as possible in the season, but salary cap constraints dictate that most of these transactions always happen closer to the deadline.

Which tightens the adjustment period. One NHL scout from a rival team told The Athletic during Game 2 that he’s not worried about Nelson because he’s too intelligent a player and too talented not to find his game. He pictured Nelson having a couple of huge goals for his new team if the Avs go deep this postseason.

But in the here and now, it’s still an adjustment, especially for a player who spent his whole career with one team. That adjustment is just as much about off the ice, too.

“It’s crazy, for sure,” Nelson told The Athletic on Sunday when asked how he’s dealt with everything after the trade. “First week, it was probably tough — just a lot of emotions processing messages from people beyond the team and the organization in New York. Just people you’ve met over the years in the community via your kids or whatever it may be. We were there for so long, you never really thought of anything else. Then it happens. It’s a bit of a whirlwind. It’s pretty crazy. Obviously, a lot of logistics, still sorting through with family and kids.

“But on the hockey side of it, coming to a team that’s being talked about as a contender for a while now and having recently won, the firepower that they have, seeing that you’re immediately in the mix of that, that’s pretty exciting. Just a lot to process, but hockey-wise it’s been amazing.”

He spoke Sunday a few hours after joining in his young family’s Easter egg hunt over the phone. His wife and four children stayed based in New York, which is the tough part.

“My wife came out right away by herself for a few days, which was great,” Nelson said. “She took another trip with our oldest — our son, who’s 6, so he could check it out. He’s pretty jacked up. He’s a big Avs guy now.

“But the four kids are still in New York. That’s probably the easiest. Three of the kids are in school, so they can still have that structure and routine and keep that status quo for now. It just feels like Dad is on a long road trip. They’ll be coming out next week, which will be great.”

His wife, Karley Sylvester, a former Wisconsin hockey player, has been the MVP of this transition period.

“She’s keeping everyone in line,” Nelson said.

The trade itself was a lot to process. As a pending unrestricted free agent on July 1, Nelson knew it was a strong possibility. But having to tell then-Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello he wasn’t extending with the team, which forced the trade, wasn’t easy.

“It was a crazy process, having never been through that,” Nelson said. “That’s the business side of it. When things were shaking out the way they were … I have a great relationship with Lou. He’s a guy that gave me a great opportunity. I was fortunate to play for him for a while. He’s just a great figure in the game. And beyond the game, he takes tremendous care of his players.

“He took great care of me and my family the years I was there. I was fortunate and grateful for that. I was able to talk to him when it happened, we had a good conversation. I know at some point I’ll bump into him again. No hard feelings.”

Lamoriello, reached over the phone Monday morning, the day before the Islanders fired him, reciprocated those feelings.

“As a human being, you don’t get any better, as far as quality, family, the whole thing — he’s exemplary,” Lamoriello told The Athletic. “His wife is very supportive. She was also a heck of a player. As a player, he’s committed to being the best he can be. He will do anything that is necessary. He’s a team guy. He can play in all situations: power play, short-handed, five-on-five.

“I can’t say enough good things about him, both as a person and as a player. That comes out in him when you talk to him as a person, and it comes out in him when you watch him play. He competes.”

The reality is that Lamoriello wasn’t motivated to trade Nelson. He believed in his team’s chances to the end. ( ) Those were difficult conversations with Nelson’s agent Ben Hankinson.

“It is not something I wanted to do,” Lamoriello said. “We’ll leave it at that.”

But it was certainly something the Avs desperately wanted to get done. Their search for a No. 2 center goes back to losing Nazem Kadri to free agency after the 2022 Stanley Cup championship. Casey Mittelstadt was good last season but struggled in 2024-25, which reignited Avs general manager Chris MacFarland’s search for a 2C. Nelson was long the target, but not until the final week before the deadline was Colorado sure the Islanders would move him.

“Obviously, Brock Nelson was a hard one, I’m sure, for them to trade,” MacFarland told The Athletic last month. “While I’m not privy to what they were trying to do with the player, I’m sure it’s a guy they wanted to bring back, no different than us with Mikko. He’s a homegrown player on your team that’s a good hockey player. … Those are tough ones.

“It was a big price. The Islanders got a first-round pick and a really good player in Calum Ritchie — a guy that we were hard-pressed to give up. But I think for the timing of where we’re at, and our situation (all-in), Brock Nelson was too good to pass up. He’s a big man who skates well and scores, and he’ll touch every part of our team. We felt we needed that.”

There’s no reason to think we won’t see the best version of Nelson as these playoffs roll along. The defensive side is always there. Now, what the Avs need is a little more offense from Nelson.

“He’s an easy player to play with, to be honest,” said Drouin. “He’s a two-way player. You don’t have to worry about him defensively. He’s really good down there.”

How can the new linemates create more chemistry? Communication is part of it.

“You watch video. You watch some clips. Obviously, talking on the bench is the biggest thing for me,” Drouin said. “Coming back from a shift, you saw something. You want to make sure he saw it, that he felt the same thing you did. But yeah, he’s been awesome so far.”

After being such an important leader with the Islanders, Nelson has also adjusted to his place in his new dressing room.

“I just try to be myself and be the same person and just worry about playing the game,” Nelson said. “Not trying to be anything different. Just add to the group. I’m not the loudest of guys. I come in here, and we have a couple of guys who have been around and won. Hearing those guys speak is a testament to the culture they have here and what they’ve done and what they’re capable of and why this team is considered a contender. To be in that mix is huge. All the guys have been great trying to make me feel comfortable.”

Off the ice, there will be more big decisions coming on July 1. Will he re-sign with the Avs? Or hit the market? There’s been long-rumored interest from the Minnesota Wild in the Minnesota native.

One would imagine Colorado will put its best foot forward, given how hard it was to solve the 2C riddle.

Those things can all wait. In the here and now, chasing a Stanley Cup is all that matters.

“That’s the exciting part about coming to a contender and really having the belief that we’re capable of going all the way and doing something special,” Nelson said. “That’s first and foremost the one objective right now, and after that, everything else will sort itself out. Just worry about playing and enjoying this ride that we’re on.”

I'd rather Collins not be President. It's telling Patrick was not let go.
- ses111

The truth is Patrick Roy has a leg to stand on, being that he didn’t create the roster or pick his coaches. Clearly he wanted a head coach job because that’s like zero say.

The truth is Patrick Roy has a leg to stand on, being that he didn’t create the roster or pick his coaches. Clearly he wanted a head coach job because that’s like zero say.
- kindlyrick

Lou lied when he said Patrick would have some say last offseason. Patrick deserves at least a year without Lou.

From The Athletic:

DENVER — The answer was shorter than the question.

“What do you need to see from your second line?” a reporter asked Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar after Monday night’s game in Dallas.

“I need to see more,” Bednar said matter-of-factly after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

That No. 2 line of Brock Nelson between Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin has yet to fully get going two games into the playoffs.

But at the heart of it, too, is the continued adjustment period for Nelson, the Team USA 4 Nations forward still finding his way after playing the first 12 years of his NHL career with the New York Islanders.

Nelson had six goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games with the Avs after the March 6 blockbuster trade and hasn’t hit the scoresheet yet in two postseason games.

“I think it’s been a slow build,” Bednar said Sunday when asked about the 33-year-old’s game with Colorado. “I think his game is getting better as the season has gone on. I don’t think he had any problems with the adjustments when it comes to systems or anything like that, or tactical play, I think it’s just chemistry with linemates and finding ways to get more dangerous offensively. What I’ve learned about him is that he’s always in the right spots. He’s got a great skill set, obviously, but he plays with a really good conscience. He doesn’t give up quality scoring chances very often.

“On the defensive side, he’s super responsible, which I love. I still think there’s another step to his offensive game that we can’t see (now) … because you’re in the highest checking part of the season, right?”

Nelson is hardly the first player traded at the deadline who’s needed a bit of time to find his stride in a new environment. It’s been well documented that Mikko Rantanen is still finding his way across the aisle with the Stars. It’s why teams would much rather make these trades as early as possible in the season, but salary cap constraints dictate that most of these transactions always happen closer to the deadline.

Which tightens the adjustment period. One NHL scout from a rival team told The Athletic during Game 2 that he’s not worried about Nelson because he’s too intelligent a player and too talented not to find his game. He pictured Nelson having a couple of huge goals for his new team if the Avs go deep this postseason.

But in the here and now, it’s still an adjustment, especially for a player who spent his whole career with one team. That adjustment is just as much about off the ice, too.

“It’s crazy, for sure,” Nelson told The Athletic on Sunday when asked how he’s dealt with everything after the trade. “First week, it was probably tough — just a lot of emotions processing messages from people beyond the team and the organization in New York. Just people you’ve met over the years in the community via your kids or whatever it may be. We were there for so long, you never really thought of anything else. Then it happens. It’s a bit of a whirlwind. It’s pretty crazy. Obviously, a lot of logistics, still sorting through with family and kids.

“But on the hockey side of it, coming to a team that’s being talked about as a contender for a while now and having recently won, the firepower that they have, seeing that you’re immediately in the mix of that, that’s pretty exciting. Just a lot to process, but hockey-wise it’s been amazing.”

He spoke Sunday a few hours after joining in his young family’s Easter egg hunt over the phone. His wife and four children stayed based in New York, which is the tough part.

“My wife came out right away by herself for a few days, which was great,” Nelson said. “She took another trip with our oldest — our son, who’s 6, so he could check it out. He’s pretty jacked up. He’s a big Avs guy now.

“But the four kids are still in New York. That’s probably the easiest. Three of the kids are in school, so they can still have that structure and routine and keep that status quo for now. It just feels like Dad is on a long road trip. They’ll be coming out next week, which will be great.”

His wife, Karley Sylvester, a former Wisconsin hockey player, has been the MVP of this transition period.

“She’s keeping everyone in line,” Nelson said.

The trade itself was a lot to process. As a pending unrestricted free agent on July 1, Nelson knew it was a strong possibility. But having to tell then-Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello he wasn’t extending with the team, which forced the trade, wasn’t easy.

“It was a crazy process, having never been through that,” Nelson said. “That’s the business side of it. When things were shaking out the way they were … I have a great relationship with Lou. He’s a guy that gave me a great opportunity. I was fortunate to play for him for a while. He’s just a great figure in the game. And beyond the game, he takes tremendous care of his players.

“He took great care of me and my family the years I was there. I was fortunate and grateful for that. I was able to talk to him when it happened, we had a good conversation. I know at some point I’ll bump into him again. No hard feelings.”

Lamoriello, reached over the phone Monday morning, the day before the Islanders fired him, reciprocated those feelings.

“As a human being, you don’t get any better, as far as quality, family, the whole thing — he’s exemplary,” Lamoriello told The Athletic. “His wife is very supportive. She was also a heck of a player. As a player, he’s committed to being the best he can be. He will do anything that is necessary. He’s a team guy. He can play in all situations: power play, short-handed, five-on-five.

“I can’t say enough good things about him, both as a person and as a player. That comes out in him when you talk to him as a person, and it comes out in him when you watch him play. He competes.”

The reality is that Lamoriello wasn’t motivated to trade Nelson. He believed in his team’s chances to the end. ( ) Those were difficult conversations with Nelson’s agent Ben Hankinson.

“It is not something I wanted to do,” Lamoriello said. “We’ll leave it at that.”

But it was certainly something the Avs desperately wanted to get done. Their search for a No. 2 center goes back to losing Nazem Kadri to free agency after the 2022 Stanley Cup championship. Casey Mittelstadt was good last season but struggled in 2024-25, which reignited Avs general manager Chris MacFarland’s search for a 2C. Nelson was long the target, but not until the final week before the deadline was Colorado sure the Islanders would move him.

“Obviously, Brock Nelson was a hard one, I’m sure, for them to trade,” MacFarland told The Athletic last month. “While I’m not privy to what they were trying to do with the player, I’m sure it’s a guy they wanted to bring back, no different than us with Mikko. He’s a homegrown player on your team that’s a good hockey player. … Those are tough ones.

“It was a big price. The Islanders got a first-round pick and a really good player in Calum Ritchie — a guy that we were hard-pressed to give up. But I think for the timing of where we’re at, and our situation (all-in), Brock Nelson was too good to pass up. He’s a big man who skates well and scores, and he’ll touch every part of our team. We felt we needed that.”

There’s no reason to think we won’t see the best version of Nelson as these playoffs roll along. The defensive side is always there. Now, what the Avs need is a little more offense from Nelson.

“He’s an easy player to play with, to be honest,” said Drouin. “He’s a two-way player. You don’t have to worry about him defensively. He’s really good down there.”

How can the new linemates create more chemistry? Communication is part of it.

“You watch video. You watch some clips. Obviously, talking on the bench is the biggest thing for me,” Drouin said. “Coming back from a shift, you saw something. You want to make sure he saw it, that he felt the same thing you did. But yeah, he’s been awesome so far.”

After being such an important leader with the Islanders, Nelson has also adjusted to his place in his new dressing room.

“I just try to be myself and be the same person and just worry about playing the game,” Nelson said. “Not trying to be anything different. Just add to the group. I’m not the loudest of guys. I come in here, and we have a couple of guys who have been around and won. Hearing those guys speak is a testament to the culture they have here and what they’ve done and what they’re capable of and why this team is considered a contender. To be in that mix is huge. All the guys have been great trying to make me feel comfortable.”

Off the ice, there will be more big decisions coming on July 1. Will he re-sign with the Avs? Or hit the market? There’s been long-rumored interest from the Minnesota Wild in the Minnesota native.

One would imagine Colorado will put its best foot forward, given how hard it was to solve the 2C riddle.

Those things can all wait. In the here and now, chasing a Stanley Cup is all that matters.

“That’s the exciting part about coming to a contender and really having the belief that we’re capable of going all the way and doing something special,” Nelson said. “That’s first and foremost the one objective right now, and after that, everything else will sort itself out. Just worry about playing and enjoying this ride that we’re on.”
- Gabe Athaus

More examples of Lou being clueless not wanting to trade Nelson. I just do not think Nelson is a clutch type of player that will come through in a big spot. We saw that during those Tampa series and during the tournament. I do not want him back on the Islanders.

I'd rather Collins not be President. It's telling Patrick was not let go.
- ses111

I don't think it's telling of anything, yet. Ownership is clearly willing to give the decision making processes to the front office and they're going to wait to evaluate the coaching staff until they make those hires. For all we know they could bring someone(s) and they could dump the entire staff the next day.

Whoever gets hired is going to be drinking from a fire hose though. Probably no final decisions made on hiring until around mid-May and then you have the draft a little over a month later. Immediately after that is free agency, dealing with incumbent Isles RFA/UFA's, etc... It's going to be a marathon.

My guess is, given all that work they're going to need to do, that at least Roy and Desrosiers may be safe for next season. They might want a full year to evaluate them and also to not have to complicate their first few months on the job looking for a new coaching staff also. Same goes for the rest of the front office/hockey ops staff.

From The Athletic:

DENVER — The answer was shorter than the question.

“What do you need to see from your second line?” a reporter asked Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar after Monday night’s game in Dallas.

“I need to see more,” Bednar said matter-of-factly after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

That No. 2 line of Brock Nelson between Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin has yet to fully get going two games into the playoffs.

But at the heart of it, too, is the continued adjustment period for Nelson, the Team USA 4 Nations forward still finding his way after playing the first 12 years of his NHL career with the New York Islanders.

Nelson had six goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games with the Avs after the March 6 blockbuster trade and hasn’t hit the scoresheet yet in two postseason games.

“I think it’s been a slow build,” Bednar said Sunday when asked about the 33-year-old’s game with Colorado. “I think his game is getting better as the season has gone on. I don’t think he had any problems with the adjustments when it comes to systems or anything like that, or tactical play, I think it’s just chemistry with linemates and finding ways to get more dangerous offensively. What I’ve learned about him is that he’s always in the right spots. He’s got a great skill set, obviously, but he plays with a really good conscience. He doesn’t give up quality scoring chances very often.

“On the defensive side, he’s super responsible, which I love. I still think there’s another step to his offensive game that we can’t see (now) … because you’re in the highest checking part of the season, right?”

Nelson is hardly the first player traded at the deadline who’s needed a bit of time to find his stride in a new environment. It’s been well documented that Mikko Rantanen is still finding his way across the aisle with the Stars. It’s why teams would much rather make these trades as early as possible in the season, but salary cap constraints dictate that most of these transactions always happen closer to the deadline.

Which tightens the adjustment period. One NHL scout from a rival team told The Athletic during Game 2 that he’s not worried about Nelson because he’s too intelligent a player and too talented not to find his game. He pictured Nelson having a couple of huge goals for his new team if the Avs go deep this postseason.

But in the here and now, it’s still an adjustment, especially for a player who spent his whole career with one team. That adjustment is just as much about off the ice, too.

“It’s crazy, for sure,” Nelson told The Athletic on Sunday when asked how he’s dealt with everything after the trade. “First week, it was probably tough — just a lot of emotions processing messages from people beyond the team and the organization in New York. Just people you’ve met over the years in the community via your kids or whatever it may be. We were there for so long, you never really thought of anything else. Then it happens. It’s a bit of a whirlwind. It’s pretty crazy. Obviously, a lot of logistics, still sorting through with family and kids.

“But on the hockey side of it, coming to a team that’s being talked about as a contender for a while now and having recently won, the firepower that they have, seeing that you’re immediately in the mix of that, that’s pretty exciting. Just a lot to process, but hockey-wise it’s been amazing.”

He spoke Sunday a few hours after joining in his young family’s Easter egg hunt over the phone. His wife and four children stayed based in New York, which is the tough part.

“My wife came out right away by herself for a few days, which was great,” Nelson said. “She took another trip with our oldest — our son, who’s 6, so he could check it out. He’s pretty jacked up. He’s a big Avs guy now.

“But the four kids are still in New York. That’s probably the easiest. Three of the kids are in school, so they can still have that structure and routine and keep that status quo for now. It just feels like Dad is on a long road trip. They’ll be coming out next week, which will be great.”

His wife, Karley Sylvester, a former Wisconsin hockey player, has been the MVP of this transition period.

“She’s keeping everyone in line,” Nelson said.

The trade itself was a lot to process. As a pending unrestricted free agent on July 1, Nelson knew it was a strong possibility. But having to tell then-Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello he wasn’t extending with the team, which forced the trade, wasn’t easy.

“It was a crazy process, having never been through that,” Nelson said. “That’s the business side of it. When things were shaking out the way they were … I have a great relationship with Lou. He’s a guy that gave me a great opportunity. I was fortunate to play for him for a while. He’s just a great figure in the game. And beyond the game, he takes tremendous care of his players.

“He took great care of me and my family the years I was there. I was fortunate and grateful for that. I was able to talk to him when it happened, we had a good conversation. I know at some point I’ll bump into him again. No hard feelings.”

Lamoriello, reached over the phone Monday morning, the day before the Islanders fired him, reciprocated those feelings.

“As a human being, you don’t get any better, as far as quality, family, the whole thing — he’s exemplary,” Lamoriello told The Athletic. “His wife is very supportive. She was also a heck of a player. As a player, he’s committed to being the best he can be. He will do anything that is necessary. He’s a team guy. He can play in all situations: power play, short-handed, five-on-five.

“I can’t say enough good things about him, both as a person and as a player. That comes out in him when you talk to him as a person, and it comes out in him when you watch him play. He competes.”

The reality is that Lamoriello wasn’t motivated to trade Nelson. He believed in his team’s chances to the end. ( ) Those were difficult conversations with Nelson’s agent Ben Hankinson.

“It is not something I wanted to do,” Lamoriello said. “We’ll leave it at that.”

But it was certainly something the Avs desperately wanted to get done. Their search for a No. 2 center goes back to losing Nazem Kadri to free agency after the 2022 Stanley Cup championship. Casey Mittelstadt was good last season but struggled in 2024-25, which reignited Avs general manager Chris MacFarland’s search for a 2C. Nelson was long the target, but not until the final week before the deadline was Colorado sure the Islanders would move him.

“Obviously, Brock Nelson was a hard one, I’m sure, for them to trade,” MacFarland told The Athletic last month. “While I’m not privy to what they were trying to do with the player, I’m sure it’s a guy they wanted to bring back, no different than us with Mikko. He’s a homegrown player on your team that’s a good hockey player. … Those are tough ones.

“It was a big price. The Islanders got a first-round pick and a really good player in Calum Ritchie — a guy that we were hard-pressed to give up. But I think for the timing of where we’re at, and our situation (all-in), Brock Nelson was too good to pass up. He’s a big man who skates well and scores, and he’ll touch every part of our team. We felt we needed that.”

There’s no reason to think we won’t see the best version of Nelson as these playoffs roll along. The defensive side is always there. Now, what the Avs need is a little more offense from Nelson.

“He’s an easy player to play with, to be honest,” said Drouin. “He’s a two-way player. You don’t have to worry about him defensively. He’s really good down there.”

How can the new linemates create more chemistry? Communication is part of it.

“You watch video. You watch some clips. Obviously, talking on the bench is the biggest thing for me,” Drouin said. “Coming back from a shift, you saw something. You want to make sure he saw it, that he felt the same thing you did. But yeah, he’s been awesome so far.”

After being such an important leader with the Islanders, Nelson has also adjusted to his place in his new dressing room.

“I just try to be myself and be the same person and just worry about playing the game,” Nelson said. “Not trying to be anything different. Just add to the group. I’m not the loudest of guys. I come in here, and we have a couple of guys who have been around and won. Hearing those guys speak is a testament to the culture they have here and what they’ve done and what they’re capable of and why this team is considered a contender. To be in that mix is huge. All the guys have been great trying to make me feel comfortable.”

Off the ice, there will be more big decisions coming on July 1. Will he re-sign with the Avs? Or hit the market? There’s been long-rumored interest from the Minnesota Wild in the Minnesota native.

One would imagine Colorado will put its best foot forward, given how hard it was to solve the 2C riddle.

Those things can all wait. In the here and now, chasing a Stanley Cup is all that matters.

“That’s the exciting part about coming to a contender and really having the belief that we’re capable of going all the way and doing something special,” Nelson said. “That’s first and foremost the one objective right now, and after that, everything else will sort itself out. Just worry about playing and enjoying this ride that we’re on.”
- Gabe Athaus

Good read. Thanks for sharing. Yeah it seems like Brock is just as genuine as it gets and the trade affected him. Looks like he’s excited to have the firepower to win the cup.
Be curious to see where he ends up July 1st if he even takes it to 7/1

Good read. Thanks for sharing. Yeah it seems like Brock is just as genuine as it gets and the trade affected him. Looks like he’s excited to have the firepower to win the cup.
Be curious to see where he ends up July 1st if he even takes it to 7/1
- kindlyrick

I'd be willing to bet that he stays in Colorado. It was reportedly his #1 choice of destination and it feels like, more often than not, bigger name guys stay put when they get traded at the deadline. They're a highly competitive team that needs a second line center and that's exactly what he is. Unless they lowball him big time, my money is on him finishing his career in Colorado.

File this under the "I couldn't possibly care less category", but it appears the Isles dumped the radio guys. King and Picker.

I don't think it's telling of anything, yet. Ownership is clearly willing to give the decision making processes to the front office and they're going to wait to evaluate the coaching staff until they make those hires. For all we know they could bring someone(s) and they could dump the entire staff the next day.

Whoever gets hired is going to be drinking from a fire hose though. Probably no final decisions made on hiring until around mid-May and then you have the draft a little over a month later. Immediately after that is free agency, dealing with incumbent Isles RFA/UFA's, etc... It's going to be a marathon.

My guess is, given all that work they're going to need to do, that at least Roy and Desrosiers may be safe for next season. They might want a full year to evaluate them and also to not have to complicate their first few months on the job looking for a new coaching staff also. Same goes for the rest of the front office/hockey ops staff.
- Gabe Athaus

I'm hoping the new GM gets hired before mid-May with the draft in June. I think it would not be a bad idea to evaluate Patrick and Desrosiers for a year. I'm fine if the new GM wants his own coach. I'm thinking it will take a while for scouting changes.

File this under the "I couldn't possibly care less category", but it appears the Isles dumped the radio guys. King and Picker.
- Gabe Athaus

If Eric Cairns comes out of this overhaul untouched I’ll be shocked.