The Case With Anders Lee, Stay or Go?

With the Islanders season coming to an end, one of the biggest offseason story lines will be the fate of their captain Anders Lee.  Lee is set to hit free agency in July with his 7 year 49 million dollar contract coming to an end.  So, the big question is, does he stay or does he go?

Some pretext, Lee has been a fantastic Islander, captain & community ambassador.  From his first NHL goal against Winnipeg at the Coliseum to the winning goal against the Panthers on March 1st his on ice contributions have been immeasurable.  Off ice, what hes done with charity and his Jam Kancer tournament is just remarkable.

However, with Darche going into year 2 and now Peter DeBoer behind the bench and the collapse the Islanders just went through, changes need to be made and the biggest one that can be made is letting the captain walk and going in a different direction.  

Since Barry Trotz left, this team has just not been good enough.  That has been with Lee as captain, and then this year the collapse following the Olympic break is inexplicable.  Now, all the flaws of the team since Trotz left don't fall on the players, a lot falls on poor roster construction by the previous group in charge.  But things like this years collapse I feel like you have no choice but to look inward at the leadership group in the locker room.

In the end, it will be really weird to see Lee playing somewhere else, but ultimately I think it will be for the best because how are we ever supposed to get better if we just keep retaining the same guys over and over again?  

A Look Back At Pre Season Predictions, Part 2

Last time we went over predictions for the forwards I had from the pre season.  Now, for the defensemen & goalies.

1) Alexander Romanov (Carson Soucy)

Prediction for Romanov:                       Actual for Soucy

6 goals                                                       5 goals

18 assists                                                   7 assists

24 points                                                    12 points

Romanov's season ended prematurely after taking that brutal hit from behind by Mikko Rantanen against Dallas in November.  After a couple months of rotating people in and out of that spot, the Islanders acquired Carson Soucy from the Rangers at the end of January for a 3rd round pick.  Soucy showed some decent offense on occasion but going along with Mayfield big hulking guys who don't skate very well the fit was suspect to say the least.  Soucy is a free agent now and I would be pretty surprised if he returns.

2) Adam Pelech

Prediction:                                         Actual

2 goals                                               4 goals

18 assists                                           12 assists

20 points                                            16 points

Pelech had a rejuvenating season!  He was healthy all season for the first time in a while, and managed to break what was a crazy long goalless streak.  Defensively, he showed a lot of flashes of old throughout the season as well.  His name has come up recently when discussing changes the Islanders could look to make this summer.  Coming off his best season in a while but still having 3 years left on his contract, it could be advantageous to try and sell high on Pelech now.

3) Tony D'Angelo

Prediction:                                          Actual

10 goals                                              5 goals

30 assists                                            35 assists

40 points                                             40 points

D'Angelo is an interesting guy, because he very much outperformed his contract. However, he isn't without his warts by any means.  D'Angelo moves the puck well becuase of his good skating ability and some of the passes he is able to make leave you scratching your head like how did he feather that through?  On the flip side though, holy crap is he turnover prone!  I would be hesitant to give him term on an extension but if he would take another 1 year deal I would explore that this summer.

4) Ryan Pulock

Prediction:                                         Actual

5 goals                                                3 goals

20 assists                                            24 assists

25 points                                            27 points

Much like Pelech, Pulock also had a rejuvenating season.  Healthy for a good portion of the year like Pelech, we saw great strides in Pulock game back to the player he was when we signed him to his current contract.  The lack of offense is still puzzling as I said in the pre season but thats just the player he is it seems.  

5) Scott Mayfield

Prediction:                                           Actual

3 goals                                                 2 goals

10 assists                                             13 assists

13 points                                              15 points

Mayfield oh Mayfield, for part of the season I actually found myself cursing him less then I had in prior seasons.  With that said, he is still a boat anchor back there and it would be of great benefit to the Islanders if they could figure out a way to move on from him and that horrible contract Lou signed him to.

6) Matthew Schafer

Prediction:                                        Actual

1 goal                                               23 goals

2 assists                                           36 assists

3 points                                            59 points

Not only was Schaefer a huge surprise for the Islanders but his emergence rang bells around the NHL about the new superstar emerging on Long Island at only 18 years old.  It was just crazy watching him night in and night out the things he was able to do out there at this age.  Not only his play on the ice but his personality and attitude are one of a kind and fit perfect in this area.  If this is just the beginning how good could the future get for him?

Goalies:

1) Ilya Sorokin                              

Prediction:                                           Actual

30 wins                                                29 wins

20 loses                                               24 loses

5 OTL                                                   2 OTL

2.60 GAA                                            2.68 GAA

.912 save %                                         .906 save %

Sorokin had an up and down season to say the least.  He started off really rough, which led to the dismissal of long time goalie coach Piero Greco.  That change, plus the hiring of a mental health coach seemed to do wonders for Sorokin as he played the best he had in a while.  However, excessive use and a poor defensive system ended up becoming too much for Sorokin to bear and down the stretch his performance suffered.  With Peter DeBoer behind the bench, hopefully they return to a more structured defensive system to help Sorokin not be hung out to dry as much as he was this season.

2) David Rittich

Prediction:                                           Actual

12 wins                                                 14 wins

8 loses                                                   10 loses

5 OTL                                                    3 OTL

2.70 GAA                                              2.76 GAA

.907 save %                                           .894 save %

Much like Sorokin, Rittch had an up and down season as well.  Coming out of the gate the first few months for Rittich were pretty promising.  However, that fizzled quick and Rittich was never able to recover as evidenced by his paltry .894 save %.  There is some talk that we could see Rittich return next season, however Semyon Varlamov seems to be moving in the right direction after missing the entire season due to two separate knee replacements.  Varlamov recently returned to Bridgeport and backstopped them to a 5-2 victory.

Islanders Sign Quinn Finley to 2 Year ELC

According to multiple reports, the Islanders have signed 2022 3rd round pick Quinn Finley to a two year entry level contract.  The Islanders continue bringing their prospects into the fold after signing Cole Eiserman and Kashawn Aitcheson to entry level contracts last month.

Finley, 21 a forward for the University of Wisconsin had 33 points in 36 games this season including 17 goals.  Finley, along with several other players will now be reporting to Bridgeport as their season winds down and their playoff series gets underway.

With The Season Coming to An End, A Look Back At Pre Season Projections

With the Islanders season coming to an end last night after a late season collapse, I thought this could be a good time to look back at some of my pre season projections.

First, the forwards:

1) Bo Horvat

Projected:                    Actual:

33 goals                       31 goals

32 assists                     26 assists

65 points                     57 points

Injuries and disappearing down the stretch will be whats looked back on with Horvat due to the Islanders missing the playoffs unfortunately.  Horvat was pretty unbelievable for the Islanders in the first half scoring like crazy with a lot of key goals.  Then came the injuries around the holidays which were a big blow.  He managed to get healthy enough to compete for Team Canada at the Olympics but after the Olympics his production really took a nose dive for us.  If he was a complimentary player they might be able to over come it but Horvat is "The guy" for the Islanders so thats so difficult to overcome as we saw with the Islanders struggles mainly after the Olympic break and thereafter as the season wound down.

2) Mathew Barzal

Projected:                Actual:

18 goals                  19 goals

42 assists                 53 assists

60 points                 72 points

This I would say was one of Barzal's top seasons in his career.  He was healthy the entire season which had been a struggle for him of late.  He did have that one benching by Patrick Roy early in the season but most seemed to agree it did a world of good for him and his numbers backed it up.  His production like Horvat did dry up some down the stretch but Barzal was still putting up assists whereas Horvat wasn't doing a lot of anything.

3) Brayden Schenn (Jonathan Drouin)

Projected for Drouin:                          Actual For Schenn

12 goals                                              18 goals

33 assists                                            21 assists

45 points                                            39 points

Drouin I would call one of the biggest disappointments of the season.  He had a promising start but never got into it.  He was just never able to put it together even after a tremendous amount of opportunities from Patrick Roy and the coaches.  I was happy to see him go at the deadline.  However, bringing in Schenn wasn't without criticism which I touched on at the time here.  As I said at the time of the deal, Schenn does bring a physical element that we lacked after Martin & Clutterbuck retired but we paid an extremely premium price for him.  It seems like DeBoer likes him better at wing then center so it will be interesting to see how he fits him into the lineup for next season.

4) Anders Lee

Projected:                                Actual

25 goals                                  19 goals

21 assists                                23 assists

46 points                                 42 points

The captain, in potentially his final season with the Islanders had an up and down season but mostly up for me.  He came one short of cracking 20 goals again but had some big goals at crucial times as Horvats production dipped.  For me, it is time to move on from Lee as great an Islander as he has been but more on that at a later time.

5) Simon Holmstrom

Projected:                           Actual

25 goals                             19 goals

25 assists                            22 assists 

50 points                            41 points

Holmstrom had a solid season, him & Pageau remained very dynamic on the penalty kill.  He showed some slick hands this year at times which I didn't know he had.  Hopefully, next season he is able to continue building on that and become a consistent maybe 25 goal guy for the team going forward.

6) JG Pageau

Projected:                         Actual

13 goals                           17 goals

26 assists                         18 assists

39 points                          35 points

Pageau had one of the top goal scoring years of his career this season.  He also continued his prowess on faceoffs and on the penalty kill which led to the Islanders signing him to a 3 year contract extension on deadline day.  I was pleased that the AAV wasn't higher with this deal and am excited to see what Pageau brings going forward as the team hopefully transitions some.

7) Casey Cizikas

Projected:                       Actual:

9 goals                           10 goals

11 assists                        8 assists

20 points                        18 points

No matter his linemates, Cizikas comes to play every night.  Never gives less then 100% effort and just been a great Islander for a very long time.  Like Lee this season, next season is the final season on Cizikas contract.  It will be interesting to see how that is approached, if he wants to continue playing or go into his post hockey career like his former linematers Matt Martin & Cal Clutterbuck.

8) Emil Heineman

Projected:                          Actual:

14 goals                            22 goals

8 assists                            9 assists

22 points                           31 points

Well, where as Drouin was one of the biggest disappointments, Heineman was definitely one of the most pleasant surprises.  Though he did have a cold stretch there for a while, he did show a lot of why Darche loved him and wanted him to be part of the Dobson deal.  Mostly his quick extremely impressive wrist shot.  Hopefully, he is able to continue to grow and get better.  As a team that struggles to score a lot, Heineman could be very valuable going forward.

Then there is Max Shabanov, Anthony Duclair & Max Tsyplakov (Ondrej Palat).  Shabanov I am not sure what happened there, if he wasn't given a fair opportunity or if his game didn't translate, I go back and forth with him.  Duclair for whatever reason just could never get out of the dog house.  Even when he was producing more then say Drouin he still struggled to get into the lineup.  Back in January we traded Max Tsyplakov and got back one of Darche's old guys from Tampa in Ondrej Palat.  I was critical of the move at the time because of the cap hit we had to take on in Palat and my skepticism was proven correct.  After scoring in his first game as an Islander, Palat was kind of useless to be frank for the remainder of the season.  I expect at least 2 of these guys will not be back next season and potentially all 3. Shabanov I think they will let walk, Palat should absolutely be bought out, and its been widely reported of their interest in trading Anthony Duclair.  

Next time I will look back on the top 6 defensemen as well as the goalies.

Islanders Fire Roy, Hire DeBoer

Earlier today, it was announced that the Islanders fired head coach Patrick Roy and hired long time NHL coach Peter DeBoer as his replacement.  

According to reports, long standing issues including the power play and poor defensive structure not being resolved were instrumental in Roy's dismissal.  Coming into this year, not much was expected from the Islanders so they definitely exceeded expectations.  However, in recent weeks their performances were more indicative of a team that just didn't want to play anymore.  In instances like this it will always fall on the head coach.  It was a little surprising to see them make the change now but I like the aggressiveness by the organization to make sure they got "their" guy, rather then waiting for the offseason and hoping for the best.

Roy had 2 seasons left on his contract at the time of dismissal, according to reports.

In DeBoer, the Islanders definitely get what they are looking for, he will drastically improve defensive structure which at times has been amateur hour level bad this season.  Also, DeBoer does have a history of taking his teams on deep playoff runs doing so with the Devils, Sharks and Vegas.  According to Andy Strickland, DeBoer is signed for the rest of this season and 4 more seasons.

Islanders Sign 2024 First Round Pick Eiserman To 3 Year ELC

After signing Kashawn Aitcheson to a 3 entry level contract yesterday, the Islanders remained busy today signing 2024 First Round Pick Cole Eiserman to his own 3 year entry level contract, according to multiple reports.

Eiserman, in his second season at Boston University has 28 points in 32 games this season, including 18 goals.  Though Eiserman did have some struggles in the first half of the season, he has really come on fire in the second half.

With this signing, Eiserman is set to join Aitcheson part of Bridgeport as soon as the rest of this season on a try out before their entry level deals begin next season.  The Islanders exciting future just got a little closer!

Islanders Sign 2025 1st Round Pick Aitcheson to 3 Year Entry Level Deal

According to multiple reports, the Islanders have signed 2025 first round pick Kashawn Aitcheson to a 3 year entry level contract.  Aitcheson was taken 17th overall by the Islanders in the draft last summer, following their selections of Matthew Schaefer and Victor Eklund.

Aitcheson has been a superstar in the OHL this year putting up 70 points in 54 games, including 28 goals.  Aitcheson doesn't only produce offense though, he has a mean streak as well.

I am very excited to see the continued evolution of Aitcheson's game as he reports to Bridgeport.  His combination of physicality and production is very rare, if he can translate that at all to the pro level that will only mean terrific things for the Islanders going forward.

Isles Acquire Blues Captain Schenn in Deadline Day Shocker

Earlier today, in quite the deadline day deal shocker, the Islanders acquired Brayden Schenn from St Louis in exchange for Jonathan Drouin, Marcus Gildof, 2026 1st round pick (COL) & 2026 3rd round pick (NJD).

I didn't see this coming from a million miles away, like everyone I was looking at Thomas or Kyrou when it came to the Blues.

Including Drouin in this deal makes it easier to swallow, but I still feel like we paid an extremely high price for Schenn and his 6.5 aav over the next two seasons.  Schenn does have some positives though.  He is good at face offs and is physical, something we have lacked since Matt Martin and Clutterbuck retired.  He also doesn't hesitate to step in for teammates if the situation warrants it.  Given those positives, this isn't the dynamic player the Islanders lack though.  He isn't a great skater and doesn't exactly pile up points.

Moving out Drouin as I said above is one thing that gave me solace in this deal.  After having a promising start, he just went down hill and never recovered.  Even though he still got ample opportunity from the coaching staff he was never able to take advantage.  

Schaefer Wins 1st Star of the Week

Yesterday, it was announced that Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer was named first star of the week.

Schaefer, who hit 20 goals in the Islanders game the other night has 4 goals and 1 assist since play resumed after the NHL Olympic break.  With his goals the other night, he is now just 3 goals behind Brian Leetch for the most goals ever by a rookie defeseman.

He is the first Islanders defenseman to ever win this since they started awarding it.

Islanders Stay Busy, Trade Tsyplakov To The Devils

Another day, another trade for the Islanders.  After acquiring Carson Soucy from the Rangers last night, the Islanders made another deal with a Metro Division foe today, shipping Max Tsyplakov to the Devils.  In exchange for Tysplakov the Islanders acquired Ondrej Palat, a 2026 3rd round pick and a 2027 6th round pick.  Palat like Tsyplakov is signed through next season, but his cap hit is much higher at 6 million.

The Islanders signed Tsyplakov out of Russia before last season.  Last season, Tysplakov actually wasn't bad in a bottom 6 role tallying 35 points in 77 games.  However, with the turnover up front over the summer that left Tsyplakov spot in the lineup in limbo and that shows with him only playing 27 games so far this season.

Now while Tsyplakov wasn't doing anything, taking on Palats massive cap hit given his recent decline in play without requiring the Devils to retain anything is pretty questionable to say the least.  The picks are all well and good but cap space is our most valuable tool and putting that much into a player like Palat raises red flags to say the least.

My one hope is given Darche prior relationship with Palat from their time with the Lightning, maybe he sees things in his game that could be changed like he used to play in Tampa.  If that doesn't happen, Darche probably would've been better off just dumping Tsyplakov for a mid round or late round pick.

Islanders Make Rare Trade With Rangers, Acquire D-man Soucy

Yesterday evening, news broke that the Rangers sell off was beginning as they were trading defenseman Carson Soucy.  The most shocking part of this wasn't that Soucy was the first domino to fall for the Rangers but that they traded him here.  Dating back to the Islanders inception in 1972 this is only the 4th time the Islanders had come together on a trade with the Rangers.  The Islanders traded a 2026 3rd round pick to the Rangers for Soucy.

Soucy, a defenseman, is a free agent at the end of this year.  He is big bodied at 6'5 211lbs and will fit nicely on the Islanders bottom pair which has been kind of a rotating cast of characters since Romanov was injured by Rantanen.  

To learn more about Soucy the player, click here.

Horvat Set To Return Tomorrow For Isles

After being out since new years day, Bo Horvat is set to return tomorrow afternoon for the Islanders in their game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Horvat has been the Islanders top scorer this year getting 21 goals in just 36 games.

Horvats absence has been felt through the lineup as the offense has been inconsistent since he went down.  In addition to that, the power play has just been bad in his absence!

Currently, Horvat is set to be the Islanders lone representative in the up coming Olympics part of team USA.  After the injury issues he has had this season I would seriously consider asking him to forego the Olympics to make sure he is ready for the second half.