2018 KoC New York Islanders Season Preview

Our New York Islanders are back in a familiar position. Entering game 1 of the 2018-19 season amidst a deluge of controversy and media hoopla. Last season's offensive and defensive stories are in the past. They will open this season’s campaign against Carolina on Thursday, but according to the hockey media, should expect to finish last in Metro and fail to make the playoffs. After an exciting NHL Entry Draft this summer, making their farm systems one of the deepest in the league, new General Manager, Lou Lamoriello failed to pull off the magic moves required by most, to give the team even the slightest of hopes to succeed without Tavares on their roster. I guess what they failed to realize is, that although J.T. is an elite player and he is a difficult player to lose, the team floundered and had limited success with him on their roster. With Garth Snow relegated to apparent front office obscurity, I guess Lamoriello was expected to transform the Islanders into a front running contender over the summer with the assets the team had in place. New York finished preseason 5-3-0 with a 4-game winning streak that included Barzal’s 8 assists in 6 preseason games, 5 goals in the final four games for Pulock and a 10 for 34 (29.4%) PP run. It’s preseason, but something to build on. The PK slipped into oblivion last season but should improve, under Trotz, while the resurgent 6^th best PP might flounder a bit with a key loss upfront or might just do its job the with Barzal and Pulock finding a more central role.

Photo by Paul Cartier

From their quotes to the media, GM, Lou Lamoriello and new head coach, Barry Trotz, feel they have begun to change the culture and raise the standards of accountability in the room with the additions of Jan Kovar, Leo Kamarov, Tom Kuhnhackl, Matt Martin, Valtteri Filppula and Luca Sbisa and Yannick Rathgreb. Their team dynamic should be tighter and harder to play against and their defense and goaltending should improve with Trotz. I think it’s reasonable to assume Trotz will get the most out of the players he has. Per Lamoriello, “The strategy for acquiring high-end talent, we will continue to try to improve the team without mortgaging the future and not building a foundation." That includes Thomas Greiss in the final year of his Isles contract and free-agent keeper, Robin Lehner, who has all the talent he needs if he can keep his focus and continue his admirable rise from addiction and bipolar diagnosis. Like Lehner, the Islanders have a statement to make this year. Everyone has counted them out. Again. The Isles lost John Tavares, Calvin de Haan, Jaroslav Halak, Chris Wagner, Nikolay Kulemin, Dennis Seidenberg, Brandon Davidson and Alan Quine. Superstar, quality defenders and depth. The “look what Vegas did last season” comparisons are nice, but hardly a regular occurrence. The last time I can remember that kind of success was when Florida did it in 1996. So, what can they look forward to this season?

We saw that, once removed from his success with the Devils, Lou Lamoriello transformed the Maple Leafs into a team poised to make a playoff push from the draft on out. Barry Trotz’s resume includes a competitive, always in-the-hunt work ethic with all the teams he has coached including a Stanley Cup win with the Capitals last season. Those two moves alone would have been big, but adding Lane Lambert, John Gruden, Piero Greco and Mitch Korn should help infuse even more, especially with the team’s goaltending struggles from last season. Recent additions included Jacques Lemaire, Ken Gernander and David Conte to bolster the coaching and scouting pools. Per Andrew Gross, “GM Lou Lamoriello a big believer of using any time available so Barry Trotz says team won't set final roster until moment it has to, which is 48 hours before first game … Trotz also reports Lou has been working phones hard, seeing who might be available.” That’s awesome, but what about the lineup New York expects to put on the ice starting on Thursday? The offense, defense and special teams?

Lines change, but the last groupings looked like this according to Arthur Staple:

Beau-Barzal-Bailey, Lee-Nelson-Eberle, Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck, Komarov-Filppula-Fritz, Johnston-Kovar-Kühnhackl.

Pelech-Pulock, Hickey-Boychuk, Sbisa-Leddy, Toews-Mayfield.

Greiss & Lehner.

‘The kid who won the Calder’ scored five points in a game, three times last season. Mathew Barzal (85 pts in 82 gp) was first NHL rookie to hit a point per game or better (minimum 75 games) since Malkin did it in 2006-07. The only other players who had similar success in the league under the age of 20 are named Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos and Auston Matthews. Barzal gets his shot to be the man and a first line center. He’s also ready for anyone who slept through his 2017-18 campaign to know who he is this season. He will certainly continue to be double teamed and draw the oppositions to shut-down D. His powerful and fluid skating looks, to me, as good as it did last season over the last couple of weeks. Potential line mates, Josh Bailey (71 pts in 76 games) had career highs in goals, assists and points and re-signed for 6 more year and my pick for surprise player of the year, Anthony Beauvillier has a resilient return from the minors last season and 36 points in 71 games, including some contributions on the PP.

Anders Lee scored 40 goals (tops on team) and set highs in assists (22), points (62), PP goals & points (14 & 22) and shots on net (208). He was physical, a force in front of the net and has matured to be one of the biggest Draft steals in recent NHL history. He will be a UFA next summer and will have even more incentive to make noise for the Isles who will need even more from him to be successful. Brock Nelson currently sits as the team’s number 2 center to the dismay of some, but Nelson has the goods when he is on. 35 points in 82 games won’t be enough this season. While he was near the top in shooting percentage, he will need to shoot, pass and score even more GWG’s to help the Islanders have a potent 2nd line and take pressure off the Barzal line. Jordan Eberle was a great add to the Isles organization, netting 59 points in 81 games with 7 GWG’s. His ice time should increase and like many others, so will the responsibility to contribute even more. Another potential 2019 UFA, Eberle should add to his PP point totals (10 last season) and the Islanders will need the 5-time 50-point scorer to help carry the load.

The reunited “best 4th line in hockey” are a couple of season’s older and should have a chance to help the Isles bottom 6 agitate and frustrate the opposition. In a more defensive minded scheme, the trio should do better filling their role. Cizikas should be ok to go per reports after an injury scare in the final preseason game against Buffalo. Both he and Clutterbuck can ply their craft if they remain healthy and Matt Martin is living the dream returning to the team that drafted him 148th overall in the 5th round in 2008. Martin expects a bounce-back season after playing in Toronto wasn’t what he expected. I just can’t wait to see the first game against the Maple Leafs and what chaos these guys bring to it. "We've always kind of been an underdog," Cal Clutterbuck said. "Even when we've gone through stretches where we proved to people that we shouldn't be, we are still labeled that way. We are who we are and I think we're very content with being quietly confident about what we're able to do and trying to execute it." Soul player, Tanner Fritz cleared waivers and was sent down to the Sound Tigers and Jan Kovar wasn’t given a huge window to display what he can do in the NHL game. Ross Johnston’s four-year, $4M contract is waiver-claim proof according to Staple, so the Isles will use him as needed. Character and veteran guys, Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula haven’t made a big splash so far. Tom Kuhnhackl has been placed on waivers as of this afternoon.

With Andrew Ladd’s recent day-to-day status, he appears to be bound for IR to start season.

Per Erick Hornick, “I'm not much for the prediction game but I like the chances of @rpulock becoming the 1st #Isles dmen since Potvin to record a hat trick. No current #NYI was alive when Denis did it for last time (3-4-82 vs Tor). Some high school kid was in his 2nd month working on the telecast.” Ryan Pulock looked comfortable in preseason and had even more poise in both ends of the ice than last season. A physical defender, Pulock is a solid defender with a lethal shot. One Trotz likened to Alex Ovechkin and one Isles fans should see regularly on the PP and late in key games. His 10 PPP in 68 games as a rookie are indicative of how well he shoots the puck. The more popular choice for break out player this season, Pulock gives the Islanders the big puck-moving, physical D-man they’ve needed for quite some time. He should get more opportunity with the new regime and that’s great news for Isles fans. Adam Pelech is a big, stay-at-home defender that may work well with the offensive-minded Pulock. With the 4th best (+7) +/- on a team who turned the puck over like crazy last season, Pelech should improve even more under a Barry Trotz run blueline.

D, Thomas Hickey is another pending UFA. After a dismal team campaign, Hickey had an impressive +20 rating with 25 points (career highs in points, 25 and tied in assists, 20) in 69 games last season. Hickey is a reliable defender with an offensive touch that can still get big results with the Isles. Per Arthur Staple, “Johnny Boychuk, 2015-16 Good Guy winner, on being chirped via tweet last night: “I’m going for the Bad Guy award this year.” Boychuk is a fierce competitor who should be healthy after addressing a nagging injury he had surgery for over the summer. His leadership and awareness on ice can enhance special teams and always be a scoring threat.

Luca Sbisa was signed off a PTO this summer and has recently been paired with Nick Leddy. Sbisa is a veteran depth D that can be exposed at times but might be here until management feels Toews is ready. I think Toews is ready right now, but the Isles signed Sbisa to utilize his talents in some meaningful way in their system. As we’ve seen before, Toews doesn’t have to clear waivers, so we know what usually happens with that. Nick Leddy had a horrible campaign last season. This season should be a big turn-around with an updated scheme. Trotz’s neutral zone mastery (along with Korn’s goaltending consul) should help Leddy and the D-core improve the worst defense in the NHL last season cut down on goals against in some capacity. With a more responsible defense scheme in place, a player like Leddy should bounce back and add a significant offensive threat on the rush and improved play on the PK.

Devon Toews signed a two-year extension this summer. He has nothing else to prove at the AHL level and the Islanders could use his speed and scoring touch off the blue line for sure. Today, Barry Trots said that he’d prefer Toews playing somewhere and not sitting with the Isles, so it looks like Bridgeport indeed per Staple. Toews could be a perfect fit with a defender like Scott Mayfield. Mayfield’s size and grit make him a solid pillar at the Isles net and at times, can chip in offensively. Another player who took positives strides despite the poor finish by the team last season.

UFA, Thomas Griess should be ready to compete this season. The once savior and arguable bonafide starter, Greiss made the most of his first two seasons with the Islanders. However, last season saw Greiss have a less than spectacular showing along with now-departed Isles keeper, Jaroslav Halak. Greiss finished near the bottom of the league from a statistical standpoint behind the Isles O-first scheme from last year. The culture change is in place along with Mitch Korn and Piero Greco to redefine the Islanders in goal. Robin Lehner (only one season removed from a Sv% of .920) is another talented goaltender that will get a serious look by the organization for an opportunity to sign with the team beyond this season. Both will be given a opportunity to become an NHL starter and help New York right themselves from the back-end up. In the new defensive and neutral zone responsible system, both goalies should have a chance to show what they can do in a challenging Metro Division and Eastern Conference playoff race. Lehner is no stranger to overcoming adversity and here’s to hoping he can be the sleeper the Islanders are hoping for. Former Isles goaltender on Mitch Korn, “Mitch understands the way the game has changed. You just look at what he did with Pekka, with Holtby, even back in the early days in Nashville with guys like Mike Dunham and Chris Mason. He knows that structure and technique is how you develop now.”

Trotz is going to help transform the Islanders defensively, but success will be limited by the lack of depth. It’s up to Lou Lamoriello to ride the waiver wire and see if can add another quality player via trade as the season goes on. The team will have the odds stacked against them to fight for a playoff spot, but they can play with that chip on their shoulder they all claim to have. Let’s hope they surprise a few teams in the first few weeks and get off to a good start with all schemes keeping them competitive in a line-up many insiders call incomplete. Their management and coaching give them renewed respectability and experience, but the limited roster will certainly hold all plays fully accountable and that just might be the dose of medicine it’s intended to be.

Per Arthur Staple, “Isles will need one more roster move to get down to 23 tomorrow. Ross Johnston, who needs waivers, is staying for now. Tanner Fritz has already cleared waivers but appears to be in top 12. Looks to be between Jan Kovar and Devon Toews, neither of whom need waivers to go to BPT.” If it’s Jan Kovar, its reported he may have an out clause to exercise if he’d rather play overseas. Per Brian Compton, “Josh Bailey told me it's been a "good, hard camp, but one where we've learned a lot. We're coming together as a group. I think we're all just looking forward to the puck dropping on Thursday."

No disrespect intended, but the current management is built from some of the best minds we’ve had here in a long time. I have issues with a few things they are doing right now, especially forcing the play of stop-gap players over talented kids that should factor into team’s future. It’s always been one of my biggest complaints of past regimes. So, I’m in for another season of hope and positivity to start. The farm is once again legitimately stocked with several hungry players with all the talent in the world, but apparently lack the necessary experience. The only way they get the experience they need is to play. Guess it’s the usual adage of working hard with the Sound Tigers to make a convincing argument to be called up. That’s cool I guess. Beauvillier and Lee are 2 of the biggest recent success stories for that formula. This season might be one that fans realize they should attention to the AHL game if they don’t already. It’s the best way to educate yourself on the guys in Bridgeport and checkout the prospects on the cusp of NHL stardom. The play of the Sound Tigers should count a little more this season for the fans and the Islanders.

See you at the Barc, the Coliseum and on KnightofCups.net. 

Here’s to a season of surprises.

Thanks for the support!

Isles Notes:

The Islanders and Adidas released images of their new 3^rd jerseys for this season.

G, Linus Soderstrom is back in Sweden as he continues to rehab from injury.

Islanders transactions since prior to writing this article -

September 25: Steve Bernier, Christopher Gibson, Seth Helgeson and Mike Sislo were assigned to Bridgeport (AHL).

September 24: Luca Sbisa agreed to terms on a one-year contract.

September 24: Sebastian Aho, Kieffer Bellows, Michael Dal Colle, Ben Holmstrom, Josh Ho-Sang, Jeremy Smith, Travis St. Denis and Parker Wotherspoon were assigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL).

September 24: Noah Dobson was assigned to Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL.

September 23: Kyle Burroughs cleared waivers and was loaned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

September 22: Chris Bourque, Ryan Bourque, Evan Buitenhuis, Mike Cornell, Scott Eansor, Matthew Gaudreau, Mitch Gillam, Ryan Hitchcock, Connor Jones, Otto Koivula, Ivan Kosorenkov, Jeff Kubiak, Ryan MacKinnon, Tyler Mueller, David Quenneville, Yannick Rathgeb, Mitch Vande Sompel and Yanick Turcotte were assigned to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL).

September 22: Arnaud Durandeau (Halifax, QMJHL), Blade Jenkins (Saginaw, OHL) and Bode Wilde (Saginaw, OHL) were assigned to their CHL clubs.

September 22: Pius Suter was returned to Zurich of the Swiss Elite League. Kyle MacLean and Emmanuel Vella were removed from their amateur tryouts.