Mathieu Darche’s first major move as GM of the New York Islanders was trading defenseman Noah Dobson, with the package centered around two first-round picks.

Forward Emil Heineman was also part of the return, and he has quickly flown under the radar since the deal.

Heineman, 23, had 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in 62 games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2024-25, where he was limited to the bottom-six, primarily playing alongside Jake Evans and Joel Armia.

He played just 62 games due to an upper-body injury sustained in mid-January when he was hit by a car while walking in downtown Salt Lake City a day before playing Utah.

He had 17 points in 41 games with the Canadiens before the injury – a 34-point pace over an 82-game season – so his production entirely dropped thereafter as he recorded just one point, an assist, in his final 21 regular-season games post-injury.

While his season-long point totals don’t stand out, he was incredibly efficient in his role, specifically in the defensive zone.

Among Montreal forwards, he ranked in the top four in goals against (2.54) and expected goals against (2.17) per 60 minutes at 5v5 while starting the fourth-highest rate of shifts in the defensive zone, according to Natural Stat Trick.

He also finished with the fewest shots against (22.23) and shot attempts against (54.92) per 60 minutes.

Before the injury, he was playing even better, on the ice for just 2.34 goals against and 1.94 expected goals against per 60 minutes, as well as just 22.09 shots against and 52.49 shot attempts against. 

Getting hit by a car is as unlucky as it gets, and Heineman’s performance understandably saw a decline following the accident, especially because his game revolves around size and skating.

His 14.4 hits per 60 minutes led all Canadiens forwards and trailed only Marc Gatcomb (23.4) among Islanders forwards.

According to NHL Edge, Heineman's 22.76 MPH top skating speed in 2024-25 ranked in the 92nd percentile among NHL forwards.

While Islanders fans are largely unfamiliar with his game, the data and eye test reflect his play style as a fast, physical, two-way player who knows how to find the back of the net.

At just 23 years old and only 71 total career NHL games to his name, there are a lot of unknowns, but his rookie season was very encouraging, especially pre-injury.

Final Verdict: N/A

Heineman wasn’t an Islander in 2024-25, so he won’t receive a grade, but all things considered, Canadien fans were surely very happy with his performance – at least pre-injury.

Like Jonathan Drouin, the Islanders brought Heineman in for a specific purpose: to restore a revamped version of the “Identity Line.”

Throughout the Islanders' success in the early 2020s, Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck formed the “Identity Line,” the NHL’s most effective fourth line that terrorized opponents with its physicality and defensive play. 

With Clutterbuck and Martin retired, only Cizikas remains active, but Heineman is now in line to bring back that same energy and impact.

Expected to play alongside Cizikas and Maxim Tsyplakov, the Islanders' fourth line will carry speed, size, strength, and goal scoring in a newly formed trio that combined for 515 hits in 2024-25.

While the three forwards have never played together – and Cizikas and Tsyplakov spent just over 100 minutes together in 2024-25 – individually, they each have what it takes to play up in the lineup, giving Patrick Roy an advantage in matchups, as well as a fourth line that is neck-and-neck with many teams’ third lines.

Heineman is also a candidate to play on the second penalty kill unit, likely with Cizikas as his center.

He wasn’t a true member of Montreal’s penalty kill in 2024-25, but neither was Nick Suzuki, going to show how deep their forward depth was.

Heineman’s main penalty kill competition is Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri.

Horvat and Palmieri ranked third and fourth, respectively, among Islanders forwards in penalty kill time last season, trailing only JG Pageau and Simon Holmstrom.

Now, the departure of Brock Nelson has increased pressure on the Islanders' top six forwards to contribute more offensively, positioning Roy to provide additional rest to his top forwards whenever possible.

With Heineman’s impressive skill set and 5v5 defensive impact, he is the obvious candidate to round out the penalty kill units, especially since he will be building chemistry with Cizikas at 5v5.

With a strong fourth line and penalty kill ice time, Heineman’s ceiling may be as high as a 15+ goal, 35+ point campaign, though he likely lands closer to 10-12 goals and 28-34 points.

CoreNHL’s model projects Heineman to provide an estimated $2.3 million of value in 2025-26.

Stefen Rosner contributed to this report.