Like the rest of the organization he now runs, Lou Lamoriello is excited about the plan for the Islanders playing home games at a modern arena at Belmont Park.
"It's certainly big for the fans and the organization and for the future of the organization when you have ownership in Scott Malkin committed," the Islanders president and general manager told Newsday in a telephone interview on Monday. "We know it's going to come about. I've had the opportunity to see the plans. It's something exciting. It's a state-of-the-art facility. The players should also be excited. But that's a little bit away. We have to focus on how we play now."
The proposed arena at Belmont Park still must receive the necessary environmental approvals and, even if everything stays on its expected timetable, is not supposed to open until the 2021-22 NHL season. For now, the Islanders will split home games between the refurbished Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Islanders will play 20 home games at their former full-time home in Uniondale this season, up from the 12 originally planned.
"I'm not even going to think about it," Lamoriello said when asked whether he considered splitting home games between two arenas any sort of obstacle. "I'm not looking at it as any difficulty at all. We know what we have to do. Two teams have to play in the same building."
Meanwhile, Lamoriello was emphatic that restricted free agent Brock Nelson would remain an Islander.
Nelson, 26, filed for arbitration after receiving a $3.5-million qualifying offer from the Islanders. He had 19 goals and 16 assists in 82 games last season.
"We just have to work through it," Lamoriello said. "He will be on the roster one way or the other."
