2018 KoC New York Islanders Season Review, Part 2

Part 1 examined the Organization, Coaching, Special Teams and the Forwards for the season.

Part 2 of my 2017-18 Isles Season Recap focuses on Defensemen and Goal tending with a summary of what the summer may hold for Isles Country.

The Islanders tried an offensive first oriented system, as we explored in Part 1 of my recap, and it yielded results. At least for a while. Eventually, the attack oriented defensive scheme started to fail the Islanders. “Injuries, horrible defense, goal-tending and several other challenges seemed to derail the team and keep them from ever getting back to winning. The defense and goal-tending was so bad, the Isles were the worst in the NHL, surrendering 3.57 gpg, 35.6 spg and a league low, 73.2% PK rating.” That spelled failure in the team’s ability to compete and gain ground in the second half of the season, especially after the All-Star break. Per Eric Hornick, “The Isles have allowed a goal six times in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game,” last season.

The injuries and dependence on young, promising, but less experienced defenders cost the Islanders penalties, goals and points in the race to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Injuries to UFA’s, de Haan and Kulemin hampered the shot blocking, defensive and PK. They weren’t the reason for the team’s demise, but they didn’t help. The Isles generated 5 shorthanded goals, but surrendered 11. They were 2nd worst in the NHL (COL-13) for goals surrendered while on the PP advantage. Whenever a team allows a league-high shots per game (35) and their goal tending puts up an inconsistent performance in net, that team will lose and blow leads despite any offensive ability.

Let’s look at the Isles Defenders and their performances over the past season.

Nick Leddy is a stable defenseman who the Isles have relied upon in the most important situations since they acquired him in October of 2014. He helped the PP and shored up their blue line, developing into a first pair D. Leddy finished 6th in scoring for New York with 10 & 32 for 42 points in 80 games. The reliable, unshakable Leddy had a catastrophic -42 rating. Like Cizikas and Clutterbuck, Leddy felt the sting of the Isles offensively oriented scheme and as a solid, veteran defender who logged a team-high 22:25 minutes of ice time, he took the obvious brunt of the damage trying to stave off the opposition’s top attackers in each-and-every situation. Leddy isn’t a -42 defender and whether you hold much stock in plus/minus or not, seeing that number attached to Leddy’s season-ending stats is alarming. His play should correct itself next season when the Isles figure out their shortcomings from last season.

Ryan Pulock got better and better as the season went on. While logging 68 games, His defensive awareness and PP abilities took a great leap forward despite the team’s finish. One can argue he has the stuff to emerge as a top 4, or possibly top 2 defender in the near future and that coupled with his offensive ability (10 & 22 for 32pts) should make everyone take notice. He finished at a -4 rating. Pulock joined Isles Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier and Jordan Eberle on Team Canada for 2018 IIHF WC. Per Erik Hornick, “Pulock finished with 10 goals on the season, which is 3rd in Islander history (Denis Potvin-17 and Vladimir Malakhov-14). His five power play goals are also third; only Malakhov (7) and Potvin (6) had more.  Pulock finished 7th among Islander rookie defenseman with 32 points in his rookie season.”

Thomas Hickey had a strong year for the Isles defense and continues to be reliable when he is in the game. He led all Isles D-Men with a +20 rating. Hickey scored 25 points (5 & 20) in 69 games. Per Eric Hornick, “Thomas Hickey established a career high in points (25) and tied his high in assists (20). Hickey is a UFA this summer.

Adam Pelech was another younger player who showed tremendous progress as the season went on. Pelech looked more comfortable in his own zone and minimized mistakes or turnovers last season to finish with a +7 rating in 78 games, 4th best rating on the team.

Johnny Boychuk battled injury for most of the season, missed the final 2 games and went into the summer set for an undisclosed surgery (per Brian Compton) to address an injury that was said to be nagging him for most of the season. Rumors say it was presumed to be an upper-body injury. Hopefully, he will be ready for training camp. Boychuk played in 58 games and tallied 6 & 12 for 18 points with a -8 rating. Boychuk continues to bring his physical brand of play and scores at crucial times, netting him a D-core high, 3 gwg, tied for third on the team (Tavares, Bailey, Nelson) behind Eberle’s team-leading 7 and Barzal’s 4.

Scott Mayfield’s grit is something the Isles need and he, like other young blue-liners on the Isles roster, is getting better on-the-fly when he had the opportunity to play. Mayfield had 12 points in 47 games and a -6 rating.

In my opinion, UFA, Calvin de Haan’s defensive game and shot blocking was missed after he was suffered another shoulder injury in December. de Haan was 3rd in ice-time (18:45) at the time of his injury per Arthur Staple. de Haan had 12 points in his 33 games of action before losing the rest of the season on the IR. His health has always been questionable, but de Haan is a solid defender. This summer, his negotiating leverage probably won’t be as strong as he would have liked, so we will have to see if he continues to factor into the Isles future plans on defense. But based on the team’s second half season missteps, it might be better than most of us think.

UFA, Dennis Seidenberg finished the season with 5 points and a -9 rating. Seidenberg didn’t have as much jump in his 28 games this season and at 36, is probably bound for free agency.

UFA, Brandon Davidson came to the Isles via trade (2019 3rd rounder) with the Oilers at the deadline. Davidson is a role-playing, physical, bottom pair defensemen who made some plays and added depth for the stretch, finishing with 2 points and a -8 rating.

Per Arthur Staple, “Now I can confirm: #Isles have not reached out to anyone connected to Slavs Voynov. Zero interest.”

The Islanders were let down by their Goal tending, especially in the second half of the season. Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss had huge first seasons since being brought to the organization, but both have faltered since. This isn’t to say that they are to blame, both faced a ton of shots and odd-man opportunities, but over the course of the season, they needed to be better, and they were not.

Jaro Halak finished 28th (out of 95) in the NHL with a 20-26-0-6 record and 1 shut out in 54 games. Halak had a 3.19gaa and a .908Sv% on 1,744 shots. Thomas Greiss finished 42nd in the league. Greiss was 13-8-0-2 in 27 games and 1 shut out with a 3.82gaa and a .892 Sv%. They have a case to make for the efforts the team gave in front of them and the goals against were a byproduct of the Isles allowing a league worst shots per game at over 35. Even so, the save percentages have to be better. NHL goalies have to climb above 90% consistently for their teams to compete every night. I don’t see Halak returning and Greiss needs to be better next season. I’m sure no one is more disappointed than him. Well, I might be able to think of a fan base more frustrated, but just call that a hunch.

Prospects in net:

Although a bit out-of-date, I did a complete write up on their major goal tending prospects in Mid-march.

UFA G, Christopher Gibson had a good year in Bridgeport (19-14-3, a 2.42gaa and .906Sv% with 4 shut outs in 37 games) following last year's physical setback and finished 75th in the NHL with his 8-game stint with the Islanders, going 2-3-0-2 with a 3.65gaa and a .908Sv%. He should be retained with a 2-way contract and at least be given a chance in camp.

UFA G, Kristers Gudlevskis was brought in to make an impression and he might be a good option for the Sound Tigers, depending on the European and present, but unlikely Russian prospect possibilities. Gudlevskis finished his first AHL season with the BST, going 12-16-5, a 2.83gaa and .897Sv% and 3 shut outs.

Eamon McAdam played only 9 games in Bridgeport and spent most of the season Worcester Railers, losing in the ECHL playoffs. McAdam his talent and skill, but isn’t ready for the NHL just yet.

The Linus Soderstrom rumors to surfaced that he was leaving the Swedish Elite league and HV71 to come to North America and start playing for the Islanders organization. Soderstrom had an off-year, battled injury and the odds, but the Islanders have to be excited to give him a shot to make some noise in camp and bring him into the fold.

Per hockeysveirge, Swedish goalkeeper Lars Johansson did so well in the semifinal with his CSKA Moscow that he now gets the chance from the start of the first Gagarin Cup final against Ak Bars Kazan.  Apparently, Isles stud prospect Ilya Sorokin floundered and found himself in and out of the line-up. Would this change his desire to stay with the KHL or not? He still has 2 years left on his last KHL deal.

In 2012, I wrote an article on the disappearance of once top Isles goal tending prospect, Mikko Koskinen. Fans might remember Koskinen as the winning NYI keeper in the storied 9-3 win and revenge game against the Penguins. Once thought an option to the Isles for next season, now, it appears he is jumping ship with the Edmonton Oilers for 2 years at $2.5M per year.

Arthur Staple has another option, “Another Russian G option for #Isles? Garipov is 26, played the past 7 seasons with Ak Bars Kazan, just led them to the KHL title.” 

Aivis Kalnins of Hockey Buzz stated the same opinion, so could Emil Garipov now be in sight for Islanders? 

With Koskinen going in a different direction, the Isles could “explore different options' and in this case the newly crowned Gagarin Cup champion - Emil Garipov. The 26-year-old goalie who has been very consistent in his career and is looking to make the jump to North America. His contract with Ak Bars ends on April 30th and after the season he had - he will be sought after by NHL teams.

In 47 games during the regular season, he averaged 1.99 GAA with .931 SVS%. In playoffs, he was lights out the best player on the ice, 1.55GAA and .944 SVS%.

Although this chase won't be easy for the Islanders, as many as four teams including the New York team have expressed interest in his services. Asking range is expected to be slightly higher than Mikko Koskinen's but the term is what team and player will have to negotiate.”

No matter what happens in net and on defense, it better be something substantial and it had better work.

In Summary:

This Summer, the Islanders brass has some decisions to make indeed. If management and coaching remains in place, the priority is on defense and in net. The first piece of the puzzle is revealed at the draft lottery this Saturday.

Per Erik Hornick, “In addition to their own picks, the Isles own Calgary's first two picks in the upcoming entry draft.  The Isles hold the 10th pick and 11th pick heading into the upcoming draft lottery, giving them a 6% chance of winning the lottery.” Per NHL.com, “The 2018 NHL Draft Lottery - which will be held Saturday, April 28, in Toronto (NBC, CBC, TVAS) - will consist of three drawings: the 1st Lottery Draw will determine the club selecting first overall, the 2nd Lottery Draw will determine the club selecting second overall and the 3rd Lottery Draw will determine the club selecting third overall.” 

Picks 15-4 will be revealed during Saturday's San Jose-Vegas playoff game on NBC at 7:30 P.M. ET. Picks 1-3 will be determined during the second intermission.

Chris Lamoreillo will be representing the Islanders at the Draft Lottery and one of their 1st round picks could be a franchise defensemen named Rasmus Dahlin going first overall or at least high sought currency they can use in trades unless there is one of other those “can’t lose” first round selections to make.

UPDATE: Isles retain their 12th pick from CGY, but their own higheer selection originally slated for the 10th spot dropped to 11th in the first round with Carolina winning lottery to move down in draft order.

After that, the team needs to tool for the draft and address their UFA’s, most notably, their franchise player, John Tavares. The longer they wait, the lower his return will be. Tavares and the ownership owe it to the organization and the fans to make this priority #1 and come to a resolution one way, or the other. Re-sign, sign and trade or trade, whatever happens should bring back an elite home-grown player or a serious package of NHL talent, prospects and picks. I would like to see Hickey, de Haan and Kulemin comeback, but only for the right price.

The options are there and there are serious things to build on from this season, but just as many to learn from. That learning needs to go from ownership to management to coaching to the guys on the ice. Forget the major players for a moment, the franchise legacy and the fan base has earned it for still being here and showing up with the level of passion they have for the team.

Get it done.

Isles Notes:

Per Arthur Staple, “Mentioned in @FriedgeHNIC's 31 Thoughts and by @RealKyper today on radio: Lou Lamoriello and the #Isles. Nothing's been decided in Toronto yet and Lou does have his son and Chris Terreri in #Isles org. He and Snow are tight. It makes sense, but logic isn't always the best guide. With the Malkin/Ledecky evaluation timeline going pretty deep into the offseason, if there's a move to be made, Lamoriello makes sense because of his ties to people already in #Isles org and to Snow, who would seemingly move upstairs. Something to watch for sure.”

Anders Lee named as the #Isles King Clancy Memorial Trophy Islanders Nominee for his accomplishments in the community.

Per Anders Lee, “Proud to be @NYIslanders nominee for the @NHL King Clancy award. Thanks to all who support and donate to our cause, and to my teammates for always helping. These guys do a lot in our community and deserve some recognition too. I especially want to thank my friend Fenov, who bravely battles cancer daily and continues to inspire me and many others. He does this with a smile always on his face. He’s the reason I @jamkancer.”

Per Cory Wright, “Past #Isles to win the Calder: - Denis Potvin 1974 - Bryan Trottier 1976 - Mike Bossy 1978 - Bryan Berard 1997 It would be really cool to see Barzal join that list.”

'Jiggs' McDonald among this year's class of Orillia SportsHall of Fame inductees.

Chris Botta, "As 'evaluation' continues, plenty of hockey execs available to Isles."

Residents air concerns in meeting with Belmont Park developers.

Could Singh have saved the Isles?