For the Islanders, the next six games are crucial to the rest of the season

A week until the season resumes. Only six games until the NHL trade deadline on March 7.

The Islanders’ fate is very much about to be decided.

They went into the NHL’s two-week break for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off  in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, 11 points behind the third-place Devils, after losing a very tough road back-to-back against the league-leading Jets and the Wild. The Islanders are four points behind the Red Wings for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, with the Blue Jackets, Bruins and Rangers (by one point) ahead of them.

Which is why these upcoming six games in a condensed 10 days, starting against the Stars next Sunday at UBS Arena, should tell Islanders president/general manager Lou Lamoriello all he needs to know heading into the trade deadline.

The Islanders will face the Rangers twice in those six games and also will play the Bruins, a trio of four-point games that could significantly boost the Islanders in the standings.

That is the one good result. The other two — falling in the standings or keeping the status quo — will not bode well for their playoff chances.

Twenty-one games will remain after the trade deadline. So yes, it’s possible for the Islanders to go on an 8-0-1 run and finish the way they did last season to settle into third place in the division. But they can’t count on that.

And given the potentially organizational-changing decisions Lamoriello faces, they need more tangible evidence of simmering playoff legitimacy than just the steadfast belief that Lamoriello, coach Patrick Roy and the players have in the group’s potential.

Brock Nelson, currently skating for Team USA, is a pending unrestricted free agent believed to be engaging with the Islanders on extension talks. He  also is the top trade target for many playoff contenders.

If the Islanders do not win the majority of these next six games and there’s no new deal to be had by March 7 — and really, why wouldn’t Nelson, who will be 34 at the start of next season, use the free-agent market to inflate his worth? — Lamoriello cannot risk losing him for no return just on the hopes of squeezing into the playoffs.

By the way, ditto for pending UFA Kyle Palmieri, Nelson’s linemate.

If the Islanders do well through this stretch, Lamoriello may very well choose to be a buyer.

This will be the most important six-game stretch of the season.

Dobson’s new agent

News broke during the NHL break that pending restricted free agent (with arbitration rights) defenseman Noah Dobson has switched agents and now is represented primarily by Olivier Fortier of Wasserman Hockey. Dobson, 25, is completing a three-year, $12 million deal negotiated by his former agent, Andrew Maloney.

Fortier, a former player, also counts Islanders farmhand William Dufour among his clients and negotiated Alexis Lafreniere’s seven-year, $52.15 million extension with the Rangers that was signed early this season.

Fortier could seek a two-year bridge contract for Dobson that will take him to unrestricted free agency with the salary cap expected to rise to $113.5 million for 2027-28. Or, with the cap increasing by $7.5 million to $95.5 million for next season, Fortier could try to work out an eight-year extension now, with Dobson’s cap hit expected to be north — perhaps well north — of $8 million.

Fortier also could seek an offer sheet from another team to bump up Dobson’s price.

Either way, the move to Fortier certainly signals that Dobson won’t come cheap for the Islanders, who also have defenseman Alexander Romanov as a pending RFA with arbitration rights.

Raring to go

With no players around and no practices to run, Patrick Roy dutifully took some R&R. The coach, however, insisted that he did not need the time off even as some players spoke about the positives of having a mental and physical reset.

“I don’t need a break,” Roy said. “Am I going to enjoy it? Yes. Two different ways to see it. But I’m having a great time here. Working with these guys, it’s a privilege. Like I said many times, being back in the game and working every day and doing what I love, I consider myself very lucky. I’m taking advantage of the opportunity.”

From the pod

Anders Lee knows all about Mathew Barzal’s pain.

Barzal underwent a surgical procedure believed to be on his left kneecap just before the NHL break and is in the midst of his second lengthy absence this season. He is out indefinitely — though the Islanders may update that timeline once the season resumes — after missing 21 games with an upper-body injury from Nov. 1-Dec. 12.

Lee missed a good portion of the 2020-21 season and  all of the playoffs after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament. He spoke about the rehab process Barzal is undergoing on Episode 207 of Newsday’s Island Ice podcast.

“It’s really tough,” Lee said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow. The first few days are very difficult. Once you start the rehab process, you’re moving in one direction, which is great. You have a goal in mind. I’ll be there for him. The guys will be there for him. He knows he’s got a great place to come and hang out with us when he can and be here through his recovery.

“Guys reaching out and having his back goes a long way.”