Country Club Islanders? NHL players are built differently. In basketball, you will see the face of the NBA, LeBron James, be carried off the floor due to cramps. In hockey, you would have to drag a player off the ice, regardless of the extent of the injury. Hockey players are just a different breed. That doesn't mean playing through injuries is the right move, all the time. In the Ottawa Senators' run to the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, then-captain Erik Karlsson played through two foot fractures and muscle damage, ultimately impacting his career for quite some time. When the Montreal Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, then-captain Shea Weber's body was so broken that he never played an NHL game again. The will to win. Like every team in the NHL, the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] and New York Rangers had injuries to deal with this season. For the Blue & Orange, it was an opening-night ankle injury to defenseman Scott Mayfield [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/scott-mayfield-new-york-islanders-injury-ankle-season-2023-24-contract]. The 31-year-old, who had just signed a seven-year extension worth $24.5 million ($3.5 M AAV), tried to play through the injury, coming in and out of the lineup. But after 40 games, Mayfield's ankle wasn't getting better, and it was time for the Islanders to make a decision. Blaming Mayfield for the Islanders' inconsistencies is a cop-out and not an honest evaluation of their struggles, but unfortunately, he wasn't helping the cause. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello announced ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline that Mayfield was to be shut down. "Today we're going to put Scott Mayfield on long term injury," Lamoriello said. "He'll miss a minimum, right now, between four to six weeks, and it could be more. So, we're going to shut it down right now until he gets completely healthy." Mayfield had season-ending surgery a few weeks later. When we spoke with Mayfield at locker room cleanout day, he told us that he had suffered a fractured ankle on night one -- a fractured ankle -- and should be ready to go for training camp. The will to compete. Fortunately for New York, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello clearly knew what was up and acted accordingly, bringing in Robert Bortuzzo, a player who could fill Mayfield's role, and Mike Reilly when Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho went down. With Mayfield out, the Islanders placed him and his $3,5 million on LTIR, creating a tad bit more cap space, if need be. The Islanders didn't use the cap space to acquire any players, but it certainly helped with roster management. Now, let's get to the Rangers and their handling of their Jacob Trouba. The 30-year-old took a step back this season, struggling to play a responsible, strong game on the backend. He had his worst offensive season in three years, with three goals and 19 assists for 22 points in 69 games. On March 8, the day of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, the Rangers announced that Trouba was going to miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury. "After some testing and further evaluations the last 24 hours, he's going to be out probably around 2-3 weeks," Rangers general manager Chris Drury said. "At some point in the near future, we'll give an update on where he's at, but that's the update on him." Eleven games later, Trouba returned to the lineup. With the Rangers leading the Metropolitan Division for seemingly the entire season, there was no rush, but he was back and ready to go for the playoffs. During the playoffs, where the Rangers made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, Trouba struggled mightily. His decision to throw, or should we say go for a hit in Game 6, led to the Panthers' opening goal: When the Rangers held their locker-room cleanout day, Trouba was asked about his health. It turns out that Trouba had broken his ankle late in the regular season: Trouba also said that he didn't play through the injury in the playoffs, but it's hard to believe it didn't affect him at all and through his struggles, management did make the decision to play him. Youngster Zac Jones had played well and likely would have been more reliable than a banged-up Trouba. If the Rangers had gone on to win the Stanley Cup, Trouba's injury wouldn't have mattered, but because they came up short with him playing a part, it became a major story. With an annual cap hit of $8 million annually, moving Trouba to LTIR -- whether he was good to go in the playoffs or not -- would have allowed the Rangers to have additional cap space to potentially acquire another game-changer on either side of the puck. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2OTIwMTcyNDU0MjkwNDgz/usatsi_23376035.jpg] The Rangers' issue at the deadline wasn't really cap space to begin with but more so the market and who was available. Center Alex Wennberg was brought in from the Seattle Kraken, while winger Jack Roslovic was brought in from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Outside of Wennberg's Game 3 overtime winner against Florida, both were non-factors and likely won't be back. What's more of a concern now is the long-term commitment to Trouba and what the recovery from the injury will be, the same concern the Islanders had with Mayfield. Trouba is signed through 2025-26 and has a massive cap hit. If he can't return to the level he was a few years ago, the Rangers, whose cap situation could go south very quickly, will have a serious problem that could, ultimately, lead to a buyout. Hockey players are warriors, but sometimes, decisions have to be taken out of their hands for the betterment of the team. TOP STORIES
