At this point in the NHL calendar, we are mostly waiting around.

The Islanders might have another move in their back pocket, especially if Lou Lamoriello has his eyes set on Vladimir Tarasenko, but given the salary-cap situation both in Long Island and throughout the league, such a thing would require roster surgery that might not be possible.

Zach Parise’s status is still unresolved, but after the Islanders signed Julien Gauthier to a one-way deal, we can infer the team is at least starting to plan for a future without him.

So, for the sake of this exercise, let’s assume the 25 or so players who will compete for roster spots in training camp are already signed. So, taking a page out of our colleague Mollie Walker’s book, let’s look at some lineup options for the Islanders:

Option 1

Forwards
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Oliver Wahlstrom-JG Pageau-Hudson Fasching
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

Defense
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Alexander Romanov-Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc-Scott Mayfield

Goalies
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov

Things will change over the course of training camp and the season, but this feels like a logical starting point for Lane Lambert.

Minus Wahlstrom taking Parise’s spot on the third line, the forward lines are unchanged from how the Islanders lined up in the playoffs against Carolina.

The top line of Lee, Horvat and Barzal is a combination that probably deserves more time to gel, given it only got 17:51 together in the regular season before Barzal got hurt, and Barzal wasn’t quite himself in the postseason. Much of the Islanders’ fortune depends on Barzal and Horvat clicking, and barring something unexpected, they’ll be joined at the hip for most of the season. Lee makes sense to get the first crack on their left as a net-front presence who quietly scored nearly 30 goals last season.

The second line of Engvall, Nelson and Palmieri is the only trio that’s unchanged in either of these two options because of how successful it was last season. That line outscored opponents, 15-4, and had a 59.41 expected goals percentage after being put together last season. At least to start, Lambert should exhaust his other options before breaking it up.

History also tells us the Islanders don’t want to break up the Identity Line unless circumstances force them to do so. Therefore, Martin, Cizikas and Clutterbuck start together.

Wahlstrom, who quietly displayed some solid physical play last season, gets a shot on a defense-oriented third line that should bring some speed and forechecking ability with Pageau and Fasching.

Defensively, these pairs feel like an endpoint for the Islanders. Pelech and Pulock have a long and decorated history; Romanov’s and Dobson’s games complement each other, and the Islanders should want them playing together for years to come; Bolduc looks ready to crack the lineup at some point soon.

It’s less clear whether that’s how they can start this season.

Bolduc didn’t look ready when he got into the playoffs, and Lambert didn’t seem to trust him much even in the regular season. Dobson is coming off a rough season and was largely sheltered with his minutes. Romanov and Pulock worked well together for the latter part of the season, even though they were put together as a byproduct of other necessities.

If the Islanders’ blue line looks like this, and can stay like this, it will be a good thing. But that may not be the case.

Option 2

Forwards
Wahlstrom-Horvat-Barzal
Engvall-Nelson-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Julien Gauthier
Simon Holmstrom-Cizikas-Hudson Fasching

Defense
Pelech-Mayfield
Romanov-Pulock
Sebastian Aho-Dobson

Goalies
Sorokin
Varlamov

Wahlstrom enters camp as someone who could end up anywhere without it being surprising. It’s worth giving him a look on the first line, but it also wouldn’t be shocking if he were a healthy scratch on Oct. 14, especially if Parise stays in the fold.

We have him on the left in both permutations here, which is his off side, because that’s where he can be more useful to the Islanders. If he ends up alongside Horvat and Barzal, the Islanders would be asking him to be a scoring threat and probably to play more minutes than he ever has.

That bumps Lee to the third line with Gauthier also alongside Pageau. The Islanders giving Gauthier a one-way deal indicates they see him as being on their NHL roster, but it’s not especially clear where the former Ranger fits in the lineup. Gauthier has never averaged more than 10:18 per game and never played more than 49 games in a season.

Lee played a little bit alongside Pageau last season, and a line that put Holmstrom with the two of them put up good advanced numbers last year. The reason we haven’t gone back to that here is to have Gauthier on the right and Holmstrom on the left, though swapping them around is a viable permutation.

This fourth line would be interesting to see. Fasching clicked quite well with Cizikas when Clutterbuck was hurt last season. Holmstrom looks like a future bottom-six player, so throwing him in is worth a shot. It is admittedly tough to see Martin and Clutterbuck both being out of the lineup, but if they get outplayed during camp, it has to be a consideration.

Defensively, Aho gets a shot on the third pair after earning the job last season. This is how the Islanders lined up down the stretch before Romanov got hurt, though Lambert often switched things up during games with Dobson and Pelech getting a heavy dose of minutes together. If the Islanders aren’t seeing what they need to see from Dobson and Bolduc, this could be how things look at the start of the season.

Want to catch a game? The Islanders schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

Since the Islanders have yet to announce whether Doug Houda and John MacLean will be back as assistant coaches for next season, it’s not clear what Lambert’s staff will look like next season.

One thought: The Islanders might benefit from adding a third assistant coach, something they eschewed last season. Much of the hiring cycle already has passed them by, but after using Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk as development coaches last season, perhaps one of them would make sense in an assistant role.

Both have relatively recent history playing with the team and get along well with the players in the room. It also would formalize what they already were doing while giving Lambert another voice on the bench during games.

The Isles’ 2022 fourth-round pick Isaiah George was invited to Team Canada’s summer meetings for the 2024 World Juniors, an indication he’s in the running to make the team for the tournament, which will be played in Gothenburg, Sweden, starting Dec. 26.

Calle Odelius was the only Islanders prospect at the last edition of the tournament, playing in seven games and scoring a goal for the Swedish team in Halifax and Moncton.