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?

Barzal Named Calder Memorial Trophy Finalist

When our New York Islanders selected Barzal in the first round (16th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, I’m sure they expected to have a very good prospect in their system that would eventually pan out to be an offensive contributor and make an impact on the team someday. When he was the final cut, Barzal went back to Seattle and returned to the Thunderbirds, winning the 2017 WHL championship. Barzal was also named WHL MVP of the playoffs with a 7&18, 25 points performance in 16 games.

For the Islanders, the 20-year-old Barzal was a major contributor this season, especially when paired with long time team-mate Anthony Beauvillier (who was the player to beat him out for that final roster spot that season) and 1st year Islander, Jordan Eberle. Barzal had such a break out year in his rookie season, the NHL named him one of the three finalists for rookie of the year and should be the favorite among the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to win the Calder Memorial Trophy. Brock Boeser (VAN) and Clayton Keller (ARI) had great years, but not like the one we saw written before our eyes. Barzal had 20 more points than Keller, 30 more than Boeser who missed 20 games due to injury. Barzal also had an impressive 1.04 pts/game average (with less shots on goal) over Keller (0.79) and Boeser (.089) and was the only one among the three non-playoff team rookies to end the season with a plus rating and 27 PP points. Mathew Barzal even led his own team in points (85) and assists (63) in an exciting 82 game rookie campaign along with an impressive 22 goal scoring tally.

The Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." Barzal wasn’t just a solid rookie, he quickly became a solid NHL player who gave the opposition problems trying to contain his swift skating, powerful and adept puck handling and alert play-making. The NHL awards will be handed out at the Hard Rock in Vegas on June 20th and the choice for Barzal securing the trophy should be an easy one.

As mentioned in Part 1 of my Season Recap, Barzal was one of only five NHL rookies with 63 assists in a season with Crosby being the only active Alumni of this club. Barzal was mentioned in the same breath as Islander’s greats, Brian Trottier (63 assists), Denis Potvin (rookie to lead team in pts and assists). In total points, Barzal ranks third just behind Trottier (95 in ’75-76) and Bossy (‘77-78). His 9 game with at least 3 points and 3 five point games and scored his first NHL hat trick against the Jets in December. Don’t forget that Barzal was drafted by the Islanders after the Bruins passed on the 13th, 14th & 15th picks in his draft year. The Isles traded Griffin Reinhart (former 4th overall pick in 2012) to the Oilers for the 16th (Barzal) and 33rdpicks. The 33rd (& 72nd) pickes were sent to the TBL for the 28th selection. They used that selection to add Anthony Beauvillier. Funny how things come together sometimes.

We came that close. Sometimes, things happen for a reason. In this case, Isles fans everywhere are so glad this one did. The future is still bright.

2018 KoC New York Islanders Season Review, Part 1

Family obligations have slowed me down here at Knight of Cups. My Father’s coverage and care needs have kept me away from commenting on Isles news longer than I’d like, but I’m hoping things get better for us soon. I’m working my ass off to make it happen. A sincere Thank You to everyone who supports me, and my blog.

In Part 1 of my 2017-18 Isles Season Recap, I’ll be looking at the Organization, Coaching, Special Teams and the Forwards for the past season.

Part 2 will focus on Defensemen and Goal-tending with a summary of what the summer may hold for Isles Country.

Our New York Islanders have missed the playoffs again, for the second straight season, finishing 22nd in the NHL with a 35-37-0-10 record at 80 points. At home, the once efficient Isles finished an average 20-18-4 after starting 8-0-2, then going 11-18-2 in their last 31 games at the Barclays Center. On the road, their season numbers were even worse, finishing with a suspect 16-19-4 record away from home. With a new arena coming in Belmont, the future should move closer to center if the arena drama doesn’t continue to mount.

They’ve missed the playoffs 8 out of 12 seasons with Garth Snow as the General Manager since 2006. When they made the post-season, the Isles fell to Buffalo 4 games to 1 in ‘06-07, 4-2 vs Penguins in ‘12-13 & 4-3 in a spirited series with Washington in ‘14-15. Their only playoff series win came in ‘15-16 when they beat the Florida Panthers in game 6 of the series off a pair of Tavares last minute game tying, and then game winning goals in double O.T. But they went on to lose in the second round against the Lightning, 4 games to 1. It was the team’s first win in a playoff round since the last iconic run in ’92-93.

Snow has put a lot of good pieces in place for the Islanders. His most recent success is Mathew Barzal. And like Barzal, the Isles system has some good prospect talent and even landed a few good players via trade. The latest addition of Jordan Eberle was another win for the Isles last summer and their season started strong with a 15-7-2 record. So strong, they were fighting for the top spot in the east for months, had the best and among the best offense in the NHL (finished 7th best/3.18 gpg in regular season) and were sitting pretty in what is “usually a guaranteed” playoff spot around the “coveted” Thanksgiving mark of the season.

Since the NHL All-Star game (Tavares and Bailey represented the Isles), the New York Islanders have been the worst team in the NHL, going 20-30-8 and extinguishing any hope of a playoff appearance in what could be the final year of John Tavares’ contract with New York. Injuries, horrible defense, goal-tending and several 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 league worst, 73.2% PK rating. These types of obstacles are always around for NHL teams and they can affect their ability to challenge for their division and conference and a shot to make the playoffs. But several teams face those same injuries and challenges each and every year, but manage to succeed or rebound the next season to make another push, learning from the previous year’s shortcomings and galvanizing their organizational model by adapting and making strides.

Snow should be held accountable if John Tavares leaves the organization as should the ownership. The ever-visible co-owner John Ledecky has gone from fan-favorite and savior to scapegoat in the eyes of many of the faithful. I guess there is a chance Ledecky and Isles brass are waiting until Tavares is interviewed and comments on Snow, Weight and other factors before shaking up the organization. Per Arthur Staple, Ledecky: “We are committed to long term success... we will be evaluating our hockey operations and then determine the path forward... as owners, we have failed.” Seeing the Isles only add a role-playing defenseman (Davidson for ’19 3rd rounder) and agitator F (Wagner for Chimera) at the trade deadline with the team fighting for points with deficits in goal and on defense has burned the bridge for many supporters of the team. I gave the coaching staff tons of credit at the start and it seemed Doug Weight was still riding last season’s success after the firing of Jack Capuano into this season. Their offensive first system got the Isles wins and they scored in bunches, but as the season went on, the defense faltered. The once potent PK became a joke and the PP surged and crashed at the worst possible time, even though it still managed to finish 6th best in the league at 23.2%, their best season-long percentage since they finished the 1989-90 season at 23.6%. (Hornick)

Truth is, the coaching staff just didn’t get it done, with or without the help of their GM. I feel the team was better than their record and something definitely went south in the second half of the season. I remember a quote from Andre Burakovsky of the Caps in mid-March after they handed the Isles a horrible 6-3 loss. “The Islanders just gave us a lot of room to skate on from the beginning. I mean, my first three shifts, I was skating around and around and around with the puck and making plays. We didn’t really expect that out of them.” We didn’t either Andre. Per Andrew Gross, “Newsday can confirm that both GM Garth Snow and Coach Doug Weight have been led to believe they will be back in their roles for next season.” Per Chris Botta, “From the texts I’ve received today from NHL and team executives, former #Isles, agents and others, I can tell you the reaction to Jon Ledecky retaining Garth Snow runs from laughter and bewilderment to derision and anger.”

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

2018 NHL All-Star, John Tavares is an elite NHL Player. He is a leader and has pushed to make the Isles the destination team we’ve always wanted. He’s given everything that he has to the organization even if the collective goals have fallen short. Some say he has hurt the team by not announcing if he will stay or go by the July 1st deadline. Tavares said his goal is to stay, but his organization has struggled to put all the blocks in place a top player in his most profitable free agent year might desire to have at his disposal. If Tavares just moves on or even agrees to a sign-and-trade, he should net top players and large pool of prospects & draft equity in return. If he stays, his talks have been ongoing and there is a plan in motion that should reveal itself in the coming months. Tavares had 37 (team leading 2 O.T. and shg) & 47 for 84 pts leading what was for periods of time, one of the top lines in the NHL with Lee and Bailey. JT’s 11 O.T. gwg are the most of any Islanders player in franchise history. Only Ovechkin (15) and Marchand (12) have more per Eric Hornick.

Anders Lee just keeps getting better. He’s an irritating, immovable object in front of an opponent’s net and is always around to help with the big play. This season in 82 games, Lee became the first Islander since Jason Blake in 2006-07 to score 40 goals. Lee had career highs in goals (40), assists (22) and points (62) - Hornick. He was instrumental in the first line’s offensive surge early on this season. Lee led the team in shooting percentage (19.2%) and PP goals, with 14. He is also riding a 114-game iron-man streak. Anders Lee was given the Sid Payne Good Guy Award this season for his valued community outreach efforts.

Per Eric Hornick, “Anders Lee has 40 goals and John Tavares has 37.  They are the first Islander teammates with at least 37 goals since Pierre Turgeon and Steve Thomas did so in 1993-94 and the first to combine for at least 77 goals since Thomas (42) and Turgeon (38) had 80 in 1993-94.”

Josh Bailey had a very good year with his 1st ever All-Star appearance along with an impressive 18 & 53 for 71 point performance in 76 games. That marks career highs in goals, assists and points. Bailey has matured, found his game and signed a 6-year extension in February to solidify his place in the Isles attack for the future. Eric Hornick points out, “Barzal and Josh Bailey are the first Islander teammates with more than 50 assists since Mike Bossy (62) and Bryan Trottier (59) did so in 1985-86.”

Mathew Barzal broke out and should be a shoe-in for the Calder Trophy this summer. Per Brian Compton, “Barzal on Calder: "When we go into a game, I'm not thinking I need to get points for the Calder Trophy. I want to help this team win. It'd be nice to win that and be rewarded, but at the end of the day, it's a career. I don't want to just be a one-season guy." Barzal led the team in points with 85 and had a myriad of multipoint games this season, including 6 with 3 points and 3 games with 5. To compare, Sidney Crosby had 11 in his rookie season. Per NHL PR, “Mathew Barzal of the @NYIslanders is the first rookie to reach the 80-point mark in a season since Evgeni Malkin in 2006-07 (33-52—85).” He scored 22 (5 on PP) & 63 with a +1 rating. Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; he finished with a team-leading 63 assists and a team-leading 85 points in 82 games – Hornick. Barzal is also one of only five other NHL rookies (Juneau, Stastney, Trottier and Crosby) to reach the 63-assist plateau in NHL history. He looks like the real-deal and should become a major impact player and team leader as his squad heads into next season. As a rookie, Barzal led the Isles in assists and points. He should continue to draw penalties and make teams adjust for his dangerous cross-over speed and very silky mits. Sorry. I had to. Per Arthur Staple, “Barzal: “We have a passionate fan base and they have every right to be upset with the season we had.”

Anthony Beauvillier took a demotion to Bridgeport and came back ready to show everyone what he was capable of. He netted 21 (3 on PP) & 15 for 36 points and a +2 rating in 71 games. His totals in goals and points are career highs and his 15 assists tie his career high. Beauvillier and Barzal have a chemistry built up through juniors and international play that shows they are natural line mates. He has a dynamic, game changing energy and should only get better. Per Eric Hornick, “Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier both reached the 21-goal mark. They are the first duo in Islander history to each 21 games in the same season, prior to reaching their 21st birthday. Toronto is the only team in the NHL to have two players with 21 goals at that young of an age.” Also, Beauvillier was the first Islander since John Tavares in 2012-13 to score in five straight games.

Jordan Eberle came to the Islanders in exchange for Ryan Strome. He made an immediate impact, added veteran presence and once he was put on a line with Barzal and Beauvillier, the new second line became another 1st line for New York. Eberle was 25 & 34 for 59 points and a +5 in 81 games. In his first season with New York, he led the team with 7 gwg. Per Brian Heyman, “Jordan Eberle 1 year left on his contract: "With the prospect of the new arena and some of the young players here, it's an exciting place to be right now."

Brock Nelson had his struggles, but made a difference for the Isles this season. Nelson had 19 & 16 for 35 points in 82 games, 3 game winners and was near the top in shooting percentage at 13.8%. Only Lee, Beauvillier and JT had higher over the 70-game mark for the Isles.

Andrew Ladd had his struggles, especially while getting 2nd line ice time. The six-time 20 goal scorer rode a 25-game scoring drought and struggled to play up to his ability at times. Ladd finished with 12 (1 sh & 2 gw goals) & 17 for 29 points in 73 games with a +11 rating. He’s in a 7-year contract signed before the 2016 season.

Defensive forwards, Cal Clutterbuck (18 pts) and Casey Cizikas (17 pts) brought their energy again this season, but had their struggles in the new-look, O-First system. Injuries are a little more prevalent with Clutterbuck missing 6 games and Cizikas 18. Both contributed 1 shg and Clutterbuck, a game winner. Cizikas led the Islanders in face-off wins at 53.1% (min. 300 attempts) – Hornick. Casey Cizikas was honored with winning the Bob Nystrom Award.

Enforcer and energy player call up, Ross Johnston may have secured a serious look for himself in camp this summer. Johnston made a physical impact from day 1 and even added a touch of offensive flair with 6 points in 24 games. Johnston answered the lack of toughness for the team this season and racked up 62 pims. Chris Wagner was added at the deadline and did help with team grit, but had only 1 goal in 15 games. Once injured, Nikolay Kulemin was severely missed on the PK. He along with Shane Price and Alan Quine played a disappointing 38 games combined in the lineup this season due to injury.

I just wish the Josh Ho-Sang tenure was a little longer this season. He could have been a spark in the last couple of weeks the Isles could have used in their attempt to pull back into the playoff race instead of free-falling out of it. I also wish he did what Beauvillier did. Took the time with the BST as a souring, but valuable learning experience and earned a trip back up to show the team it can’t win without him. He did turn the puck over, but the whole team was guilty of that this season. I guess the summer might reveal more of the team’s plans for him. Despite all of his skill, he still has a dicey reputation. Ho-Sang had 2 & 10 for 12 points in 22 games with a -17 rating while playing for the Islanders.

Isles Notes:

4/14, Per Cory Wright, “Kieffer Bellows and Portland were eliminated last night in the second round of the WHL playoffs. Bellows finished his first WHL season with 74 points (41G, 33A) in 56 games and 13 points (3G, 10A) in 12 playoff games. #Isles

4/8, Per Arthur Staple, “Boychuk having surgery tomorrow. Injury that nagged him all year and kept him out in January. Should be fully healed by June.”

Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Pulock will play for Canada at the World Championships.

Per Peter Botte, “Make no mistake, this season goes down as an unmitigated disaster for Snow/Islanders. Just because it might not match some of their other laughably disastrous seasons, doesn't change that. Leave those Silver Linings playbooks at home.”

Per Brian Compton, “Tavares: "We got off to a pretty good start this season; the second half of the season really hasn't been very good. We put ourselves in this position."

"I'm not trying to look at it as it's the end, because obviously that hasn't been determined. I've always wanted it to work out and stay, so that's still what I hope transpires."

Per Arthur Staple, “#Isles announce they've signed Swiss D Yannick Rathgeb to a two-year, two-way deal. 22-year-old had 8-20-28 in 38 GP with Fribourg in the Swiss League this season. Spent two seasons with Plymouth of the OHL 2013-15.”

“Isles have signed David Quenneville to a three-year ELC.”

Koivula Agrees To Entry-Level Deal

Chris Botta: There's no way Ledecky is this out-of-touch. The owner must be working behind the scenes. Change must be coming soon.

A big arena in Suffolk County makes no sense for Long Island

Sound Tigers Notes:

Holmstrom, Cullity Recalled by Bridgeport

Sound Tigers Agree To Terms with MacKinnon

Eansor AgreesTo Terms with Islanders

NHL Notes:

Rule change approved regarding goaltender interference

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“I don’t know about you guys, but losing the personality and spirit of Stan Fischler on #Isles won’t be an easy change to accept. Like the legendary Jiggs, the Maven is part of the historical tapestry of this franchise. It just wont be the same without him. Best of luck Stan.”