The Islanders & Their Anthony Duclair Dilemma

The New York Islanders have a decision to make with forward Anthony Duclair. 

Signed to a four-year deal worth $3.5 million on July 1, the 29-year-old has been dealing with a groin injury since game five of the regular season. 

The expectation was that the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break would allow Duclair to get stronger and mentally reset physically, but his struggles continued leading to him being a healthy scratch for their 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday night. 

"I think it's a mix of both," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said on if Duclair's struggles are injury-related. "The fact that he missed a lot of games, conditioning and all this, I think it's good for him to practice and skate. We're going to need him down the road. We need everybody. So I think I told you guys, we were not 100% happy with him. Now he needs to practice hard and be ready when he plays."

Duclair has just nine points in 30 games this season, with five goals and four assists.

Since returning to the lineup on Dec. 21, Duclair has six points in 25 games, with three goals and three assists. Over his last 11 games, he has just one goal. 

"It can't be easy. Going through injuries sucks," Islanders forward Bo Horvat said. "I don't wish it upon anybody. And obviously, it's, it's tough to get back to your normal self. But he's put in the work. He's working hard in practice, off the ice in the gym trying to get better. "

While the Islanders haven't waved the white flag just yet, it may be in their best interest to shut Duclair down for the rest of the season. 

He is a longer-term investment, and the Islanders can ill-afford for Duclair to injure his groin again, impacting his ability to prepare for the 2025-26 season. 

 The Islanders did this last season with defenseman Scott Mayfield. The circumstances were slightly different with Mayfield dealing with a broken ankle that required surgery. 

However, the similarity is that Mayfield is a long-term investment. Although we commended his effort to do everything he could to play through the injury, it eventually became unwise to risk it. 

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Talking with Duclair, there's no question he wished his first season on Long Island went better. Unfortunately, his game is based on speed and if he can't use his legs the way he wants them, he's not effective enough in other areas. 

That's why he was a healthy scratch on Monday.

Throwing Duclair out there not at 100 percent isn't beneficial to him or the team. A shutdown, especially if they sell at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, is the way to go. 

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