Islanders Have Alternative To Change Their NHL Narrative In 2024-25

The New York Islanders are outdated and sluggish.

That is been the NHL’s narrative concerning Lengthy Island’s staff for fairly a while.

Gamers like Zdeno Chara — he suited up at age 44 in his second stint on Lengthy Island — and Zach Parise, enjoying his age 37 and 38 seasons in Blue & Orange, solely perpetuated the already sturdy narrative.

On paper, issues have actually modified because the staff enters the 2024-25 marketing campaign, particularly with Patrick Roy behind the bench.

Placing An Finish To Previous Age Narrative

Matt Martin, 35, and Cal Clutterbuck, 36, aren’t again with New York as they each stay unrestricted free brokers.

The 35-year-old Robert Bortuzzo, who spent only one season on Lengthy Island, signed with the Seattle Kraken.

The Islanders’ present roster has a mean age of 29.9, the sixth-oldest group within the NHL, per Left Wing Lock.

However there’s a caveat to that.

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, at age 36, performs and prepares as if he is in his 20s, therefore why Islanders normal supervisor Lou Lamoriello inked him to a four-year extension on July 1, 2023.

Mike Reilly and Scott Mayfield are the oldest of the protection corps at 31, with Reilly the Islanders’ best-transitioning defenseman.

On offense, staff captain Anders Lee, at 34, is the oldest participant, a participant who has undoubtedly misplaced a step or two. However he is additionally a participant who reached the 20-goal mark for a 3rd consecutive season in 2023-24, turning issues up within the second half.

Casey Cizikas, at 33, brings essentially the most power out of anybody on the staff, whereas soon-to-be 33-year-old Brock Nelson has scored 34 or extra targets in every of the final three seasons.

Age actually issues, however age additionally would not outline a participant, as Parise did not play like he was in his late 30s, the identical method Nelson, at his age, appears to be in his prime.

Age actually issues when contemplating a staff’s core and the way lengthy it has to win.

If we rely Mathew Barzal (27), Bo Horvat (29), Noah Dobson (24), Alexander Romanov (24), and Ilya Sorokin (29), the common age of the staff’s core is 26.6.

Barzal and Horvat every have seven years remaining on their deal, whereas Sorokin enters the primary 12 months of an eight-year deal.

Dobson and Romanov are getting into the ultimate years of their offers.

Each are pending restricted free brokers and are more likely to get long-term offers.

Want For Velocity Narrative

Underneath Barry Trotz (2018-2022), the Islanders weren’t a quick staff, skating-wise, as they obtained their velocity from fast puck motion and breakouts.

Underneath Lane Lambert (2022-2024), the group performed a bit sooner however did not showcase velocity that blew opponents away.

They watched their defensive sport disappear, the membership’s bread and butter underneath Trotz.

Via the final handful of NHL Drafts, Lamoriello has targeted on velocity, drafting gamers like Matthew Maggio and Isaiah George, to call a couple of.

Prospects with velocity are glorious, however what in regards to the NHL roster?

With Martin and Clutterbuck gone, Kyle Maclean and, as an example, Simon Holmstrom take their locations, a velocity enhance, if you’ll.

The large draw to Anthony Duclair, one among two free-agent signings, is his velocity, whereas the opposite, Maxim Tsyplakov, can transfer, per his KHL highlights.

After all, going line by line (projected), every offensive threesome and defensive pair has some ingredient of velocity.

Duclair, with Barzal and Horvat, certainly does, whereas Nelson has proven velocity in transition, together with Kyle Palmieri, who will seemingly begin the season with Tsyplakov.

Pierre Engvall, who will seemingly play with Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau on the staff’s third line, is a speedster, utilizing that skillset to function the road’s transitioner.

And the fourth line, with MacLean, Cizikas, and both Holmstrom or Fasching, might be a speedy line — the road could possibly be even sooner if free agent depth signing Liam Foody makes the squad.

On the backend, Dobson and Romanov can each transfer, with the Islanders needing Dobson to skate the puck extra out of the defensive zone to assist the staff’s transition sport.

Concerning veteran pairing Pelech and Ryan Pulock, if Pelech can rediscover his sport after a couple of years of accidents, he can play a quick sport with fast decision-making and shifty strikes — the staff’s finest defenseman underneath Trotz.

Pulock can stand up the ice with no points.

Mayfield lacks velocity, however having Reilly on his left will assist counteract that.

Roy needs the Islanders to play a quick sport, therefore why he sought out Duclair on the morning of July 1 and certain wished Reilly again after what he confirmed in his system final season.

Closing Ideas

To kill the “too outdated and too sluggish” narrative, the Islanders should carry out in 2024-25.

That does not imply stumbling into the playoffs.

This staff has the velocity to compete with the remainder of the NHL, and age, as talked about, is only a quantity, relying on how sure gamers play.

And, even when the Islanders can showcase that velocity and discover a technique to be a extra constant staff, that does not essentially imply the league-wide narrative will change.

Nobody on the Islanders actually cares about what others say about them, particularly if they’re successful.

However there is not any motive that the Islanders’ narrative of being too outdated and sluggish ought to survive the 2024-25 season.

Coaching camp begins in a couple of weeks, with opening evening approaching Oct. 10 towards the Utah Hockey Club at UBS Enviornment.

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