The New York Islanders may not have been the most exciting team to watch during the 2019-20 season, but a surprising run all the way to the Eastern Conference finals in the 2020 postseason means that Mathew Barzal & Co. have arrived ahead of schedule.
A cap crunch this offseason meant that Barry Trotz had to say goodbye to some good players, but with goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin signed and ready to contribute, this should be another season of defense-first, dominant hockey. Here's everything you need to know about the Islanders heading into the 2020-21 season:
Big question: Is this team a contender?
Death, taxes, and everyone counting out the Islanders ... until they make the playoffs, and then even when they get there. New York has made the playoffs in each of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz's two seasons in charge. The Isles upset the Penguins in 2019 and made it even further in 2020, losing to the Lightning in the Eastern Conference finals.
With largely the same roster returning, we're wondering if this team has an extra gear in them to take that next step.
Did realignment hurt or help?
The Isles weren't going to be Metropolitan Division favorites, but could have been an under-the-radar contender. The same goes for their new division, the East. However, the Isles can't be too thrilled about more frequent dates with Boston. In the Trotz era, the Isles are 1-3-2 against the Bruins with a minus-12 goal differential.
Offseason comings and goings, plus the cap situation
The Islanders have $3,905,833 in projected cap space, per Cap Friendly. The biggest offseason priority was signing the restricted free agents, like Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal. That forced several tough moves, like trading Devon Toews and letting Derick Brassard, Thomas Greiss and Tom Kuhnhackl sign elsewhere.
Lou Lamoriello reunited with Cory Schneider, inking the veteran goalie for organizational depth.
Bold prediction
Anthony Beauvillier scores 20-plus goals in the shortened season. Sure, he scored only 18 in 65 games last regular season, and has been up and down through the first four campaigns of his NHL career. But the 23-year-old showed in the postseason that he was on the verge of a true breakout, and should thrive once again on a line with Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson.
Breakout candidate: Ilya Sorokin
The 25-year-old has long been viewed as the Islanders' answer in net, and he has finally arrived in North America. Though he's expected to split time with Semyon Varlamov, the rookie could supplant the veteran as the No. 1 starter by season's end. After all, Sorokin's stats in the KHL and in international competitions for Russia are comically good; it's hard to imagine him not thriving in the NHL.
Biggest strength: The system
The Islanders, under Barry Trotz, have a formula that works for them. Play a stingy defensive style. Benefit from strong goaltending. Have forwards buy in, then capitalize on opportunistic chances. Rinse, wash, repeat. It tends to wear opponents down.
Biggest weakness: Lack of high-end skill
While the Islanders' biggest strength is their identity, they lack sizzle in their lineup. The best-skilled player they have is Barzal, but even he sometimes looks stifled in New York's system. Because of the summer cap crunch, the Isles weren't able to add any periphery scoring help and that could prevent them from taking that next leap.
Islanders in NHL Rank
No. 33: Mathew Barzal, C
No. 85: Semyon Varlamov, G
Prospect perspective
Pipeline ranking: No. 24
Prospects in the top 100: No. 38 Ilya Sorokin (G), No. 78 Oliver Wahlstrom (RW)
Fantasy facts to know
The new ESPN standard scoring system makes Ryan Pulock a top-10 defenseman -- and that is without him finding another gear for his offensive game (which I still think exists).
Ilya Sorokin is talented enough that his presence is enough for me to shy away from leaning on Semyon Varlamov with an early pick.
This offense gets by through a team effort and no one is really elevated into the stratosphere for fantasy production. Barzal is definitely the best of the bunch, but is more appropriate as a mid-round pick given the distribution of production for the Isles. -- Sean Allen