The New York Islanders turned schedule release day into a comedy bit again, and this year’s version leaned all the way into the nostalgia.
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin were back together to unveil the club’s 2026-27 schedule, this time playing rival interns in a four-minute video loaded with jokes that longtime Islanders fans were built to catch. The whole thing starts with Clutterbuck presenting himself as the team’s “lead intern,” only for Martin to fire off the line, “Will you guys just let anybody work here?” That lands especially well because Martin now serves the organization as a special assistant to the General Manager.
Clutterbuck doesn’t exactly take the ribbing in stride. He later says he “felt a little disrespected” after getting mocked in front of the other interns, and from there the video turns into a workplace feud with table hockey, one-upmanship, and plenty of petty behavior.
Clutterbuck hangs a poster celebrating himself as the NHL’s all-time hits leader, a clear nod to the milestone from his playing days. Martin answers by taking aim at his old teammate, even vandalizing Clutterbuck’s custom bobblehead after being told not to touch it.
The best part is how naturally the two play off each other. They bicker over everything from who “Claudio” is to who actually runs the intern office, and the back-and-forth never loses its rhythm.
One of the sharpest callbacks comes late in the video when Martin tells another employee to “go dye your hair,” a line that immediately clicks for Islanders fans because it references his famous hot-mic exchange with then-Detroit Red Wings forward Drew Miller from the Isles bench.
In the end, the pair gets the job done and finishes the schedule release, which prompts their boss to say, “The analytics said they would.”
For Islanders fans, it was another reminder of why Clutterbuck and Martin became two of the most beloved players of the past decade. Their chemistry once helped define an era on the ice, and they still know how to land a punchline together.
In Other News...
Islanders Prospect System Suddenly Looks Better Than Anyone Expected
The Islanders prospect picture has taken a noticeable turn, and Scott Wheelers latest 2026 Top 100 NHL prospects list is a big reason why. Malte Gustafsson sits at No. 34 overall as the highest-ranked player in the organizations pipeline, a sign that the system is drawing far more respect than it did in recent years. New York also placed five players in Wheelers top 100, with Calum Ritchie, Victor Eklund, Kashawn Aitcheson and Cole Eiserman joining Gustafsson on the list.
For an organization that has spent plenty of time hearing about its shallow pipeline, that kind of representation matters. Ritchie, acquired from Colorado in the Brock Nelson trade, gives the group another high-end piece, while Eiserman remains one of the more intriguing names because his long-term value will depend on whether he can grow beyond being known mainly as a shooter. Wheelers rankings do not solve anything for the Islanders in the short term, but they do suggest the talent base is deeper and more interesting than it has been for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Reignited The Noah Dobson Debate Islanders Fans Know Well
The Canadiens contract picture for 2026-27 has a familiar name sitting right in the middle of the debate for Islanders fans. Noah Dobson remains the kind of player whose value is easy to argue over because his deal and his usage invite the same question from two different angles: what a defenseman of his profile should cost, and how much he should be asked to do. For a player who once drew so much of his appeal from his role on the power play, the discussion around him in Montreal has become a useful reminder of how quickly the context around a defenseman can change.
Mike Matheson is part of that same conversation, and his situation only sharpens the contrast. His five-year extension has pushed him into more of a shutdown role, even as the offense has cooled, which is the sort of tradeoff teams live with when they believe the rest of the package still works. Josh Anderson and Phillip Danault also factor into the broader evaluation, but for Islanders readers, the real hook is the way Dobsons name keeps surfacing whenever Montreals roster math turns into a referendum on value, usage, and what a team thinks it is actually buying. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Schedule Has A Few Dates Fans Will Circle Immediately
The Islanders 2026-27 schedule gives fans plenty to mark down before the puck even drops, starting with a Sept. 30 opener in Toronto and a home opener three days later against the Devils. From there, the calendar is packed with the usual Metro grind, including four meetings with the Rangers, plus a slate that mixes later start times, back-to-backs and the kind of road/home rhythm that can quietly shape a season long before spring arrives.
There are also a few dates that stand out for reasons beyond standings math, especially the first look at former captain Anders Lee and the games that come with it. Add in matchups against teams coached by Pete DeBoer, and the schedule has the feel of one that will keep Islanders fans checking the calendar as much as the box scores, with a handful of nights carrying a little more weight than the rest. [Read more 🡒]