Islanders offseason roster analysis, Part 2: Defense
Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock sets before a faceoff against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on April 3. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Second of a four-part series looking at the Islanders' roster heading into the offseason.
The fraying defensive structure that marked the final weeks of Patrick Roy’s tenure was a key factor in the Islanders falling out of a playoff spot and failing to qualify for a second straight season.
How quickly new coach Pete DeBoer, who replaced Roy with four games remaining, can reestablish some defensive consistency will go a long way toward determining next season’s fate. Which players general manager Mathieu Darche provides to construct a top six will be crucial.
The given being Matthew Schaefer, who turns 19 on Sept. 5 and is expected to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie after notching 23 goals and 36 assists in 82 games, will be the No. 1 defenseman and top power-play quarterback as well as lead the Islanders in ice time.
“Listen, I love Patty and I think Patty did a lot of things for me,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said of Roy during the Islanders’ breakup day on April 15. “But I think with Pete, the structure that you see from the small sample size of the last four games even though our record [1-3] was not exactly what we want it to be at all, you can see how he can help us have success.
“From a defensive standpoint, there’s a big difference in shot volume and scoring chances against. There was a quick improvement. In this league, if you can defend, you have a chance to win every night.”
In terms of contract status, Pulock is part of a core four that Darche could look to alter in the offseason.
Pulock, who may require offseason shoulder surgery and turns 32 on Oct. 6, has four seasons remaining on an eight-year, $49.2 million deal with one more season of a full no-trade clause.
Adam Pelech, who turns 32 on Aug. 16 and played 82 games for the first time in his career, has three seasons left on an eight-year, $46 million contract with a modified no-trade clause.
Scott Mayfield, who turns 34 on Oct. 14, has four seasons left on a seven-year, $24.5 million deal with one more season of a full no-trade clause.
Alexander Romanov, 26 and entering the second season of an eight-year, $50 million deal that carries no protection for the coming season, played only 15 games before season-ending shoulder surgery. He is expected to be ready for training camp in September.
Schaefer, Pelech and Romanov are lefthanders. Pulock and Mayfield are righthanded shots. Righthander Tony DeAngelo, who turns 31 on Oct. 24 and whose six-game absence because of a groin injury hastened the Islanders’ season spiraling out of playoff contention, is an unrestricted free agent coming off a one-year, $1.75 million deal.
“I’ve been very happy with Tony this year,” Darche said during breakup day. “He’s able to move the puck. We weren’t doing a great job coming out of our zone [late in the season].”
But can Darche afford to run it back with the same projected top six that includes four players 31 or older? And if he doesn’t want the same six, will he be able to move contracts?
Lefthander Carson Soucy, who turns 32 on July 27, is also a UFA completing a three-year, $9.75 million deal with no expectation he will be re-signed after being acquired from the Rangers on Jan. 26 to bring veteran stability to the spot left open by Romanov’s injury.
In terms of Corsi for percentage, which measures whether a player is on the ice generating shots or defending against them, DeAngelo (53%), Pelech (52.6%) and Schaefer (51.1%) were the only Islanders defensemen with regular ice time last season to be above 50%, according to Hockey-Reference.com.
That needs to change.
One in-house candidate is Isaiah George, 22, a fourth-round pick in 2022 who has one goal and five assists in 37 games for the Islanders over the past two seasons. The lefthander had two goals and 16 assists in 47 games for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport this season while dealing with a concussion and a separate upper-body injury.
“Big kid, real good feet, good skater, good first pass,” DeBoer said after George logged 16:33 in a season-ending 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes at UBS Arena on April 14. “He looks like an NHL defenseman to me.”
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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