Why Mathew Barzal thinks the New York Islanders can be the new Dallas Stars
Mathew Barzal was just so happy to be talking hockey at all.
That may come as a surprise given how grim things have been for the New York Islanders over the past four seasons. They’ve missed the playoffs twice; been quickly bounced in the first round twice; said goodbye to a legendary coach in Barry Trotz and a Hall of Fame GM in Lou Lamoriello; traded longtime second-line center Brock Nelson; traded top blueliner Noah Dobson; and kickstarted a rebuild era under new GM Mathieu Darche.
But Barzal missed it, all of it, the good hockey and the bad, the camaraderie with his teammates, during the most trying season of his career. First came the upper-body injury that shelved him 21 games from late October to mid-December. Then, Barzal’s season ended in an instant during a Feb. 1 game when he ate a shot off his kneecap from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Darren Raddysh. Barzal’s injury required surgery, and his 2024-25 campaign ended at just 30 games, the fewest he’d ever played in a season as a pro. The physical pain was bad enough, but the FOMO of not being around his teammates, participating in the bonding, the card games, the laughs, hurt more.
“Mentally, any time an injury like that happens, it’s just a battle,” Barzal told a small group of reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas the week before 2025-26 training camps began. “Every day, [you’re] just staying positive and trying to hope you’re going to get better and know you’re going to get better, and there’s a lot of tough days that come with it.
“I’ve got awesome parents and awesome teammates. I found out [my season was over] the night when I blocked the shot. And to have all the guys in the room with me, put their arm around me, and Lou at the time came down and did the same thing, and it was a pretty special moment for me, just knowing how much everyone really cares. That alone gave me excitement to do everything I can to get back.”
It’s telling that Barzal feels more loyal to his team, not less, despite the fact the Islanders began a semi-teardown last season. They moved core pieces in Nelson and Dobson, turning them into prospects Cal Ritchie, Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson. They walked away from Lamoriello, whom Barzal respected immensely. They won the NHL Draft Lottery and ushered in a new generation in picking projected superstar defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall. They feel like a franchise comfortable moving backward now to go forward later. That could theoretically test the patience of a veteran like Barzal, who is 28, hasn’t played beyond Round 1 of the postseason since 2020-21 and doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring yet. But he doesn’t perceive his situation that way.
“The Draft we just had, and some of these other young kids that we got coming in the next two, three years, I see us having a good team,” he told Daily Faceoff. “And I see us having a blend like the Dallas Stars. They have Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, who are still very much the engine of that team. And then you have Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston come in. With myself, Bo Horvat, some of the older guys, hopefully these young kids can come in and be like the young players in Dallas. And that team could have easily won [the Stanley Cup] the last two years, right? So that’s the way I see it.
“We just got the first overall pick. He’s a stud based off what I’ve seen. This kid’s a game changer. We haven’t really had a guy like that in a long time on the back end. And I definitely see the picture on the Island. One, I love it there. Two, I take pride in having been there my whole career and want to win there. And so that’s where I want to be.”
Barzal has six years left on his contract and, while he doesn’t know if his knee will ever feel completely 100 percent again, he got his body up to speed in time for game action as he moved back to his natural position of center after spending the last couple years playing on Horvat’s wing. If there’s any doubt as to whether Barzal feels fit: he logged 21:01 of ice time in the Isles’ season-opener Thursday, picking up an assist and winning 70 percent of his faceoffs.
Even if Barzal believes the Islanders can become Dallas East, he knows that won’t happen overnight. Eklund and Aitcheson are still a year or more away from making their impacts. Ritchie is injured to open the year after playing so well in training camp and the preseason. And Schaefer is navigating the rare and extremely challenging feat of jumping directly to the NHL as a defenseman at 18 years old. Year 1 of the Schaefer era will be about helping him adjust to the pressure.
“If he is feeling that, that’s just going to be coming internally from him, and he’s competitive, so I’m sure at times he will feel that,” Barzal said, “But at the end of the day, we’re going to be there for him every step of the way. He’s our younger brother. We’re here to take care of him in every way on the ice, off the ice and help him along. Not that I played [in the NHL] at 18 years old, but at 20, there’s ups and downs throughout the season, and we’re going to be there for him. He’s our guy.”
Time will tell if Barzal’s theory is right and the Isles’ next generation – which also includes sniper Cole Eiserman – matures while the veteran brigade still has prime seasons left. But for now, Barzal is simply thrilled to be back on the ice and appreciating the game as much as he ever has.
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