McKenna’s Musings: the New York Islanders’ offseason is a disaster

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
McKenna’s Musings: the New York Islanders’ offseason is a disaster

Despite positive messaging, the Islanders struck out this summer.

Aside from acquiring defenseman Alexander Romanov from the Montreal Canadiens at the 2022 NHL entry draft, the Islanders hardly did anything to their roster. And on the coaching front, Lou Lamoriello decided to fire decorated head coach Barry Trotz and promote assistant Lane Lambert to the big chair.

Lamoriello and the Islanders can talk about liking their team all they want, and how they may not have felt a need to retool a lineup that was competitive less than two years ago. But in those two seasons, the Islanders haven’t gotten any faster. And they certainly haven’t found a solution to jump-starting forward Mathew Barzal’s career. He should be an NHL superstar by now. But I don’t think he has the skill alongside him to make it happen.

It’s laughable to think the Islanders went into this offseason planning on making so few moves. There’s no way the team wanted to run it back with a few tweaks and a new head coach in 2022-23. I understand Lamoriello publicly supporting his club. Every NHL general manager should. 

But the reality is that the Islanders failed to acquire the assets necessary to become an elite team. Free agency was a disaster. And while the Romanov deal helped shore up a blueline that will be without Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara next season, the trade cost the Islanders a first round draft choice.

Goaltending isn’t a question on Long Island. And neither is the team’s work ethic and ability to defend. But I don’t know how they plan on finding scoring. And there’s way too many bloated middle-class contracts.

I think there’s a good chance the Islanders struggle this coming season.

Phil Kessel will score 15 goals next season for the Vegas Golden Knights while averaging 13 minutes of ice time per game.

At 34 years of age and coming off a down season with the Arizona Coyotes where he scored just eight times, it surprised me to see the Vegas Golden Knights sign the two-time Stanley Cup champion. Granted the deal is low-risk for Vegas. Kessel is set to make just 1.5 million dollars on the one-year pact. That’s a bargain for a player that put up 52 points last season for the Coyotes.

But I can’t help but stare at Kessel’s plus minus rating over the past few seasons and wonder where he fits in head coach Bruce Cassidy’s lineup. I know the statistic isn’t always the greatest indicator of a player’s performance. But during my career as a goaltender, I was nervous when the team’s minus leader stepped on the ice. It was tangible.

I’m not saying Kessel is going to blow up the Golden Knights from a defensive standpoint. I just think that Cassidy will be very selective in his usage. During 5-on-5 play, I’d be surprised to see Kessel play above the third line. And I don’t expect to see him on the ice for many defensive zone faceoffs.

But I think if Cassidy uses Kessel wisely, the results should be favorable. I see that being mostly on the power play. It’s been three seasons since Kessel played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but during his time with the uber-talented organization, he put up solid numbers with the man advantage. 42 points. 36 points. A dozen goals in two separate seasons. When he had the horses to run with, Kessel was dangerous.

On paper, the Golden Knights should provide Kessel with a similar opportunity. Forwards like Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, and Jonathan Marchessault should give Kessel room to operate. And Cassidy has power play expertise. During his tenure as head coach of the Boston Bruins, Cassidy’s teams consistently featured one of the NHL’s top power plays. I expect that to continue in Vegas.

With salary cap casualties in Max Pacioretty and Evgenii Dadonov – both were traded away during the offseason – the Golden Knights needed to add some cheap offense. And while I’m not sure Kessel would have been the first choice, his reasonable price tag and durability are worth the gamble. Kessel hasn’t missed a game due to injury since the 2009-10 season.

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