LOS ANGELES — The great unknown of trading Brock Nelson was always going to be in what it did to the Islanders dressing room.
Other long-term, valued Islanders have left in recent years — Cal Clutterbuck, Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, Nick Leddy.
But this was the first time under Lou Lamoriello, the first time for pretty much every player on the roster, that the Islanders made a move where the sole purpose was to focus on the future, with a tacit acknowledgment that — whatever is said publicly — maximizing this season is no longer the main priority.
This was not about the salary cap, it was not a hockey trade, it was not about moving on from a player who had aged out, it was not a tough decision forced by the expansion draft.
If the Islanders were atop the Eastern Conference right now and looking like a Stanley Cup contender, they almost certainly would have rolled the dice and kept Nelson.
Lamoriello didn’t want to make this move, but his hand was forced when Nelson didn’t sign a contract extension, and he made what was inarguably the best move for the future.
Here in the present, though, the Islanders have skated through their first two games without Nelson looking like their fire has been ripped out of them.
They managed to beat the Sharks anyway on Saturday, mostly thanks to Ilya Sorokin putting up a superhuman first period while waiting for the rest of the team to show up, before getting their doors blown off on Sunday in Anaheim.
It’s only two games, and though the Isles acknowledged Saturday night was strange without Nelson, there were other circumstances that could have contributed to their performance in both games.
Going four days without a game straight into a back-to-back is not ideal for any team.
Bad nights happen.
The Islanders, with a dearth of extra forwards on the roster, used Adam Boqvist as a centerman on Sunday with Kyle MacLean out sick.
Still, it was hard not to notice that for long swatches of both games, the Islanders looked disinterested.
They haven’t been a particularly physical team all season, but even the players who are usually exceptions to that rule weren’t finishing checks, or really even starting them.
If that’s what the norm is going to be down the home stretch, the Islanders are not only going to miss the playoffs — they will accelerate their own breakup.
Even if the Islanders made a strong accounting of themselves over the final 19 games of the season, the odds would still be against them in the playoff race.
They started Monday four points back of the cutline with five teams to jump over.
The Senators, who occupy the East’s last wild-card spot, have played one fewer game than them.
The Isles’ lack of forward depth also means they absolutely cannot afford for anyone to get hurt, and they’ve had terrible injury luck all year.
The schedule, starting with Tuesday’s match at the Kings, is also about to get much tougher, with the Panthers and Oilers visiting UBS Arena once the Islanders get back from California.
But for the past two seasons, they’ve cobbled together runs to get in right at the end, and neither of those came with rosters much better than they have right now.
Mostly, it was a credit to the Islanders leaning on their experience, digging deep and finding that extra bit of intensity when it counted most.
You know, the opposite of what they did Sunday.
The Islanders aren’t just playing to keep their postseason hopes alive — they’re playing for their own futures as Lamoriello evaluates the extent of the change that should take place after the season.
That needs to be enough to inspire something much better than what we saw over the weekend.
