Johnny Boychuk is on hand for the New York Islanders playoff run, providing valuable insight to his former teammates in this year's playoffs, as he did a year ago.
RALEIGH -- Fan favorite Johnny Boychuk hasn't played a game for the New York Islanders since 2020, but he's served as an invaluable asset to the franchise since hanging up the skates.
After an eye injury prevented Boychuk from continuing his NHL career following the 2019-20 season, New York moved the remaining two years of his contract, worth $12 million, to the Buffalo Sabres to create needed cap space.
He remained around when the regular season began, often on the ice, working with the defenseman and lending a helping hand whenever he could.
Not present on the ice for the first four games of the Islanders' playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes last season, in which New York found themselves down three games to one, Boychuk was on the ice for Game Five.
"It's always nice to have him around," Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said last year. "I think a lot of guys are really close to him. They played with him for a long time, and just for the short time I played with him, just having him around, he just has a presence in the room that keeps things light and just makes everyone feel good."
You can check out our story on Boychuk's presence ahead of their Game Five win below:
This past summer, Boychuk was officially hired in a player development role by the Islanders, helping again during development camp and training camp, and was on the ice often through the first half of this season.
Lately, he'd been seen around the practice facility, taking in practice, talking with his buddy, former Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
Like we saw last playoff, Boychuk made the trip to Carolina.
With New York not skating on Sunday after dropping Game One 3-1 on Saturday night, Boychuk took the ice toward the end of Monday's morning skate, working with the extras, which included young defenseman Samuel Bolduc and depth defenseman Sebastian Aho.
Following the skate, The Hockey News spoke with Brock Nelson and Casey Cizkas, who both played with Boychuk for six years, about having him around for the playoffs yet again.
"I played with him for a number of years," Nelson told The Hockey News. "He's a good-energy guy and just a good friend and teammate. He was a mentor to a lot of guys and a different guy who you can bounce anything off. He's going to give you an honest opinion and feedback to try and help you out. And now, I think, in terms of playoffs, he's played for a long time and was on a number of teams who had chances to win it. You lean on him for the experience.
"Even just after Game One, he came up to me and said, 'Hey, you played a good game. But it's just one game, and you got to be ready for Game Two'."
Cizikas, who played six years with Boychuk, loves having him around.
"It's just another person that you can talk to after games, reach out to, sit down with, and ask, 'Hey, what did you see here? What did you think of this play? What did you see for the entirety of the game?' and get his point of view on a play," Cizikas told THN. "He played for a long time. He's got a Stanley Cup. He's played in big games. He's a big part of our organization here.
"So, when he speaks, you listen, and that's something that you don't take for granted when you have those kinds of people around you."
Boychuk played six years with the Islanders, changing the franchise's direction upon his arrival with Nick Leddy in the summer of 2014.
In 404 regular-season games, Boychuk recorded 35 goals with 96 assists for 131 points. He made the playoffs in four of his six years on Long Island and played in 25 postseason games with three assists.
As a member of the Boston Bruins from 2009 to 2014, Boychuk won a Stanley Cup, hoisting the trophy in 2011.