Now that we’re in to the second round of the playoffs, these are teams without many flaws. Often, there will be one fundamental flaw or one missing element, something that just made them unable to overcome the obstacle of the conference-final bound team they faced.
For the New York Islanders, this one missing element was offense. Against a tough Tampa Bay defense and Ben Bishop, the Islanders were unable to get anything past. It ultimately cost them a shot at the Penguins.
Throughout the postseason, the Islanders had relied upon one line for offensive production, and while it worked in the first round, as teams go deeper it gets less and less likely that one line will be able to get the job done. Look at the Sharks and Pavelski-Thornton, they were unable to get anything done until the fifth game.
The Islanders have an offense to re-build. Here’s how.
1. Ideal Deals
The Islanders have many, many free agents. Many in key positions, such as Frans Nielsen at second center.
New York faces many tough choices. The chief among these is what to do with Kyle Okposo. It may be easier to re-sign the players they need in depth positions and save some money to go after Okposo last.
The Islanders need scoring. Their second and third leading scorers are both free agents. People need to be re-signed.
Let’s just get this out of the way – the players I recommend re-signing are Frans Nielsen, Matt Martin, Shane Prince and Ryan Strome. Not Kyle Okposo. These four forwards contribute to the depth of the Islanders, as well as providing a level of scoring.
Nielsen was the third leading scorer for the Islanders in both the regular season and postseason. He’s the second center, and if the Islanders want to keep scoring to more than one line, it’s a good idea to keep him around. He would also come cheaper and for less years than Okposo, allowing the Islanders to focus elsewhere.
Ryan Strome is the third center for the Islanders, and a restricted free agent at just 22 years of age. He posted 28 points in the regular season, and 4 in the playoffs (playing three less games than the rest of the team). That’s not half bad for a third line center, and later we will discuss moves that could increase these numbers.
Shane Prince and Matt Murray were depth wings for the Islanders, and should continue to be reliable players depth wise, especially if the Islanders go the routes I will suggest. Prince posted 4 points in the playoffs and 5 points in 20 games in the regular season. Murray posted 19 points in the regular season but failed to score in the playoffs. Shane Prince will be much better with a full season in New York, and Murray has shown capability in the regular season that wasn’t there in the playoffs, but should be in the next go round.
2. The Kyle Okposo Interchange
The Islanders should re-sign Okposo with the express purpose of trading him. The reason he was such a wonderful wing for the Islanders is why he no longer is – he’s stopped grinding in addition to scoring. The heart he previously played with, the hustle, defensive play, and getting grimy in the boards, those aren’t aspects in his game anymore. He’s a 60+ point scorer but he used to be more. Trading Okposo would get the Islanders a ton, especially compared to letting him simply walk. The Islanders aren’t in any cap trouble, so placing Okposo on the market should bring them great return offers, especially if Garth Snow figures out a smart, marketable deal for the 28 year old winger.
Bringing back Okposo is using money that should be spent on depth. The Islanders have wings in the system that should be capable of 60 points a season, and so Okposo has been made expendable.
I think it’s a smarter move to trade Okposo than to allow him to walk. It’s a smarter move to invest in depth scoring than investing in a first line winger, especially with John Tavares, who is capable of making a talented wing into a 60+ scorer.
3. Youth Invigoration
The Islanders have many good players in their system. Maybe its time to bring some of them up. Josh Ho-Sang is a player that, with an attitude adjustment, the like of which Jonathon Drouin went through, will be a stellar first line winger for the Islanders, capable of replacing Okposo’s production and perhaps topping it.
Michael Dal Colle is another wing that could be great for the Islanders, and while the Islanders will be set for top two line wings with the addition of Ho-Sang, Dal Colle could add talent to the third line, as my next recommendation would suggest, and allow the third line to be faster, more capable of beating a goaltender, and bring scoring past two lines.
Matthew Barzal is a talented center who could help with the Islanders center depth and make their scoring even better as well. It could allow Ryan Strome to be bumped to a wing, or to be dropped to the fourth line should Martin not return.
And a full season would benefit Ryan Pulock greatly, and allow him the chance to get better come playoff time, allowing for more point shooting and scoring, helping to fix the Islanders power play.
4. Speed Integration
The Islanders should switch to a system which would allow for speed and skill (and, following that, scoring) at every line. Right now, their system has not adopted to the 21st Century, and they have continued to have a checking line and defensive focus on their bottom two lines. It’s part of the reason they lost to Tampa.
If they follow the Penguins’ excellent model, one copied by the Blackhawks and the Sharks, one that has proven successful over the past few years, and change their system to be four offensively-powered lines, they could be much more successful in the future. They have the restricted free agents, the prospects, and the first line to make it a successful strategy. Now it’s just about following through.