The New York Islanders once again find themselves in the dangerous territory of “no-man’s land” in the NHL. They are not bad enough to be full-blown tankers like we see in San Jose and Anaheim. However, they also are not nearly good enough to be a bonafide contender a la Florida or Dallas. Now three years removed from their improbable to a single win away from the Stanley Cup Final, Lou Lamoriello is still confident in the core group of player that fell just short of slaying the Tampa Bay dynasty.
That isn’t to say the team is completely untouched. Lou has brought in names like Alexander Romanov, Bo Horvat, and most recently Anthony Duclair to refresh the group. Arguably the most notable addition was the hiring of Hockey Hall of Fame Goalie Patrick Roy to spark a push to the playoffs last season. Saint Patrick was determined to implement a certain style of play to this team. While it did not immediately pay off, the foundation laid in January helped in April. The Isles entered the playoffs as the hottest team in hockey after going 9-1-1 in their final 11 regular season games.
Without further ado, let’s get into it. Here’s some answers to if they can really stack up with the big boys of the Metro this season.
The two goalies for the season are Semyon Varlamov and (presumably) Ilya Sorokin. I used “presumably” because it came out almost two weeks ago that the 2023 Vezina runner-up had back surgery during the off-season. Fans should still be confident that Varly can hold the fort down for at least the first month of the season. Some good news is that Duclair looks like a great fit on the Isles’ top line. In the preseason the connection between him and Mathew Barzal looks pretty solid:
New Faces
I’ve already touched on the addition of Duclair. His speed and skill complement Barzal and Horvat on paper. Whether he can stay healthy and remain consistent over 82 games remains to be seen.
However, there is another signing that’s gone under the radar. After scoring 31 goals in the KHL last year, Maxim Tsyplakov was widely considered the most sought-after international free agent. Reports suggested that well over a dozen teams were interested in signing the 6-foot-3 winger, but he settled for a one-year deal on Long Island. This could go one of two ways for me. A few years back we saw Andrei Kuzmenko join the NHL from Russia at 26 years old. He was dynamic for the Canucks, scoring 39 goals in his first year. However, how many Russian prospects have we seen make the jump to the NHL and completely fade out in less than a year? His talent and physical traits are tantalizing but we have a long way to go before seeing the complete package.
Three Players To Watch
For the first time since his rookie year, Mathew Ba r zal was a point-per-game player. He thrived in his first full season alongside Bo Horvat and drove this team towards any and all success. With Duclair now completing that line, can we set even higher expectations for the former Calder Trophy winner? Like the 90-point threshold type of high. If he can do that while remaining a 200-foot player every night, then we can start moving him up into the category of truly elite.
After falling in neutral gear for a few years Noah Dobson had a big jump in development. The former lottery pick became the first Isles defenseman in decades to put up a 70-point season. While the same mistakes we became familiar with still appeared from time to time, they were not nearly as frequent as in years past. The main change he has to make is with consistency, however. After the All-Star break, he did not look like the same player. Both Roy and Lambert gave him massive amounts of ice time and it appeared to take a toll on him later in the season. If he improved his conditioning and can remain a solid player in his own end, then the extension he’s due for next Summer could be massive.
Brock Nelson has been the steady eddy of this team for the better part of half a decade. Great on the powerplay, a lethal wrist-shot, and one of the offensive catalysts this team desperately needs. However, he’s an unrestricted free agent this Summer. Despite scoring 107 goals in the last three seasons, he is only getting older at 32. Nelson needs to have another great year to lock in the payday he has so valiantly earned, whether that’s with the Isles or somewhere else.
Biggest Riser
It’s not a flashy name, but Kyle MacLean was an afterthought in the AHL 365 days ago. Now he is arguably the lynchpin to the bottom six and one of the most important penalty-killers on the team. His speed and hard-nosed play style instantly garnered fans as soon as he made his debut in the middle of 2023-2024. Now, he will not be catching anyone by surprise.
Biggest Faller
It’s great to see him healthy but Scott Mayfield might be in complete disaster territory. That seven-year deal he got last Summer became stale as soon as the day he signed it. Yes, he did break his foot blocking a shot on opening night. He played incredibly bad as a result. But he turns 32 in a couple of weeks and it’s hard to recover from those injuries and be your old self as you get older. There’s a chance we look at him in another year and ask how they can dump his contract.
The Question Is…
Can a full training camp under Roy combined with the new faces be enough to make this team stop blowing leads in the third period? They have completely turned a 180 in this department since firing Trotz. When Barry was behind the bench they were completely lockdown when have a lead as slim as one. Nowadays you will see them go ahead by three goals and completely piss it away when it matters. They had the second most blown leads in the third period in hockey last year. Obviously, they have the ability to score but not to shut the door when the clock runs down.
At the end of the day, the New York Islanders are still a playoff team. Not everyone will agree with that but other than Jersey no one in the Metro has taken a major leap forwards. It’s just about how far they can go once they get in. Yes, Duclair and Tsyplakov could really help. But it’s playing for a complete 60 minutes that will win you games and series’s. The Canes might be their bogeyman so if they get a different first-round matchup you never know what could happen.
In any case, it’s very possible that this is the last year for the New York Islanders before the winds of change start seriously blowing. Ownership will want success as UBS Arena will host the 2026 All-Star Game. After getting bounced in the first-round by Carolina in back-to-back years, something has gotta give.
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