New York Islanders

41-29-12, 94 pts / 239GF(10th)/238GA(23rd)

Cap room (Per CapFriendly as of 8/9/17): $2.9 million - 24/23 NHL contracts

Brought in/back:

• 6/22/17 Jordan Eberle - Trade w/ Edmonton

Moved on:

• Ryan Strome - Trade w/ Edmonton
• Travis Hamonic - Trade w/ Calgary
• Jean-Francois Berube - Expansion Draft

Projected Line-up:

Forward:

Anders Lee - John Tavares - Jordan Eberle

Andrew Ladd - Brock Nelson - Josh Ho-Sang

Jason Chimera - Anthony Beauvillier - Josh Bailey

Nikolay Kulemin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck

(Shane Prince - Alan Quine - Mathew Barzal)

Defense:

Nick Leddy - Johnny Boychuk

Calvin de Haan - Ryan Pulock

Thomas Hickey - Adam Pelech

(Dennis Seidenberg - Dennis Mayfield)

Goalie:

Jaroslav Halak

Thomas Greiss

Dark Horse:

There are two names that pop out ever since Josh Ho-Sang debuted and I’m not sure he would be considered in this category anymore. I’ll just leave it at that, because I couldn’t care less about any other business involving him. The two dark horse candidates are forward Mathew Barzal and defenseman Ryan Pulock. Mathew Barzal is one of the best playmakers soon to be in the league, but most would agree that he’s best fit for at least one year in the AHL before he plays in the NHL. If he comes blazing into camp, he may just make that decision for GM Garth Snow. The Islanders aren’t severely lacking centers, but Barzal has the potential of a top-6 player and if he’s good enough to make that transition, the Islanders may see what he can do.

Ryan Pulock should most likely make this roster out of camp. The only addition the Islanders made on the back end was bringing in Dennis Seidenberg, which was more of a depth move than an impact one. The Isles are most likely going to be depending on Pulock to have built up his defensive game to go along with his impressive offensive skills. He is entering his final year of his ELC, and put up pretty impressive numbers in the AHL last year, so he may be able to earn a few extra bucks next summer depending on what he can do this season.

Too Early Expectations:

I think I’ve already set a record time for talking about the Islanders and not bringing up a certain someone’s contract. That is going to be the biggest story this entire season surrounding the Islanders. If the Islanders are playing well, then it won’t be as much of a distraction. If the Isles stumble out of the gate, this contract situation may be too big of a distraction for Tavares and the rest of the room. There are many questions regarding the Islanders, and only one of them is Tavares’s contract. With how much is going on with the team in the headlines, and with how quiet of an offseason the team has had, not too many would be surprised to see them struggle next year.

However, last year was more or less the same story and the Islanders finished only one point out of the Wild Card. The scoring is there; the Islanders finished 10th in goals scored and added Jordan Eberle, plus Ryan Pulock should add more goals as well. On the flip side, Eberle isn’t known for his defense and Pulock is still a rookie, not to mention trading away Hamonic. Team defense will probably be the biggest reason the Islanders do or don’t make the playoffs.

The Islanders got more than expected of Greiss last year, and there’s no guarantee that will happen again. Halak was so inconsistent that he played 27 games in the AHL. Halak eventually put it all together and ended up with a respectable .915 sv%, but a not-so-good 2.80 GAA. If the Islanders get more of the same, chances of them making the playoffs are slim.

Keep up with the rest of the Division:

• Penguins
• Capitals
• Blue Jackets
• Rangers
• Flyers
• Hurricanes
• Devils