Islanders believe they 'have a really good hockey team,' and Matthew Schaefer is a big reason why
Islanders' Matthew Schaefer celebrates a goal at UBS Arena on March 13, 2026. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Yes, the Islanders are keenly aware that many, if not most, prognosticators expect them to miss the playoffs for a third straight season. Yes, the players know some are predicting they might even finish last in the Metropolitan Division despite the return of Matthew Schaefer for a second season after winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in a unanimous vote.
Yes, that absolutely motivates them.
“It’s not fun when you miss the playoffs,” Schaefer told Newsday. “The end goal is to always win the Stanley Cup, and that’s what we want.”
That motivation is heightened by the fact that the Islanders stumbled at the end of last season, losing 10 of their last 14 in regulation to fall out of a playoff spot they had held for most of the season and costing coach Patrick Roy his job with four games remaining.
Whether Pete DeBoer can return the Islanders to the playoffs for the first time since 2024 — they haven’t won a postseason series since 2021 — will begin to unfold with the season opener for the expanded 84-game schedule on Wednesday in Toronto.
“After missing a couple of years in a row, it stinks,” defenseman Ryan Pulock told Newsday. “There’s got to be some hunger in here. The beauty of it is you read some stuff and I think everyone expects us to miss the playoffs again this year. There’s a lot of motivation that way. There’s a lot of will and a lot of hunger in this room.”
The Islanders finished 43-34-5 last season and return almost the same team. Anders Lee left via free agency for Utah after eight seasons as the captain. The biggest addition was signing free-agent wing Matias Maccelli, who will start in a top-six role and on the first power-play unit, after the Maple Leafs did not tender him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov, entering the fourth season of a four-year, $11 million deal, almost counts as an addition as he comes back from two partial knee replacement surgeries that had kept him sidelined since Nov. 29, 2024. If he’s healthy, Varlamov will start 25 to 30 games to keep Ilya Sorokin fresh for the stretch run. Sorokin wore down under constant use last season, a main factor in the Islanders’ playoff fade.
Kyle Palmieri (ACL) and defenseman Alexander Romanov (shoulder) also are back after injuries kept them out of most of last season.
Palmieri, 35, entering the second season of a two-year, $9.5 million deal, might not make it to the end of this season with the Islanders if they fall out of contention.
“That’s the biggest thing, it is motivation,” Palmieri said of last season’s playoff miss. “We saw how important the first half and getting off to a good start was. We were in a great spot all year. It gets tight at the end.”
“We’re all motivated,” captain Bo Horvat said. “Everybody believes in here. Everybody knows what we’re capable of, and I think when we put everything together, I think we have a really good hockey team here.”
That belief starts with Schaefer, a 19-year-old defenseman recognized around the NHL as a generational talent and called the Islanders’ “future captain” by DeBoer during training camp.
Schaefer tied an NHL record for rookie defensemen with 23 goals, set the league mark for points by an 18-year-old defenseman with 59 and led the Islanders in average ice time with 24:41.
“You can’t look too far ahead because then it’s just going to be too much,” Schaefer said. “So just take it day by day and enjoy it as you go.”
Having the no-nonsense DeBoer behind the bench for a full season could lead to improvement.
He’s tasked with implementing a tighter defensive structure and coaxing more goals after the Islanders finished 24th in the NHL in goals scored and 30th on the power play last season.
“He brings a calm presence but one with a lot of knowledge,” Pulock said. “He has some things that are non-negotiables in the way we play. You just have to go out there and work. The group we have, we’re very capable of that.”
Beyond unspecified X’s-and-O’s, DeBoer listed short shift times and always sticking up for teammates as two non-negotiables.
3 keys for Islanders’ season
1. More goal production
The Islanders ranked 24th in the NHL in goals scored with an average of 2.8 per game and 30th on the power play. Coach Pete DeBoer has stressed that no matter how well the Islanders can play defensively — Ilya Sorokin finished second in Vezina Trophy balloting as the league’s top goalie — the team won’t make the playoffs without more scoring. Incidentally, the Islanders ranked 25th last season in allowing high-danger chances, so the defense needs to improve, too.
2. Goalie health
The plan is for Sorokin to play about 55 games with Semyon Varlamov, coming back from two partial knee replacement surgeries that have sidelined him since Nov. 29, 2024, serving as the backup. A long-term injury to either would severely dent the Islanders’ playoff chances.
3. Schaefer and other young players
Defenseman Matthew Schaefer was the unanimous winner of the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, setting a high bar with 23 goals — tying the NHL mark for a rookie defenseman — and 36 assists in all 82 games. His continued progression, rookie wing Victor Eklund’s development as a playmaker and whether defenseman Isaiah George, 22, can finally have a full-time impact on the lineup are all significant to the team’s improvement.
Beat Writer’s Prediction
42-35-7 (91 points), fifth in Metropolitan Division
Third straight playoff miss and their fourth in six seasons. Not enough has changed from last season’s squad to be able to predict a postseason berth.
Andrew Gross has covered the Islanders for Newsday since 2018.
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.
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