The Islanders entered the offseason with limited room to maneuver, and that part of the story is hard to ignore. The free-agent pool was shallow, the trade market came at a premium, and Mathieu Darche inherited a roster already carrying plenty of commitments.
Still, Arthur Staple believes New York should have done more than mostly keep the group intact.
In a recent post on X, the longtime Islanders beat reporter and co-host of the Tri-State Hockey and Hockey Night in NY podcasts said he understood the obstacles Darche faced, but didn’t think they fully explained the lack of change.
“I completely understand that the FA class was a dud,” Staple wrote. “I get that assets were already committed so the trade market wasn't competitive for GM Mathieu Darche. But still, a team that had dreadful underlyings running it back seems like a miss to me.”
Staple said the Islanders could have explored buyouts or targeted scoring help through trades, and argued the club needed “at least a mild facelift.”
Instead, the biggest source of optimism comes from behind the bench. New head coach Peter DeBoer is now the figure expected to drive improvement, and there is a clear reason that gives the Islanders hope. DeBoer has built a reputation for getting immediate results in his first season with a team, and that kind of quick lift is exactly what New York needs.
A major part of that job will be easing the burden on Ilya Sorokin. Staple pointed out that 39 goaltenders faced more than 799 scoring chances last season, and Sorokin’s expected save percentage of .880 ranked 36th among that group. The Islanders were too loose defensively and kept forcing Sorokin into too many high-end stops.
The backup situation is another piece of the puzzle. The Islanders seem likely to lean on some mix of Semyon Varlamov and Vitek Vanecek for 25 to 30 starts. Staple said he hopes Varlamov can bounce back after two injury-riddled seasons, while also noting that asking him to take on a meaningful workload after two knee replacements is a major ask.
There is also the question of whether the younger players can break through. Victor Eklund, Isaiah George and Cole Eiserman are all candidates to push for roles, though a roster loaded with one-way contracts could make early openings hard to come by.
If the Islanders end up hanging around the playoff race again, the pressure could tighten fast.
For now, DeBoer is the reason to believe. But after two straight seasons out of the playoffs, a summer that mostly kept things in place leaves plenty that still has to break right.
In Other News...
Islanders Could Face A Brutal Metro Twist In Net
Connor Hellebuycks situation in Winnipeg has become one of the leagues most notable goalie storylines as training camp approaches, and it is the kind of development that can ripple well beyond the Central Division. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner has spent 11 seasons with the Jets, but his agent confirmed the trade request that had been kept private for months before it was made public.
For the Islanders, the intrigue is less about Winnipeg than the Metro landscape that could form around them. Buffalo has been mentioned as a possible destination, but so have the Devils and Hurricanes, which is the sort of overlap that can complicate life in the division if one of those clubs lands a proven No. 1 goaltender. No trade has been confirmed yet, but the longer this lingers, the more it feels like a situation worth watching closely from Long Island. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Pulock Opened Up About How Much The Islanders Changed
Ryan Pulock has spent enough time with the Islanders to see the organization through more than one era, and he used a recent appearance on the Tri-State Hockey Podcast to reflect on just how much has changed. From the move out of Nassau Coliseum to the stop at Barclays Center and now into UBS Arena, the franchise has gone through a decade of upheaval and growth, with ownership and management changes helping reshape the day-to-day experience around the team.
Pulock said the Islanders now offer top-notch treatment for players and their families, a far cry from the earlier years when the operation looked and felt different in a lot of ways. For a player who has lived through all of it, the evolution is about more than buildings and addresses, because it has changed the standard of professionalism around the club and the way the organization supports everyone inside it. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Fans Are Already Seeing Why Matthew Schaefer Feels Different
Matthew Schaefers first months around the organization have already given Islanders fans a clearer sense of why he feels like a different kind of prospect. The young defenseman has been staying with former NHL player Matt Martin and his family, and Martin said in a SiriusXM interview that Schaefer bonded quickly with them while making an impression both on and off the ice. It is the sort of early off-ice connection teams hope helps a player settle in, especially when expectations are building quickly around him.
Martin also pointed to Schaefers recent appearance at his hockey camp as another sign of how naturally he has fit in. The kid-friendly setting only added to the buzz around Schaefer, who was well received by the young players there and seemed to handle the attention easily. For an Islanders group always looking for the next core piece, those little details can matter almost as much as the on-ice evaluation, and this one already has people around the team paying close attention. [Read more 🡒]