The NBA’s New Jersey Nets got fancy last year with a splashy new home, a fancy new logo and a nomadic head coach. They will share the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn with another team this season that has the same coach, same logo but hopefully different results.
The New York Islanders were the up-and-coming team in 2012-13. The face of their franchise, John Tavares was rising through the ranks of the NHL becoming one of the elite players in the league.
The Isles took a major step backwards last year, a slow start crippling them before Tavares’ injury doomed the season. A fresh new arena can offer their new tenants a chance to forget the woeful effort from a year ago. While their chances of success are contingent on a healthy recovery from Tavares, the Islanders made some (surprisingly) savvy moves this summer.
The roster upgrades significantly improve New York’s chances of a return to playoff glory and restore some glory to the Islanders. The Barclay’s Center is a glorious improvement from the nostalgic, but creaky Nassau Coliseum and will hopefully be the venue for a new legacy.
While they may no longer geographically be the Long Islanders, the fans will remain loyal to the heritage and history of the club. It’s always easy to do when you can look back on the incredible success of the 1980’s dynasty, but the humbling and horrible decades that followed keep the Isles’ faithful in check.
The team that the Islanders share a city with took a long and magical run to the Stanley Cup Final last season. While it may be a stretch to see the Islanders make a similar run this year, their prospects are certainly looking up for a successful 2014-15 season
Offense
Let’s just assume that Tavares will be back at 100% by the start of the season. He was cleared to skate back in May, but the Isles’ season had long since ended. It was an MCL tear so he should be at full speed and won’t require the recovery time of an ACL tear. Expect bigger and better things from the captain as he was dueling with Sidney Crosby for the scoring lead before the Olympic Break. Kyle Okposo had a breakout year, benefitting from playing on Tavares’ wing, then continuing his hot hand after the star center went down.
The addition of Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin doesn’t change the face of the franchise, but it gives New York depth at forward particularly a top level number two center to take some of the burden from Tavares. We’re all still waiting for Michael Grabner utilize his elite speed and have a breakout year and Frans Nielsen was a nice sleeper for fantasy hockey owners.
Defense
On the blue line New York failed to address some serious holes. While the thought may be to let some of the youngsters fill in the blanks, it will be a tough learning process. Travis Hamonic is emerging as the centerpiece on the blue line and will do his best to hold the fort down. The roster will be filled out by Lubomir Visnovsky, Calvin de Haan, Matt Carkner, Matt Donovan and Thomas Hickey.
Griffin Reinhart, Ville Pokka, and Ryan Pulock are waiting in the (metaphorical) wings, but they are all a year or two away from being difference makers in the NHL.
Goalie
The biggest addition this summer for New York came in goal with the acquisition and subsequent long-term signing of Jaroslav Halak. It may also be puzzling why he hasn’t been able to stick with some really good franchises, Halak is the most talented goaltender the Islanders have had in a while. Chad Johnson was signed as the backup but after a strong showing in Boston last season could push Halak for starts.
Special Teams
The power play was 17th in the NHL last year but that number might have dropped after the offensive catalyst Tavares ended his season early. The depth of talent could help that number rise, but the lack of a quarterback on the blue line hurts them.
The shorthanded Isles really could not have been worse. Well, it could have technically been one spot worse, but the 29th ranked penalty kill struggled across the board. While there is vast improvement in goal, New York’s defense will more than likely continue to come under fire.
Coaching
Jack Capuano came under fire heavily for not getting more out of his team early in the year. He may have survived the terrible start, but will have little margin for error if the Isles stumble out of the gate again. He seems to still have the ears of his young team, but will be expected to produce results after some big spending this summer.
Outlook
It’s hard not to like what New York has done to keep up with their much glamorous neighbors on Broadway. The Islanders will always feel like a little brother, but they might have a better, and certainly hungrier roster. Tavares is in the discussion for best player in the NHL and quite literally makes every player around him better.
While the Eastern Conference may not boast the strength at the top like the west, there is very little separating the clubs from top to bottom. These Islanders are contenders for the Metropolitan Division crown and while they aren’t the glamour boys from Manhattan, they can be certainly be the beast (ie boys) from Brooklyn. Look for a top four finish in the conference and a number two seed in the division.