Islanders, NHL 'Old Age' Narrative Getting Old

The New York Islanders are not amongst the youngest teams in the NHL, but neither are the majority of teams that made the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The "old age" narrative is getting old, writes Stefen Rosner.

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The New York Islanders are not the youngest team in the NHL.

According to Elite Prospects, the Islanders were the ninth-oldest team in the NHL during the 2022-23 season, with an average age of 28.16.

But when did we start looking at age as only a negative?

Yes, the NHL regular season has become a speed and skill game, with younger players getting more of an opportunity to shine on the big stage.

But Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello made a point during his end-of-the-year media session about what kind of player it takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"You need men when it gets to this time of the year," Lamoriello said. "And I'll take men any day of the week."

That was an answer to a question regarding the Islanders' fourth line, which consists of 34-year-old Matt Martin, 32-year-old Casey Cizikas, and 35-year-old Cal Clutterbuck.

While that may be true, regular season hockey is a different sport compared to postseason play, as speed and skill dominate the 82-game schedule while grit, physicality, and ultimately the will to win is what the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about.

However, being young doesn't guarantee success in the NHL.

That's not an opinion. That's a fact, and here's why.

Looking at the 10 youngest teams in the NHL this past season, only one team made the playoffs. That was the New Jersey Devils, who had the second-youngest roster in 2022-23, at 25.97.

If we expand that list to the 15 youngest teams in the NHL, only three made the playoffs:

If we flip the board to the 15 oldest teams in the NHL, 10 of those teams made the playoffs:

With age comes experience and the knowledge of what it takes to compete for a full 82 games.

It's not a coincidence that the four teams that won their respective divisions -- Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, and Colorado Avalanche -- - were among the 10 oldest teams in the league.

There are a few common misconceptions about age in professional sports.

The first is that age only matters if that player plays to his actual age, as we saw with Zdeno Chara as a 44-year-old with the Islanders back in 2021-22.

But then Zach Parise, who just turned 39 and is contemplating retirement after 18 NHL seasons, didn't play close to his actual age, showcasing tremendous energy and speed each shift while potting 21 goals in the process.

It's undoubtedly a case-by-case situation, so using age as a basis for production isn't as simple as many make it out to be.

Look at Alexander Ovechkin, who potted 50 goals at 36 and 42 at 37.

Now, the Islanders certainly have older players who don't have the mental and physical speed or the hand-eye coordination they once had when they broke into the league.

Josh Bailey, at 33, had struggled the last few seasons, leading to the organization ultimately moving him ahead of Day 2 of the NHL Draft to shed his $5 million cap space.

Brock Nelson is about to turn 32 and is coming off a 36-goal campaign after potting 37 in 2021-22, as his prime is right now.

Anders Lee, who may not be as fast as he once was or may not have the hands in front of goal like he did earlier in his career, is still an effective player at 33, scoring 28 goals in back-to-back seasons.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau hasn't been the same player since sustaining a wrist injury in the Canadian bubbles back in 2020-21. But he's coming off a season in which he set a new career-high with 27 assists, as well as winning a career-high 57.2 percent of his face-offs. He's 33.

Semyon Varlamov is entering his age 35 season and second as a true backup to superstar Ilya Sorokin. He is not only the best backup netminder in the sport but could start on a handful of NHL teams.

And for the Islanders, the list goes on and on.

Clutterbuck is entering his age 36 season and is still effective when healthy. But that's a situation where injuries from playing a physical style for 16 seasons have worn him down a bit, missing 56 games over the last two seasons.

Kyle Palmieri, whose health has been an issue for New York since he signed a four-year deal in 2021, showed his worth after returning from his second head injury of the 2022-23 season in January, playing a vital role in their playoff berth.

If anything, for the Islanders, the players in their prime are the biggest question marks heading into the season, not the older players.

Can Mathew Barzal, at 26, become the offensive machine the club has been hoping for alongside 27-year-old scorer Bo Horvat?

Can 23-year-old Oliver Wahlstrom become the sniper the organization has longed for after playing his best hockey before a knee injury ended his season in early December?

Can Noah Dobson, 23, build up enough confidence to be a consistent, lethal offensive defenseman at five-on-five and the power play as he enters year five?

The Islanders are an older team, and with only a few players with raw speed -- Pierre Engvall and Barzal -- it does limit their ability to keep up with teams like New Jersey or, at times, the Buffalo Sabres and, too often the younger, inexperienced teams that didn't make the playoffs this past year.

Without a true superstar outside of Sorokin, the old-age narrative will live on until the Islanders can hoist a Stanley Cup. But if the Islanders, with this group, can do just that, age and the experience of the roster will be praised, not blamed.

Join Stefen Rosner's New York Islanders page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can listen to Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season.