New York Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a solid season last year, but the revolving door of linemates hindered the 28-year old’s ability to make more of an impact.
With the new season quickly approaching, Pageau’s linemates should be more etched in stone. Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has hinted through drills and the preseason that Pageau will be flanked by Oliver Wahlstrom and the newest member of the Islanders in Zach Parise.
Pageau earned the trust of his head coach rather quickly, playing him with a handful of linemates last season while expecting the same output from him on a nightly basis.
Despite the lack of offense from many of the linemates slotted alongside him, Wahlstrom burst onto the scene and Pageau had someone with a scoring touch to play on his wing.
The 11th overall pick back in 2018 was an offensive weapon, collecting 21 points in 44 games. Despite 10 of those points coming on the power play, Wahlstrom had a shoot-first mentality, which many Islanders failed to show.
Pageau’s ability to play strong in both zones allowed Wahlstrom to be the goal-scorer of that line. As the Islanders looked to remain a playoff team down the stretch last year, the offense still needed a boost.
The Islanders brought in Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from New Jersey and Palmieri joined the Islanders’ third line.
In a similar fashion to the one that Pageau himself was in before COVID-19 shut down the season in 2019-20, Palmieri struggled to produce during the regular season after he was traded to Long Island.
However, Palmieri, like Pageau, turned it on in his first postseason on the island.
Palmieri scored seven goals in 19 games, playing with Pageau most of the time. When Wahlstrom got hurt in the first round of the postseason, Zajac stepped in on the third line.
Chemistry seemed to be building on the third line, and it seemed that this line could be kept together moving forward, despite Palmieri’s pending UFA status.
Unfortunately, an injury in the first round of the postseason forced Wahlstrom to miss a handful of postseason games. Despite being cleared to play, Trotz elected to stay with the veteran Zajac, a decision that many of the Islanders’ faithful questioned.
Following the Islanders’ loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a 1-0 loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup SemiFinals, the mindset was that the Islanders were right there, but were just in need of more offense.
Palmieri made it clear he wanted to remain with the Islanders if possible, but Lamoriello had work to do given the handful of pending free agents, as well as the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft.
Despite the Islanders wanting to bolster their offense, the Expansion Draft changed the game plan, with top-line center Jordan Eberle being selected.
Palmieri, who stated that he wanted to remain an Islander since being eliminated, signed a four-year extension. His role would be upgraded, as he will be playing with Lee and Mat Barzal on the Islanders’ top line.
Wahlstrom is looking to earn the right to be a starter, and despite not having the greatest of camps, that spot should be his come the start of the season.
Trotz has liked what he has seen from Parise throughout camp, raving about his work ethic and leadership. There seems to be chemistry growing between the newest Islander and Pageau, which bodes well for this upcoming season. That third line of Parise, Pageau, and Wahlstrom was the top line for Trotz in the Islanders 2-1 overtime preseason loss to the Devils this past Saturday.
Parise was able to get on a shorthanded breakaway during the game, as he showed off the legs in his preseason debut. So far, Parise has shown he still has an offensive touch despite a down year in Minnesota where he saw his role limited due to the direction the franchise was taking to get younger.
Heading into this season, this third line is shaping up to be a line that can impress on a nightly basis.
Could Pageau get back to his scoring ways that we saw in Ottawa? While that may still be a stretch given the defensive priority, Pageau should have more success this upcoming season with more consistency on his line.
