TSN.ca's 2014-15 NHL Season Preview: New York Islanders

With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the New York Islanders, a team that has higher expectations after some quality offseason work. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Button's analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSN's Scott Cullen.

Division: Metropolitan GM: Garth Snow Head Coach: Jack Capuano

2013-14: 34-37-11 (8th in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Did not qualify

Goals For: 216 (17th) Goals Against: 261 (28th) Powerplay: 17.8% (17th) Penalty Kill: 78.1% (29th)

That Was Then: 

After 4-4-3 start to the season, Islanders general manager Garth Snow decided to shake up his roster and make a move that could help put his team in the playoffs for the second straight season – a feat the Islanders hadn’t accomplished since 2004. Snow traded forward Matt Moulson, the Islanders’ first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and a 2015 second-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for two-time 40-goal scorer Thomas Vanek.

The move was immediately questioned as Moulson was coming off a strong 2012-13 campaign, in which he posted 15 goals and 44 points in 47 games, and Vanek – like Moulson - was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

In Vanek’s first three games with the club, the Islanders went 2-1 with the Austrian scoring one goal and adding two assists. The Islanders then went into a nosedive, losing 15 of their next 17 contests, including a season-worst 10-game losing skid.

By the end of January the Islanders were reeling; their record sat at 21-28-8, well out of a playoff spot and the team was in the midst of a five-game losing skid. Looking to address their future, the Islanders offered Vanek a substantial contract extension. Reports put the extension in the range of $50 million over the next seven seasons, identical to the number offered by the Edmonton Oilers and matched by the Sabres in 2007. Vanek, however, declined the offer and Islanders set out to find a trade partner for the veteran forward.

To make matters worse for the Islanders, their leading scorer John Tavares suffered a torn MCL and torn meniscus while playing for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Tavares was third in the league in points at the time of the injury.

On trade deadline day, the Islanders traded Vanek to the Canadiens for 2012 second-round pick Sebastian Collberg as well as a second-round draft pick and a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2014.

The Islanders finished the season 26^th in the league, 11 points out of the second and final wild card playoff spot. Kyle Okposo finished as the team’s leading scorer with 69 points, three points ahead of Tavares who missed the final 23 games of the season.

Scott Cullen's Analytics

Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter

Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points.

Analysis:

Games 1-20: Subpar goaltending and possession leads to a tough start.

Games 21-41: Goaltending continues to struggle, possession gets worse, record collapses.

Games 42-62: Possession and shooting improve a bit, enough to tread water despite worse goaltending.

Games 63-82: Best possession and goaltending segment of the year, leads to winning record despite goal deficit.

Key 2014 Additions: G Jaroslav Halak, C Mikhail Grabovski, RW Nikolai Kulemin, G Chad Johnson, LW Cory Conacher, D TJ Brennan 

Key 2014 Subtractions: G Evgeni Nabokov, G Anders Nilsson

This Is Now: 

Garth Snow started his attempt to revamp the Islanders roster early in the off-season; trading for two pending free agents in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenceman Dan Boyle.

The Islanders signed Halak to a four-year, $18 million contract ahead of free agency. With Boyle, the Isles had less success and attempted to trade the veteran after he rejected a two-year deal from the club.

In free agency, the Islanders made a major splash in signing former Toronto Maple Leaf teammates Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin to four-year contracts. The team also signed Chad Johnson to a two-year contract, cementing their goaltending tandem.

In Grabovski and Kulemin, the Islanders receive a pair who combined for 59 goals and 115 points in the 2010-11 season with the Leafs. Kulemin scored 30 goals that season, but has yet to score more than nine goals in any season since. Grabovski spent last season with the Washington Capitals, scoring 13 goals and 35 points in 58 games. The two figure to align on the Islanders second line as they reunite after a year apart. The additions of Grabovski and Kulemin should strengthen the Islanders top-six, which already included Tavares, Okposo and former 30-goal scorer Michael Grabner.

Halak and Johnson form the Islanders new goaltending duo, after the assembly of Evgeni Nabokov, Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson posted a combined 3.00 goals against average and a .898 save percentage last season.

The remaining question mark for the Islanders is on defence, where their group remains unchanged despite the attempt to sign Boyle. The lone defenceman the Isles added in free agency was T.J. Brennan, who could push playing time after winning the Eddie Shore Award as the outstanding defenceman of the AHL with the Toronto Marlies last season. Unless Brennan makes the roster, the Islanders hope the upgrades at goaltender and forward suffice for standing pat on defence.

DEPTH CHART

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Craig's List

TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button's Top Prospect: Griffin Reinhart

There is not much 'flash' in Griffin's game but here is a tremendous amount of substance.

Excellent sense and feel for situations and is very calm, composed and settled under pressure. He has the ability to quiet things down, so to speak, and get the game back into balance when he's on the ice.

Excellent agility and balance and with his size, he is a very difficult defenseman to beat one-on-one and to break down. He plays with a self-confidence and assuredness that says, "Don't worry, I have this under control."

For Islander fans, think of what Ken Morrow brought to four Stanley Cup teams, and you can get a picture of what Griffin means to a team.

Fantasy - Cullen's Player to Watch - Brock Nelson

Coming off a strong rookie season, during which he contributed 26 points in 72 games, with strong possession stats (52.6% Corsi) and is looking at a much better opportunity in his second season.

While there is competition among a suddenly-deeper group of Islanders forwards, Nelson may get a chance to skate on left wing with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo on the Islanders' top line and that opportunity is too good to ignore.

A full season in that spot, along with power play time, would give Nelson a chance to double last season's output, but even if he doesn't end up making a jump that big, he's a promising young forward who should continue to play a more significant role as he matures.