The Islanders got their first real look at Mathew Barzal with the team on Wednesday, and even if it didn’t come with a return date attached, it still landed like a jolt.
Barzal joined his teammates for the first time since training camp opened during the first portion of practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. He wore a red, non-contact jersey, along with top-six forward Matias Maccelli and defenseman Ryan Pulock.
That alone was enough to brighten the mood around a club that has been waiting on a long list of injured players. But Barzal’s presence still did not answer the biggest question hanging over the Islanders: when will he actually play?
The answer remains the same. No one outside Barzal and the team’s medical staff can say for sure. And after everything he has already dealt with, there’s no reason to push it.
“The timelines on all those guys are still the same,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “They’re in no-contact jerseys. But it’s nice to have them there.
“You know what [Barzal] brings to the group and how important he is. At the same time, you can’t waste time going there in your mind. You have to concentrate on the guys that are available to play [Thursday] night."
That game comes against the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes at UBS Arena, with the Islanders in the middle of a three-game homestand.
Barzal’s return to practice was the closest anyone has seen him to full participation since last season ended. The Islanders need him healthy, but the bigger point is simpler: he has to be ready on his own terms.
He initially hurt his left kneecap blocking a shot on Feb. 1, 2025, had surgery and missed the rest of that season. He then came back last season and played 81 games, leading the team with 53 assists and 72 points, before failing his medical testing ahead of training camp because of inflammation.
That open-ended absence has fueled plenty of outside chatter, including one longtime Islanders fan who recently suggested Barzal should have handled the issue in the offseason and been prepared for camp. But that kind of armchair diagnosis misses the reality of the situation.
Only Barzal and the doctors know what set off the inflammation. And if there were a way to fix it earlier and be ready from day one, Barzal would have taken it.
The frustration around the delay is real for fans, but it has to be even heavier for Barzal himself. He wants to be out there. That much has never been in doubt.
There was at least some good news on the injury front beyond Barzal. Horvat said the sight of the injured players back around the group was encouraging.
“Everybody looked great,” Horvat said. “It’s exciting to see that they’re getting closer and closer to coming back and we’re definitely going to need them.”
Maccelli had worked his way back onto Bo Horvat’s top line and was being used on the first power-play unit before getting hurt in Toronto on Oct. 17. He was expected to miss two to four weeks.
Pulock was injured early in the first period in Minnesota last Thursday and was also expected to miss two to four weeks.
The Islanders are still without second-line center Cal Ritchie, who was hurt on Oct. 17 and was expected to miss four to six weeks. He has not resumed skating.
Defenseman Alexander Romanov, injured on Oct. 6, will likely miss the rest of the regular season.
Former Islanders captain Anders Lee, who has dealt with his own ACL injury and the long road back from it, praised Barzal for taking the cautious route. Lee, now with the Utah Mammoth, told Newsday on Oct. 4 that he understood why Barzal is taking his time.
“I know he’s feeling better,” Lee said. “[Last season], he didn’t feel good at all. He grinded through it and still had a heck of a year.
“But I think at some point, too, you get to a point where you do need to also get it right and get it healthy, too. So I think that’s where he’s at. So I’m happy that he has the support from the team and the confidence in himself to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do this the right way.’”
For now, that remains the only timeline that matters. Barzal will play when he’s ready.
In Other News...
Islanders Finally Have Some Hope As Key Reinforcements Near
The Islanders are finally getting a little bit of encouraging injury news, and for a team that has spent the early part of the season waiting for help, that matters. The latest update brought some movement on the returns of Mathew Barzal, Mattias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock, three players whose absences have left noticeable holes in the lineup and forced the club to keep patching things together while trying to stay afloat.
Barzals situation remains the one everyone is watching most closely, since his knee injury has kept him out entirely so far this season. Even with that lingering uncertainty, the fact that the Islanders can point to progress on multiple fronts gives them something they have not had much of lately: a real sense that reinforcements are getting closer, even if the final steps still have to play out. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Still Have One Power Play Problem They Must Finally Solve
The Islanders power play has been a recurring issue for a while now, and the frustration around it is starting to sound familiar. Pete DeBoer and players such as Brayden Schenn have both pointed to the same basic fix: move the puck faster and finish more of the chances that are there. Until that happens, special teams will keep hanging over a group that has not been able to turn enough good looks into goals.
Help could be on the way, at least in pieces. Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock have all been skating in non-contact drills, and each would give the unit a different boost once healthy. Barzals creativity, Maccellis playmaking touch and Pulocks point presence are all the kind of ingredients this group has lacked at times, but the Islanders still have to show they can put those pieces together when the games start to matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Add Veteran Blue Line Depth After Surprise Camp Push
The Islanders have turned a surprise camp push into a new opportunity for Ben Hutton, signing the veteran defenseman to a one-year contract after he first arrived on a professional tryout agreement. Hutton has spent time with several NHL teams over his career, and his resume includes a Stanley Cup win with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, giving New York another experienced option on the blue line as the roster takes shape.
For the Islanders, the move adds a familiar depth piece without much risk, and it comes after Hutton had been looking for a landing spot following his latest camp audition. The signing gives him a chance to stick in New York and gives the club another veteran presence to lean on if injuries or lineup changes test the defense early in the season. [Read more 🡒]