Catapulted into a new environment during the season last year, Jean-Gabriel Pageau believes he is now better prepared to help the New York Islanders, especially thanks to last summer’s playoff tournament.
• Read also: The ceiling and math
• Read also: World Juniors: Sweden escapes another
Acquired from the Ottawa Senators last February, Pageau had two goals in just seven regular season games before the National Hockey League (NHL) season was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But during the playoffs, all players were forced to live in a bubble, and he was thus able to get to know his teammates. Then, in the offseason, he was able to settle down for good in his new adopted hometown before training camp began.
“I’ve been here for two weeks with my wife and our two dogs,” Pageau said in a video conference on Sunday. We are well settled now. We are ready to play hockey. We’re all together once again and it’s exciting. I got to know the guys in the bubble by playing ping pong and all kinds of games. ”
To look at oneself in the mirror
More at ease, he was one of the architects of the Islanders’ journey to the Eastern Conference final, with 8 goals and 11 points in 22 games. The Tampa Bay Lightning still triumphed and the Franco-Ontarian believes he could have done more.
“We can be proud of what we have accomplished, but we cannot be satisfied. We also need to look at ourselves in the mirror and I have had time to do so. I saw what I could have done better to help the team achieve their goals, ”he said.
“I am excited that hockey is back and that we are together again. We have a strong squad and it’s exciting. ”
–
