Andrew Gross: The one-word identity Pete DeBoer wants for his Islanders
Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer talks to the media after a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in an NHL game at UBS Arena on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Every NHL club wants to establish an on-ice identity quickly. Coaches speak of playing to the team’s identity so frequently that it sounds clichéd.
Except it’s not. The good teams, on a consistent basis, play to a certain standard and do certain things well enough to gain a reputation for them.
The Islanders go into Tuesday night’s match against the Ducks at UBS Arena getting closer to that ideal and having more clarity as to what kind of team they will be after a strong 1-0-1 Canadian trip.
So far, it’s this: The Islanders, under Pete DeBoer, play sound defensively with a structured system. The statistics prove that as the Islanders enter Tuesday’s second in the NHL with 18 goals against and having allowed two or fewer in six of their eight games.
Yet there needs to be more to have the identity of a true playoff contender. Namely, the Islanders must consistently translate their defensive doggedness up ice to the offensive zone. That kind of completeness would bring true identity.
“Relentless,” coach Pete DeBoer said when Newsday asked him to describe what he wanted his team’s identity to be. “It’s a word that I really like on how we want to play. If we’re going to make mistakes, I want to make them being aggressive.
“We’re getting better at being the smarter team on the road, which means not turning the puck over, staying out of the penalty box. Giving yourself a chance to win every night. Because with our goaltending and if you defend well and you’re the smarter team, that’s a formula to at least give yourself a chance to win every game you’re in.”
DeBoer then circled back to the “relentless” aspect.
“As far as our systems go, we want to be relentless in how we want to pursue the puck and how we want to defend,” DeBoer said.
“What we’re sort of establishing is getting in the defensive zone and having good reloads,” fourth-liner Kyle MacLean said. “A lot of things Pete’s been harping on we’re doing a good job of, the defensive zone especially. That’s where it starts and then everything builds out from there.”
Yet the road to establishing a team identity has been littered with injuries, obviously making the task tougher.
Physical defenseman Alexander Romanov (right knee) is likely out for the rest of the regular season. Top-six forward Mathew Barzal (left knee) has been out since Day 1 of training camp, though he’s skating on his own. And Saturday’s gutsy 4-1 win in Toronto saw second-line center Cal Ritchie (four to six weeks) and top-line left wing Matias Maccelli (two to four weeks) both exit with lower-body injuries.
But the two insertions into Tuesday’s lineup – MacLean and fellow fourth-liner Mitchell Chaffee – fit in well with DeBoer’s “relentless” pursuit given their style of play.
Establishing a team identity is even more of a relevant topic considering the Islanders came up short in Patrick Roy’s tenure. Roy coached his teams to play fast and aggressive, too, but that often came at the expense of defense. The real identity seemed to be relying on No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin to steal points.
To be fair, the Islanders have not truly had a strong identity since Barry Trotz was leading the team to back-to-back appearances in the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021. That, too, was built on stingy defense but there was also a tight brotherhood established navigating the craziness of the pandemic-impacted seasons. The Islanders have not won a playoff series since 2021 and have not appeared in the postseason since 2024.
Which is not to say the players were not tight-knit in the other seasons, because they very much were. It just didn’t translate all the time onto the ice.
Still, it was a good sign that type of closeness was one of the first things Chaffee spoke of after being recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario, on Monday. Chaffee joined the Islanders’ organization as a free agent this offseason and had a strong training camp before not making the final cut.
“It’s a special group,” Chaffee said. “From the top down, the players are better people. When everyone is connected together and playing well, I think this team is special. They have a lot of attributes that not a lot of teams have. When you come in here, you can tell everyone is so close.”
Of course, losing Ritchie and Maccelli from the lineup is not optimal. But an unintended benefit of their injuries was to push the Islanders forward in their quest to fully establish a strong team identity.
The intelligent way the Islanders played against the Maple Leafs while down to 10 forwards was a huge confidence booster. Even more so because the reward was two points.
Winning, obviously, must be part of the Islanders’ identity, too.
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.
