Here is something that could not be said until now about the Islanders under Lou Lamoriello: They will go into the summer with relative freedom to operate under the salary cap.

After four years of maneuvering to stay under the cap, being forced into ill-fated deals (hello, Devon Toews) and being so hamstrung during free agency last summer that they essentially sat out the whole affair, there is finally a payoff.

The Islanders’ flexibility going into the trade deadline has been noted in this space repeatedly, and it increased on Wednesday when Nikita Soshnikov was sent to the AHL (more on that below). This is about their flexibility going into next summer.

There was a temptation to write this week about the impending free agency of Scott Mayfield, who is in the midst of a proverbial contract year, proving he is worth more than $1.45 million and a spot on the third pair. But if Mayfield — a career Islander who bought a home on The Island a few years ago — wants to stay and if the Islanders want to keep him, there is not much question that a deal can be done under the salary cap.