The biggest question with the Islanders is if their franchise player John Tavares will remain in an Islanders jersey when October comes around as he is an unrestricted free agent. That is not the only worry though as the goaltending is among the worst in the league, the defence lacks stars and the offence needs more scoring from its players not named John Tavares. With all the stress of the Tavares situation and their other problems, the playoffs won't return to Brooklyn in 2018.
Arrivals/Departures
Arrivals: Jordan Eberle, Kristers Gudlevskis
Departures: Travis Hamonic, Ryan Strome, Mikhail Grabovski, Jean Francois-Berube, Stephen Gionta
Forwards:
John Tavares is a franchise player as he always produces offence with a weak group of players alongside him.They brought in Jordan Eberle to play with Tavares but Eberle has not lived up to his potential only scoring 20 goals last season. Anders Lee is Tavares' other winger and he had a breakout season scoring a career high 34 goals to go with 52 points. Brock Nelson is still on the team even after he was left unprotected during the expansion draft and he will be the number-two center after three straight 40-plus point seasons. Andrew Ladd had a rough first season with the Islanders as he only put up 31 points when a 50-point season was expected. Ladd should improve in his second season especially if he gets to play with Tavares. Josh Bailey had the best season of his career pushing past 50 points for the first time and he will be one of the top-six wingers again. The Islanders' best prospect is Mathew Barzal and it is time for him to make the jump to the NHL as the third-line center to bring his play-making skills to the mix. Anthony Beauvillier had a decent rookie year with the Islanders last year but he will need to create more offence during his second season as he gets more playing time. Joshua Ho-Sang is another one of the Islanders' good forward prospects and after getting 10 points in 21 games and it is time for him to make the leap to the NHL for the whole season. If Ho-Sang can keep his off-ice problems from distracting his game, he could become an elite scorer and be up for the Calder Trophy. Casey Cizikas has turned into one of the league's best fourth-line centers as he continues to provide offence while playing the role of the fourth-line center shutting opposing players down. Jason Chimera scored 20 goals in his first season with the Islanders but it is the young guns' time to shine so he will probably be demoted to a fourth-line role. The last member of possibly the best fourth line is hard-hitter Cal Clutterbuck. Nikolay Kulemin, Alan Quine and Shane Prince (when healthy) will compete for a spot on the roster too.
Defenceman:
Nick Leddy is the best defenceman on this team as he put up a solid 46 points last season while playing most of his minutes against the other team's best players. Johnny Boychuk is their other accomplished defenceman who plays more of a defensive role alongside Leddy rather than contributing offensively. Calvin De Haan will be part of the top four but he may be better suited for a bottom-pair role as he lacks true offensive skill and the ability to completely shut down players. Thomas Hickey is a very similar player to De Haan as they put up similar underwhelming numbers for second-pair defencemen. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will both get their first taste at a full season in the NHL as they are expected to be the bottom pair unless one of them takes a big step into a top-four guy. Veteran Dennis Seidenberg will also be on the roster to fill in for one of the bottom four guys if they struggle.
Goaltending:
The Islanders' goaltender situation is among the worst in the NHL as neither Thomas Greiss or Jaroslav Halak are starters at this point in their careers. Thomas Greiss is most likely going to be the starter as he outplayed Halak last year. Jaroslav Halak used to be a very good goalie but those days are over as he spent a lot of last season in the AHL where he played well.
Projected Lineup:
Anders Lee
|
John Tavares
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Jordan Eberle
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Andrew Ladd
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Brock Nelson
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Josh Bailey
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Anthony Beauvillier
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Mathew Barzal
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Joshua Ho-Sang
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Jason Chimera
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Casey Cizikas
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Cal Clutterbuck
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Nikolay Kulemin
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Alan Quine
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Shane Prince
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Nick Leddy
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Johnny Boychuk
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Calvin De Haan
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Thomas Hickey
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Adam Pelech
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Ryan Pulock
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Scott Mayfield
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Dennis Seidenberg
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Thomas Greiss
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Jaroslav Halak
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Kristers Gudlevskis
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Top 10 Players:
10. Thomas Greiss
9. Calvin De Haan
8. Josh Bailey
7. Brock Nelson
6. Andrew Ladd
5. Anders Lee
4. Johnny Boychuk
3. Nick Leddy
2. Jordan Eberle
1. John Tavares
Projected Finish: 82 Points (7th in Metropolitan)
Last Year: 94 Points (5th in Metropolitan)
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