Breaking down the New York Islanders ahead of NHL Trade Deadline Day.
Deadline approach
The New York Islanders will be: Sellers
Pending free agents
Unrestricted: 7 | Restricted: 10 | See full list
[teamleaders league=”nhl” team=”nyi” season”2014″]
Islanders overview
If there’s a perverse upside to John Tavares tearing up his knee at the Olympics, it’s that the Islanders season was lost long before February. After dropping a tough six-game series to the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring, the Islanders seemed to be trending in the right direction following years of wandering in the darkness. But a nightmare start saw them earn just five regulation-time victories in their first 35 outings. The Isles were essentially dead and buried by mid-November, and while they’ve rallied enough to stay out of the league basement, there is simply too much ground and too many teams between them and the final wild card berth to retain any real optimism — especially with Tavares out for 8-12 weeks.
Scoring won’t be a long-term issue with Tavares around, but preventing goals has proven to be a challenge for the Isles. Their goalie tandem of Evgeni Nabokov and Kevin Poulin has been less than stellar, and the blueline lacks anything that vaguely resembles a No. 1 stud.
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| Click player positions to see depth chart | ||
Areas to address
New York has to do whatever it can to shore up the defensive side of the puck. The Isles might be the first team in NHL history to act as both big-time buyers and sellers in the same year. New York GM Garth Snow shook up the entire league when he acquired Thomas Vanek — a pending UFA — from the Buffalo Sabres for left winger Matt Moulson, a conditional first-round pick in 2014 and a 2015 second-rounder. (New York has the option to retain the 2014 pick if it’s in the top 10.) Bold as it was, the move also seemed like a bit of a head-scratcher because it added offence to a team that had to tighten up defensively. Snow reportedly made a strong pitch to sign Vanek, but the Austrian has indicated he’ll test the open market this summer, meaning he’s certain to be dealt before the deadline.
Like Vanek, workhorse defenceman Andrew MacDonald is also eligible for unrestricted free agency come July and it’s expected he’ll be dealt, too. While New York might try to recoup some of the draft picks it surrendered to get Vanek, Snow should be doing everything he can to address the team’s long-term goalie situation.
Possible trade chips
Thomas Vanek
Andrew MacDonald (traded to PHI)
Evgeni Nabokov
