ELMONT, NY -- This summer, New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy flipped on some old footage of his team from when they went on their runs to back-to-back semi-finals in 2020 and 2021.
What he saw on that film played a critical role in why he moved Mathew Barzal back to center for the first time since Bo Horvat joined the team back on Jan 20, 2023.
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“Every time you're looking at your players and your roster, you want to try to see what is best for the New York Islanders," Roy said. "And I think having Barzy playing as a center is probably the best thing for us. Why am I saying this? I watched the playoffs when this team had a good run. He played really well as a centerman. So why not go there? This approach has proven effective for this organization.
"I know he likes to play with Bo, and this is something we're going to do, but what is best for us? That playoff run he had when he was playing with Anders Lee and Eberle, they played so well together. I think Eberle, against Pittsburgh, was scoring almost every night, so I think that's what Barzy could bring to the table for us."
With Brock Nelson, the club's longtime second-line center, now with the Colorado Avalanche, and Calum Ritchie still a bit away from filling that role, that certainly played a part in Roy's decision to move Barzal back to his natural position.
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<b>EAST MEADOW, NY --</b> When the<a href="http://thn.com/isles"> New York Islanders</a> acquired center prospect <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-prospect-calum-ritchie-bulked-up-ready-to-fill-brock-nelson-s-role">Calum Ritchie</a> from the Colorado Avalanche in the Brock Nelson deal, they knew they were getting a player who would help this franchise for a long time.
While there's no question Barzal wants to play with Horvat -- and they will at times throughout games -- having a deep center group makes things much harder for the opposition.
"It will be a lot more difficult, I think, for other teams to match up because we're going to have four lines," Roy said. "And I think looking at the New York Islanders, it’s depth. The success this franchise had in the past, on the run they had in those years, they had four very good lines. Every line was bringing something. It could be the Cizikas line, the Nelson line and the Barzy line. Everybody was coming in and making a push. So it was not just about the talent, but it was also about the depth that the team had.”
Barzal has looked tremendous in training camp and feels back to normal after missing 50 games last season due to two long-term injuries -- the second of the two being a shattered left knee cap, which ended his season on Feb. 1.
Had the Islanders not brought in wingers Jonathan Drouin and Maxim Shabanov, Barzal remaining on wing would have made sense. To be honest, if Ritchie proves he can be a No. 2 centerman, Barzal going back to Horvat's wing makes all the sense in the world.
But for now, Barzal will play at center because he is a master at controlling the center of the ice, and like Roy says, it's what's best for the franchise at this moment in time.
"I am a person that wants to learn. I'm a person who is not afraid to do the work and look back," Roy said. "And I'm surrounded by great people, and sometimes people will say, 'Why don't you look at that playoff or that playoff?' and I think it really helps me to have a better understanding.
"I'm here to win, but before winning, there's a process, and the process is, what can we do every day to make this club better? And that's what we're going to work at."
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