TAMPA, Fla. — Barry Trotz spoke an NHL truth when he noted the devastated group of players in the dressing room following the Islanders’ 1-0 loss to the Lightning in Friday night’s Game 7 of their semifinal series at Amalie Arena will not be the group that opens training camp in September.
Annual change is a part of life in the NHL, particularly under a hard salary cap. And very particularly true under a flat, $81.5 million salary cap that is a lingering effect of the COVID-19-induced financial ruin the league suffered without fans in the arenas for a good portion of this season.