The New York Islanders have a problem every NHL team wished they had. And that's depth down the middle. Could they use that luxury to their advantage this summer?
The New York Islanders have a problem every NHL team wished they had. And that's depth down the middle. Could they use that luxury to their advantage this summer?
The New York Islanders have a problem every NHL team wished they had. And that's depth down the middle. With salary-cap issues, and holes at other positions, could they use that luxury to their advantage this summer?
Center Depth Decision
After the Bo Horvat acquisition at the end of January, the Islanders had an overabundance of centers, forcing Mathew Barzal to play on the wing for the first time in his NHL career.
Horvat was brought in not because of his position, but because of his ability to put the puck in the back of the net, which he did 31 times in 41 games with the Vancouver Canucks to start his season.
Moving Barzal to Horvat's wing was the route that Islanders head coach Lane Lambert took, the only real one that made sense.
Due to a Barzal injury in game seven alongside one another and a first-round exit, the Islander's newest duo only played 12 games together, but they will have plenty of time to gel as both are about to start eight-year extensions.
What we gathered from their 35 or so minutes together is that Barzal no doubt has the ability to play on the wing, and the two could be lethal for a long time on the island.
Although a natural center, Barzal struggles in the face-off dot (career 42.3%) and does play more so along the boards. Yes, he has the vision, skating, and playmaking ability that makes him elite in those regards.
He also has an elite shot, which he uses more than you think, but still doesn't use it enough.
In 52 games as a centerman this season, Barzal averaged 1.61 shots per game at five-on-five. Although just 1.14 shots per game as a winger during the regular season, Barzal averaged 2.00 shots per game in the postseason, at five-on-five.
Because of Horvat's defensive prowess -- which he showed off in his first game in blue and orange against the Philadelphia Flyers -- Barzal doesn't need to always be deep in the Islanders zone while defending.
As a winger, Barzal can teeter more toward the blue line. That should, in theory, allow more fast breaks opportunities for Barzal, where he could do more of this:
If Barzal is to be a winger long-term, people should expect him to figure it out as he goes. But given his skating ability and understanding of what a center is looking for in given situations, the position change may give Barzal a critical advantage.
"I've been a center for, I don't know, 15 years, so. I wouldn't say it was extremely natural right away, but playing with Bo (Horvat) or playing a little bit with Pageau, they make it easy because they are just in the right positions, and they are predictable," Barzal said during his final media session of the season.
"I would say the biggest thing is as centerman is crossing over a little more, whereas wingers, there's a little more stop and start, kind of on your side of the ice a little bit more. So I think that was the one thing get used to. I wasn't in all areas of the ice as much as I was at center. So there's definitely a little bit of a mentality shift, but like I said, I mean, whether I'm on the wing or center, if I'm on the ice with Bo or Nelson or whoever, I mean, we should be able to create."
When Barzal was asked how he felt about being a winger long-term: "That's ultimately not my decision. I think whether I'm a winger or a center, if me and Bo are on the ice together, we should be able to create."
Center Depth Dilemma
The Islanders need to address a few holes in their lineup if they are going to be true Stanley Cup contenders. They could certainly use a lethal goal scorer, like every team, but the bigger need is a puck-moving, potential power-play quarterback defender.
Whether it's moving one of Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, or Casey Cizikas for a player that fills a need or for cap relief to acquire that need via another avenue, there's potential here.
Brock Nelson, who has carried the Islanders' offense for the last two seasons, seems to be in his prime too, despite being on the other side of 30. He has two years left at $6 million.
During an Islanders Mailbag, I was asked who my dark horse departure would be this summer. My answer was Nelson.
He's scored 35-plus goals in each of the last two seasons when his career-high prior was 26.
Nelson led the Islanders with 37 goals in 2021-22 and was second on the team to Bo Horvat, scoring 36 this past season, also winning the NHL's Accuracy Shooting competition at the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
He could be the final piece to a Stanley Cup contender, like the Colorado Avalanche, who have just five forwards under contract and over $20 million in cap space with captain Gabriel Landeskog heading to LTIR.
If Nelson is traded, the Islanders can get a high draft pick or a few picks, but they could also get a proven NHL winger or a puck-moving defenseman.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the 30-year-old leaned on for key face-off draws and strong defensive instincts, has three years remaining on his deal at $5 million annually.
There were rumors around the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline that the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in Pageau, and what team wouldn't be?
Yes, he hasn't been the goal-scorer-point producer the Islanders expected, but for a team looking for a defensive center who can go up against just about anyone in the sport, he's your guy.
The Islanders acquired Pageau three years ago for the price of a (conditional) first and second-round pick in 2020, along with a third-round pick in 2022.
At the time, Pageau was one of the top names available, and he did sign a five-year extension the day he was acquired.
His value now likely sits somewhere between a few second-round picks or a combination of a prospect and a pick.
Although not the same exact player, Horvat does play on both special teams, like Pageau, but brings (or should bring) more consistent goal-scoring.
Technically defined as an upgrade, having two players with that skill set could be the difference between a Stanley Cup Final run and raising a Stanley Cup.
But so could the acquisition of an elite player with the newly-found cap space from trading a player like Pageau.
Casey Cizikas, the 32-year-old energizer bunny who captains the identity line for New York, has four years left at $2.5 million.
The Toronto native just put up his best offensive season since 2018-19, with six goals and 15 assists in 81 games. He saw a rotation of linemates this season due to Cal Clutterbuck's consistent absences, even playing a few games as a winger.
In the face-off dot, Cizikas won 53.4 of his draws and has proven to be a valuable penalty killer.
He clicked rather well with Hudson Fasching, who inked a two-year extension following the postseason run. Although Cizikas does hold value to a playoff hopefully team -- the kind of player that every Stanley Cup winner usually has rostered -- it's incredibly doubtful that Cizikas goes anywhere.
Lamoriello spoke highly about the Islanders' fourth line, the threesome of Cizikas, Clutterbuck, and Matt Martin, during his latest press conference.
"I look at the fourth line that we have. Two of them have one more year left, and certainly, Casey has a couple of years (left), but they know how to play," Lamoriello said. "And in the playoffs, they chipped into some extremely important goals, and the style that they play.
"And going back to the question about the playoffs that are on now, if anybody watched the game last night, that's men playing. You need men when it gets to this time of the year. And I'll take men any day of the week."
It doesn't appear that we will be seeing a revamped identity line in the fall.
Final Stride
All five centermen rostered have tremendous value to this group. But the Islanders, who are salary-cap strapped, have holes in their lineup and could trade one of their centers to fill it.
"We're fortunate to have the five center icemen we have," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said at his end-of-the-year press conference. "When I say pure center iceman -- certainly Mat Barzal was moved over to right wing, which I do agree and did agree with at that movement -- we have the option to --if something should come about to make us better in a different situation -- we could change the construction of our offensive lines and do different things.
"So we have flexibility..."
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