The Isles have actually done a great job at making the players show tremendous loyalty to the organization and the team. Tavares is the only notable exception from a long list of players who could have gone elsewhere, but decided to stay. That is of course a good thing, but there is a sickness throughout the entire NHL that makes teams sign their players to too long deals that ultimately hurt the team, and the Islanders are probably among the worst, if not THE worst at that.
Ideally you only want two or three players on deals longer than 4-5 years, but with the horrendous signings last offseason, the Isles are painted well into a corner, and as long as Lou remains at the helm, nothing will change. This offseason should start with not renewing any UFAs nor sign Nelson to an extension, but knowing Lou, the opposite will be what happens.
