Andrew Fantucchio
In 2022-23, the New York Islanders qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but only just barely.
Down the stretch of the regular season, the Islanders were in a heated race for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference, battling point-for-point with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, while teams such as the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres were slowly closing in.
Each game was a must-win, but after a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on April 10, the Islanders’ playoff hopes seemed to be dead. To their fortune, though, a Pittsburgh loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks gave the Islanders a second life. In Game 82 of the season, the Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens to clinch a postseason berth.
Making the playoffs last season was enough of a challenge, and this year it will be even more difficult. Many of the teams the Islanders were competing with last year made several additions to their roster this summer that will surely make them more dangerous. Meanwhile, the Islanders are bringing back virtually the same team, one that had its strengths but weaknesses as well.
For a team that had the NHL’s third-worst powerplay a year ago, the Islanders failed to make a move this offseason that will help them score on the man advantage. They were heavily involved in trade discussions with the Senators for the Ottawa Senators looking to acquire Alex DeBrincat. Instead, DeBrincat was sent to another team who will be in the thick of what will be a heated Eastern Conference playoff race in the Detroit Red Wings. In exchange for DeBrincat, the Senators received Dominik Kubalik who will help round out their top nine.
Aside from that trade, both teams made other additions that will make them more competitive this season. Ottawa signed Vladimir Tarasenko to take DeBrincat’s spot and solidified their goaltender position with Joonas Korpisalo, while Detroit added the likes of center J.T. Compher and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, whose puck-moving ability could’ve been a huge help to the Islanders.
Elsewhere in the East, the Sabres look to be on the cusp of breaking their 12-year playoff drought after piecing together a 91-point season in 2022-23. To help their chances this year, they addressed their biggest weakness by upgrading their blue line with the signings of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson.
Don’t forget about the Boston Bruins, either. Although their depth down the middle has been completely wiped out following the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and likely soon to be one of David Krejci, the Bruins are returning with one of the NHL’s best defense cores, a Hart Trophy finalist in David Pastrnak and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Linus Ullmark. Boston won’t be the world-beaters they were a year ago, but they’re still very much a playoff-caliber team.
As for the Metropolitan Division, it will likely be won by either the Carolina Hurricanes for the third-straight season or the New Jersey Devils, leaving the Islanders, Penguins and New York Rangers to battle for third, fourth and fifth place.
Since he took over in Pittsburgh, new Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has undertaken a full-scale remodel of the team’s lineup. He made a trade with Vegas for Reilly Smith and supplemented the bottom six by signing Lars Eller and Noel Accari. Plus, he brought in some much-needed goaltending depth with Alex Nedeljkovic, and he may not be done. Erik Karlsson is still available on the trade market, the Penguins are reportedly the team most likely to acquire last year’s Norris Trophy winner.
And while the Rangers may not have been as extreme with their moves, they still addressed their needs by adding grit with Blake Wheeler and Nick Bonino and bolstered their back end with Erik Gustafsson.
While all of their counterparts have made moves in an attempt to at least improve their playoff chances, the Islanders are bringing back the same team from last year. One that nearly missed the postseason as it struggled to score on the power play and move the puck into the offensive zone. Their playoff chances were already slim to begin with and have only gotten slimmer as the rest of the conference has improved.
The Islanders appear to be settled with that fact.
