Andrew Gross: The status of the Islanders' Mathew Barzal remains a mystery, and that's less than ideal
New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal at UBS Arena last December. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Constantly relaying no news does not constitute good news.
So the more there’s no news on Mathew Barzal’s recovery timeline, the more it’s fair to wonder not only when the Islanders will have last season’s leading scorer back in the lineup but what can reasonably be expected of the elite-skating, top-six forward when he is able to play.
Wednesday’s no news on Barzal, courtesy of general manager Mathieu Darche, is that there’s still no timetable on when he will resume practicing with the Islanders, let alone play a game.
Barzal, out since Day 1 of training camp with inflammation to his left knee, will miss his 10th game when the Islanders face the Kings on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
“We feel the inflammation is down but we’re still working with getting his strength back and how comfortable he feels,” Darche said after an optional practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. “He’s skating. We progress every day. Can I give you a definite timeline? No. We hope it’s sooner. But every day he’s starting to skate a bit more and we’re hoping, at some point get him with the team.”
Barzal initially hurt his left kneecap blocking a shot on Feb. 1, 2025, required surgery and missed the rest of that season. But he returned to play 81 games last season with a team-high 53 assists and 72 points before not passing his medical testing prior to training camp because of inflammation.
“We’re all working together to make sure that he feels the strength that he believes he needs to play,” Darche said. “The doctors will be comfortable for him to ramp up whenever he’s ready. It’s not, it’s all him, it’s all us. But, of course, he has a big say because it’s his body. He knows how he feels.”
The Islanders (5-3-1) extended their unbeaten streak to 3-0-1 with a 3-2 win over the visiting Ducks on Tuesday night and have won consecutive games for the first time this season.
But they were still 19th in the NHL with 27 goals scored, though their goal differential of plus-7 was tied for ninth.
There’s no doubt the Islanders crave an effective Barzal to boost their five-on-five production.
It’s no cinch, however, whether Barzal instantly gets re-inserted onto the top power-play unit whenever he’s ready to go, even with top-six wing Matias Maccelli out two to four weeks with a lower-body injury.
The Islanders had a strong, puck-moving, 1-for-4 power play that generated five shots against the Ducks. Though they ranked 23rd in the NHL at 5-for-28 (17.9%) on the man advantage, it’s a far cry from the moribund efforts that helped sink their playoff chances the last two seasons.
Simon Holmstrom, who scored the power-play goal against the Ducks by tipping defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s blue-line shot, was inserted onto the top unit with Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri and Brayden Schenn. Cal Ritchie, out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, is missing from the second unit.
Then again, injuries in the NHL are all about the next man seizing the opportunity.
Barzal’s absence has given rookie Victor Eklund a chance to establish himself in a top-six role. He scored his second goal of the season on Tuesday.
“I thought it was probably his best game in a couple of weeks,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He was all over the ice. His habits are really good naturally. He’s got a defensive conscience to his game naturally. He’s picked up the details of what we want to do fairly quickly.”
“Fairly quickly” would not describe Barzal’s recovery.
The Islanders said he wouldn’t skate for two weeks when training camp opened but still seemed to believe his absence would not last long into the season.
“There’s no setbacks,” Darche said. “Now it’s getting him to feel comfortable to take that next step. There was no setback, no procedure.”
Just no news. And that’s not good.
Meanwhile, Darche was also asked about defenseman Scott Mayfield, who has been a healthy scratch in all but two games. The 34-year-old lifetime Islander is in the fourth season of a seven-year, $24.5 million deal that has a full no-trade clause through this season and then a modified no-trade clause over the final three seasons.
Darche said Mayfield’s agent, Matt Keator, was in town the last couple of days.
There has been speculation Mayfield would consider waiving his no-trade clause this season and request a deal.
“There’s no truth to any of those rumors,” Darche said. “His agent was here the last two days because he had a player on the other team (the Ducks) and he has a few players on our team. Maysie has been as professional as you can expect. I’m sure he’d rather be in the lineup every day.”
Barzal, too, of course. But the longer his absence grows so too will questions about what version of Barzal the Islanders will get back.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
