Last season was surely an emotional one for the New York Islanders, giving their fans a roller coaster of a season in their last campaign playing at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Last spring, The Barn was rocking, whooping on the Isles in their first-round series against the Washington Capitals. New York's season ended in unfortunate fashion, however, losing Game 7 in D.C. to the Caps and ending the dream of lifting a shiny Stanley Cup in The Coli's final game. But, the Isles enter Brooklyn, their new home, with almost the same team that brought fireworks to Long Island every night last season, and that's huge.
Offseason Moves:
There aren't many of them, but the Isles made important signings for the future, such as re-signing Brock Nelson (3 years/$7.5 million) and Anders Lee (4 years/$15 million). Lee was wonderful as a rookie in 2014-2015, tallying 41 points and a plus-nine in 76 NHL games. Nelson also had a great year, and is a big part of the Isles' depth up the middle. The Isles also re-signed defenseman Thomas Hickey to a three-year contract. Additionally, New York parted ways with Lubomir Visnovsky, and they made two fairly significant trades. The Islanders sent Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for the 15th and 33rd picks in the 2015 draft. And, most recently, the orange and blue sent FW Michael Grabner to the Toronto Maple Leafs for F Taylor Beck, D Matthew Finn, G Christopher Gibson, D Tom Nilsson and F Carter Verhaeghe. Verhaeghe might be the most impressive of the bunch, even if he hasn't played in the NHL yet. Last season, the 20-year-old center had 33 goals and 82 points in 68 games with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League, and he could become a huge part of the Islanders in the future.
Roster:
The Isles boast one of the NHL's best rosters with twisting speed and a great blend of youth and experience. Obviously, it all starts with captain John Tavares, who had a Hart Trophy-esque season in 2014-2015. But, the Isles have a great amount of depth up front, specifically in the middle. Lee, Nelson, Frans Nielsen, Ryan Strome, and Casey Cizikas combine to create brisk attacks down the ice no matter what line is laced up. The wings are a bit less deep, but Kyle Okposo brings a special talent to the right side. However, Okposo is entering the final year of his rather cheap contract, and will surely be looking for a raise in the coming offseason. It will be interesting to see how GM Garth Snow deals with the issue of Okposo's contract throughout the season, and it could create some drama in Brooklyn.
Defensively, the Isles had their inconsistencies last season, but acquiring Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk gave them a great first line combo in the back. But, the other defenders on the team need to step up this season if New York wants to make a run deep into the Spring. Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic have had injury issues recently, and it would be enormous for the Isles if they could stay mostly healthy this season. Slovakian goalie Jaroslav Halak (aka "Jar-o!") remains the primary goalie in Brooklyn, but the offseason addition of G Thomas Greiss gives New York a better back up for Jaro than they've had.
Where Brooklyn At?:
The Islander trek to Brooklyn was an emotional one. Last season, fans fell in love with the refurbished, re-energized, shining team of Nassau County, only to see them hop on the Grand Central Parkway to play in Brooklyn's curving, brown opulent Barclays Center. While it may take time to adjust, there are definitely positives to the 26-mile move. Both arenas fit about the same amount of people, but perhaps Barclays will fill up during the season to the same Nassau whoops of last season. Maybe Brooklyn will become an even greater battleground for the ever intensifying rivalry between the Islanders and the New York Rangers. Brooklyn could be a ton of fun for new hockey fans as well, and if the Long Island natives keep coming, then the Islander fan base could improve even more. The Barclays Center could be home to shaking blackouts with the Isles new Brooklyn Nets style jersey, and it might just fuse the Isles into a true big market powerhouse. This season will be even more interesting thanks to playing in Brooklyn, but if it goes well, 2015 and 2016 could be a heck of a lot of fun.
Prediction:
Last season, the Isles finished in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 101 points on the year. In a tight, competitive group, the Isles should probably manage to push themselves up to second place in the division with somewhere around 107 points in 2015-2016. But, anything is possible for New York in the postseason. They gained important experience last season, and since the Isles boast just about the same roster as last year, they could get as far as everyone. The worst case scenario might be another first-round exit. But the best case? Who knows, maybe late spring will culminate in John Tavares hoisting up the Stanley Cup in front of a raucous Brooklyn crowd.