NHL.com offers in-depth analysis of each of the 31 teams during the months of November and December. On the pool side, we offer you a player to target during the next campaign, a player to avoid, and a player to watch, who could become a hidden card if the stars align. Today, the New York Islanders.
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A team like the New York Islanders, led by Barry Trotz and assembled by general manager Lou Lamoriello, is usually a formation that is shunned by the vast majority of poolers. Indeed, the defensive identity that these two men have often infused into their teams in the past is not at all attractive in a world where goals and points are the proof of everything.
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However, all is not negative with such an identity. For example, the guards – Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin – should represent sure values, since they have the chance to find themselves behind a most hermetic defense. It remains to be seen how the workload will be distributed between the two cerberus. Varlamov kicks off the season with the number one title, but Sorokin, who dominated the Continental Hockey League (KHL) before crossing the Atlantic, could easily win and eat more and more starts. This is the kind of uncertainty that is not easily managed for poolers, who often prefer to opt for a goalkeeper who is assured of a certain number of starts.
Mathew Barzal is expected to finish at the top of the team’s pointers again and he is banking on a group of forwards behind him who, while not spectacular, can easily aspire to 50-point seasons.
To target : Brock Nelson – C
Nelson set a career-high last season with 54 points in just 68 games, and he was on a roll when the season was interrupted, after an honest start. He had 31 points in his first 43 games before exploding for 23 points, including 11 goals, in his last 25 regular season games. He picked up where he left off in the Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring nine goals and as many assists in 22 games. Interestingly, he has only collected four of his 41 points since Jan. 13 on the power play, even though he was used consistently on one of the first two waves of the power play. Even the slightest improvement in this facet of the game could take it to new heights.
Video: TBL @ NYI # 4: Nelson opens the brand with a laser
To avoid : Jean-Gabriel Pageau – C
Make no mistake, Pageau remains an excellent hockey player and an important cog in the Islanders’ success. He will, however, have difficulty replicating his career-high 26 goals and 42 points from last season. The Islanders are not an offensive machine, and he doesn’t have the luxury of playing with the team’s top wingers, unlike with the Ottawa Senators, where he was mostly paired with Brady Tkachuk. We tried to help him in the regular season by inserting him on the first wave of the power play when he arrived in New York, but that was not the case in the playoffs. If he still scored eight goals in 22 games during the summer tournament, it should be noted that these eight goals were made on only 44 shots, for a shooting percentage of 18.2 percent, which would be difficult. to be maintained over a full season.
Video: PHI @ NYI # 4: Pageau takes advantage of a breakaway in 3rd
To watch / hidden card : Noah Dobson – D
The simple fact that Devon Toews, traded to the Colorado Avalanche, and Johnny Boychuk, who will no longer play in the NHL due to an eye injury, are not back next season ensures Dobson will be in uniform more often, which in itself is great news for the 20-year-old full-back . Toews ‘departure, however, opens the door to an increased role for Dobson on the power play, which could quickly see him appear on the poolers’ radar. Limited to 34 games last season, and used more than 16 minutes in a game just six times, Dobson still managed to amass seven points. He could easily cross his 30s in the next campaign if given one of the two waves of the power play.
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