It’s over. They lost. Now what?

The big picture facing the Islanders is not as dreary as the immediate, crushing failure of missing the playoffs. As much as the Islanders were very much still wallowing in that on breakup day, it is inarguable that the organization is in a much better spot than it was 365 days ago, and it is not all because of Matthew Schaefer.

That is the cognitive dissonance at the heart of things right now. The Islanders failed, spectacularly, in the short term while positioning themselves to succeed in the long term.

“One player doesn’t change things, but I think with Schaef and Ritch [Cal Ritchie], even Ekky [Victor Eklund], him getting a taste, some of the younger prospects here, you have one of the best goalies in the league [Ilya Sorokin], I think there’s a lot to look forward to,” Ryan Pulock said at breakup day. “For myself, it’s just I want to be a big part of that. I feel once I get healthy here, I can really be a big part of helping Schaef and being such a reliable piece here and being a leader.