Isles GM Lou Lamoriello says he knows the team needs to get younger — but how will they accomplish that this offseason?

Islanders president Lou Lamoriello made one trade at the NHL trade deadline. But more than just Brock Nelson needed to go.

The head vs. heart calculus which has tugged at the Islanders’ decision-making, or lack thereof, over the last month finally hit an inflection point.

The New York Islanders made a blockbuster move ahead of the NHL trade deadline late Thursday night. They traded Brock Nelson to the Colorado Avalanche for a first-rounder and more after contract negotiations fell through.

The great unknown of trading Brock Nelson was always going to be in what it did to the Islanders dressing room. Other long-term, valued Islanders have left in recent years — Cal Clutterbuck, Josh Bailey,