The New York Islanders missed the playoffs by eight points last season. How can they make up the gap to get into the playoffs for the first time in three years?
It's not like anyone was shocked that the New York Islanders missed the playoffs last season.
Although, the fact they came within a handful of wins of actually making it was a pleasant surprise.
The eight-point gap that separated the Islanders from post-season contention is still a lot of ground to make up, and with a new coach and an aging roster, there's still a lot of unknowns around this team.
Let's break down a few ways the Islanders can make their way back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season
1. Growth For Matthew Schaefer
Schaefer, the first-overall pick from 2025, came onto the scene as one of the best rookie defensemen in recent memory, if not all of league history. The fact he accomplished as much as he did while spending the entire season as an 18-year-old is incredible.
But he has more to give. Even for a player of his caliber, replicating a 23-goal season is going to be tough, but he can make up for that but taking on a little more responsibility (not that averaging 24:41 last year was anyone taking it easy on the kid) in a better team structure provided by one of the best coaches in the league, Peter DeBoer.
Schaefer's ceiling is about as high as it gets, and we can look forward to him rising toward it once again.
2. A Return To Form By The Newer Veterans
Not that it was best decision for the Isles to go out and get older forwards like Brayden Schenn and Ondrej Palat in recent months, but they're on the team now and they need to hit the ground running.
The Islanders scored the seventh-fewest goals in the league last season (just 229, tied with Winnipeg), which isn't enough.
Schenn scored six in 19 games after being traded by the Blues, and 18 in 80 overall. Palat had just five in 80 overall, and one in 29 after coming over from the Devils.
Schenn's number is probably about what we could expect for the full season, but Palat's was by far a career low. If he can get back to the 15-ish range that he's shown in recent years, that would be a huge help.
3. Better luck with injuries
Older teams are going to suffer more injuries than most, and the Islanders were the 10th-oldest team in the league last season. Even still, the fact that they lost the fifth-most man games to injury last season (363) was a huge hindrance to them.
Leading goal-scorer Bo Horvat missed 14 games, rookie Calum Ritchie played just 65. Kyle Palmieri and Alexander Romanov missed almost the entire season. Semyon Varlamov was out for the full 82.
These guys were supposed to be key pieces, and they just weren't available for long stretches.
Again, you can't count on what is now the seventh-oldest team in the NHL to stay completely healthy, but fewer injuries to some of their best players would be a big help.
4. A little help for Ilya Sorokin
Sorokin has finished top-10 in Goals Saved Above Expected four times over the last five seasons, according to MoneyPuck.com.
This is an elite goaltender who played a lot of thankless hockey last year.
When you miss the playoffs while your goalie finishes second in Vezina voting, that's a huge problem. He simply cannot be better for you than he already has.
I don't love the Islanders D corps, but you gotta work with what you've got. Bringing in DeBoer will help shore things up from the chaotic Patrick Roy years, and a full season from Romanov would be a positive as well.
It's not hard to see a lot of this stuff turning around simply because of the coaching change, but it's up to each individual player to elevate their games as best they can.
Getting another high pick wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for the Islanders if they do miss, but there are enough pieces in place that they can find their way back into the post-season.
With an old core, this could be their last chance to hang in the playoff picture for a while.
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