The Islanders know exactly what the outside noise sounds like. A third straight playoff miss.
Maybe even the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. Plenty of people are ready to write them off before the puck drops.
Inside the room, though, that doubt is fuel.
“It’s not fun when you miss the playoffs,” Matthew Schaefer told Newsday. “The end goal is to always win the Stanley Cup, and that’s what we want.”
The Islanders open their season Wednesday in Toronto, kicking off the expanded 84-game schedule with a roster that looks a lot like last year’s group - and with the same pressure hanging over it. They finished 43-34-5, then unraveled late, losing 10 of their final 14 in regulation and sliding out of a playoff spot they had held for most of the season. That collapse cost Patrick Roy his job with four games left.
Now Pete DeBoer is the one trying to steer them back to the postseason for the first time since 2024. The Islanders haven’t won a playoff series since 2021, and they’re not pretending the expectations are anything but low.
“After missing a couple of years in a row, it stinks,” defenseman Ryan Pulock told Newsday. “There’s got to be some hunger in here.
The beauty of it is you read some stuff and I think everyone expects us to miss the playoffs again this year. There’s a lot of motivation that way.
There’s a lot of will and a lot of hunger in this room.”
The core is mostly intact. Anders Lee is gone after leaving in free agency for Utah following eight seasons as captain.
Matias Maccelli is the notable new face, brought in after the Maple Leafs didn’t tender him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent. He’s slated for a top-six role and a spot on the first power-play unit.
There’s also a major boost coming in goal. Semyon Varlamov, now entering the fourth season of a four-year, $11 million deal, is back after two partial knee replacement surgeries and has been sidelined since Nov.
29, 2024. If he’s healthy, the Islanders plan to use him for 25 to 30 games so Ilya Sorokin can stay fresher for the stretch run.
Sorokin was worn down by the workload last season, and that played a big part in the team’s fade.
Kyle Palmieri and Alexander Romanov are back, too, after injuries wiped out most of their seasons. Palmieri is coming off ACL surgery, while Romanov returns from a shoulder issue. Palmieri, 35, is entering the second year of a two-year, $9.5 million deal, and he acknowledged what last season’s miss did to the group.
“That’s the biggest thing, it is motivation,” Palmieri said. “We saw how important the first half and getting off to a good start was.
We were in a great spot all year. It gets tight at the end.”
Captain Bo Horvat said the belief in the room is real.
“We’re all motivated,” Horvat said. “Everybody believes in here. Everybody knows what we’re capable of, and I think when we put everything together, I think we have a really good hockey team here.”
That belief starts with Schaefer, the 19-year-old defenseman who’s already being talked about around the league like a franchise-changing player. DeBoer called him the Islanders’ “future captain” during training camp, and the numbers from his rookie year were hard to ignore: 23 goals, a tie for the NHL record for rookie defensemen; 59 points, the league mark for an 18-year-old defenseman; and 24:41 of average ice time, the most on the team.
“You can’t look too far ahead because then it’s just going to be too much,” Schaefer said. “So just take it day by day and enjoy it as you go.”
DeBoer’s first full season behind the bench could matter just as much. He’s been clear about what he wants: tighter defensive structure, more offense, shorter shifts, and teammates standing up for one another.
That’s not a small ask for a team that finished 24th in goals scored, at 2.8 per game, and 30th on the power play. The Islanders also ranked 25th in allowing high-danger chances, which means the work isn’t just about scoring more.
“He brings a calm presence but one with a lot of knowledge,” Pulock said. “He has some things that are non-negotiables in the way we play.
You just have to go out there and work. The group we have, we’re very capable of that.”
DeBoer’s season will hinge on a few obvious things: whether the scoring comes up, whether Sorokin and Varlamov can stay healthy, and whether Schaefer, Victor Eklund and Isaiah George keep pushing the roster forward. The Islanders are betting that those pieces can tilt the story.
For now, though, the challenge is simple: prove the outside world wrong.
In Other News...
Mathew Barzals Status Just Put Islanders Fans On Opening Night Watch
Mathew Barzals status has become one of the Islanders early camp storylines, and for good reason. The center has missed the preseason after not passing his physical at the start of training camp, leaving the team to manage his recovery while keeping an eye on the start of the regular season. Even so, the setup is not as ominous as it first sounds, because the Islanders still have a path to getting him back into the lineup quickly once he is ready.
Barzal is currently designated as injured non roster because of a left knee injury, a label that keeps him off the active group for now but does not close the door on a fast return. He is eligible to play the same day he is placed on the roster, which is why opening night now feels like the date to watch. For the Islanders, the hope is straightforward: have one of their most important players ready when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Forward Group Sends A Clear Message About Opening Night
The Islanders locked in their opening-night roster before the 5 p.m. deadline, and the shape of the forward group says plenty about where things stand heading into the new season. The club officially carried 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies, with 19-year-old Victor Eklund earning a spot out of training camp and giving the lineup a fresh look right away.
Matthew Barzals status is the other part of the picture, as he is listed as Injured Non-Roster and does not count toward the 23-player limit. There is still no timeline for his return, which leaves the Islanders with a little more uncertainty in the short term even as they head into opening night with their roster set. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Enter The Season With One Debate Fans Cant Ignore
The Islanders wrapped up their preseason with a few final roster calls that helped clarify the shape of the group heading into opening night. Logan Stanley was signed, while Cole Eiserman and Kashawn Aitcheson were assigned to Hamilton, a reminder that the club is still sorting through its depth even as it moves from exhibition mode to the regular season under coach Pete DeBoer.
New York also closed the preseason with a loss to New Jersey, so the focus now shifts to how the lineup pieces fit once the games count. Bo Horvat, Ryan Pulock, Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov and Semyon Varlamov are all expected to play key roles, but the bigger question around the Islanders remains how the roster settles after those last decisions and what it means for the tone of the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]