New York Islanders 2014-15 Season Primer

The New York Islanders are the fourth team in the Metro division that we are taking a closer look at leading up training camp.

Use the below Tabs to view Islanders info for this upcoming season, as well as some numbers from last year.

2013-14 record: 34-37-11, 79 points
Where they finished: 8^th in the Metropolitan; 14^th in the East; 26^th in the NHL

Player Salaries: $57,663,875 (26)
Cap Payroll: $58,743,518
Bonuses: $2,900,000
Buyouts: $2,204,000
Cap Space: $10,256,482
Forwards: $35,788,833 (16)
Defensemen: $14,950,685 (8)
Goalies: $5,800,000 (2)
Source: CapGeek.com

In: Chad Johnson G, Cory Conacher LW/RW, David Leggio G, Harry Zolnierczyk LW, Jack Skille RW/LW, Jaroslav Halak G, Mikhail Grabovski C/LW, Nikolai Kulemin RW/LW, T.J. Brennan D

Out: Dan Boyle D, Evgeni Nabokov G

2014-15 Team Outlook:

Coming off a 2012-13 season in which the Islanders not only made the playoffs for the first time in six years, but almost beat the Penguins in the first-round, New York expected 2013-14 to be yet another step forward for their franchise, but unfortunately it wasn’t.

Instead the Islanders saw themselves miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years and back in a familiar spot in the standings, near the bottom.

Much of the Islanders struggles last season were due to injuries with key players Evgeni Nabokov, Lubomir Visnovsky, and most importantly, John Tavares, all missing time.

This offseason general manager Garth Snow went out on the free agent market and acquired depth, a lot of depth, to try and protect his team from flat-lining if injuries arise this season. The results, at least on paper, appear to be good.

On offense, the Islanders are loaded with talent, both in terms of youth and veterans. CapGeek suggests that the Islanders have 16 NHL forwards, although the actual number is even higher when you take into account the likes of Mike Halmo, Jack Skille, and Harry Zolnierczyk, who are listed as non-roster players on the site but all have NHL experience. Leading the way offensively one the first-line will be the dynamic duo of centre John Tavares and winger Kyle Okposo, with the other winger likely to be either Brock Nelson or Josh Bailey. Another duo will make up most of the second-line, with newcomers and former Maple Leafs, Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin re-uniting, along with Michael Grabner or possibly Nelson/Bailey. Centring the third-line will be the Frans Nielsen at centre with likely Bailey on his wing, as well as young Ryan Strome on the other wing. The fourth-line figures to see the likes of Casey Cizikas at centre with Colin McDonald and Cal Clutterbuck on his wings. Other forwards looking to make the roster will be veterans Cory Conacher, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Skille, and Zolnierczyk, along with prospects Anders Lee (14 points in 22 games for New York last year), Halmo, Sebastian Collberg, and rookies Michael Dal Colle and Josh Ho-Sang.

Defensively, the Islanders will roll out a similar group as last season, unless one of their plentiful defense prospects makes the jump to the NHL. On the first-pairing could see Visnovsky and Travis Hamonic, with Thomas Hickey and Calvin de Haan making up the second.  Visnovsky and de Haan could swap place. The third-pairing is totally up for grabs, with veterans Brian Strait and Matt Carkner going up against AHL standouts Matt Donovan (21 points in 27 games for Bridgeport Sound Tigers last year) and T.J. Brennan (72 points in 76 games for the Toronto Marlies last year, won the Eddie Shore Award as the best defenseman in the AHL) for the last two spots. Prospects Griffin Reinhart, Scott Mayfield, and Ryan Pulock will also be trying their best to fight their way into the line-up, although a full season in the AHL might be what’s best for them.

In net, the Islanders are going ahead with a totally new, and much improved tandem. In as the new number one goalie is Jaroslav Halak, who’s rights the Islanders acquired from the Washington Capitals before signing him to a four-year, $18 million contract. Halak, who posted a 2.25 goals against average and a .921 save percentage in 52 games between St. Louis and Washington last year, is a significant improvement over Nabokov (2.74 goals against average and a .905 save percentage last season) and should help bring stability back to the Islanders crease. Backing up Halak will be former Bruin Chad Johnson, who posted a sparkling 2.10 goals against average and a .925 save percentage through 27 games with Boston last season. Behind Halak and Johnson, the Islanders also signed goalie David Leggio, who has posted quality numbers throughout his AHL career, and still have Kevin Poulin, who appeared in 28 games for the Islanders last season, serving as the team’s backup.

The Islanders improved more than any team in the East this offseason. Solidifying their offense with the likes of Kulemin and Grabovski, while also rebuilding the goalie position, has made them look like a true playoff team. Mix that in with the fact that most of the young forwards still can reach another level and it could be a really good season for the Islanders. The defense-unit is less than impressive, but with cap space and young players as trade chips, the Islanders could be a team to watch for this season on the trade market. Expect the Islanders to make the playoffs in 2014-15 somewhere between the sixth and eighth seed.

Written by Greg Stamper, who can be found on twitter @g_stamp91.

The depth chart listed below was taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30. 

FORWARDS
Brock Nelson – John Tavares – Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Josh Bailey – Frans Nielsen – Ryan Strome
Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck
Colin McDonald – Eric Boulton

DEFENSEMEN
Calvin de Haan – Travis Hamonic
Lubomir Visnovsky – Thomas Hickey
Matt Donovan – Matt Carkner
Brian Strait

GOALTENDERS
Jaroslav Halak
Chad Johnson

A look at the New York Islanders top prospects heading into this season. Each source may use different classifications as to if a player is deemed a prospect or has graduated on from a prospect.

* Dobber Prospects – Prospects based on relevance in a fantasy-hockey keeper league, not actual talent on the ice.

New York Islanders Draft History from the past five years

Performance and Usage Charts for the New York Islanders from last season, from Extra Skater.