The New York Islanders’ roster is not much different than last season. General manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello has reiterated multiple times that he still believes in this core group. In order for this team to be successful, they need more production from certain players. The Islanders have arguably one of the top goaltenders in the league in Ilya Sorokin, and they need another Vezina-caliber season from him. The big trade last season for Bo Horvat was made to increase scoring and we didn’t see much in his short stint last year. The Islanders hope that this year, with a full training camp and a healthy Mathew Barzal, the duo can develop some chemistry together and have a productive offensive season.
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One thing that stood out amongst the Islanders’ struggles last season was the abysmal power play, which was at the bottom of the league. They didn’t have a true puck-moving defenseman and power-play quarterback, which definitely was a big reason for the lack of production. Lamoriello (so far) has not made any upgrades on the roster to improve the power play and he is hoping defenseman Noah Dobson continues to develop and become that guy. Dobson struggled defensively last season and regressed a bit, but Lamoriello still has faith in the young defenseman. The Islanders need their key players this year to have productive seasons. There are three names that will be important in the team’s success and helping them return to the postseason. Obviously, there are multiple players on the team who need to have solid seasons for the Islanders to make the postseason, but these three players can change the entire outcome of the season.
Ilya Sorokin
The obvious choice here is the goaltender who had a superb season last year and was clearly the Islanders’ best player. Sorokin led all goalies in goals saved above expected with 52.7, according to Evolving Hockey, which is just 0.3 behind Henrik Lundqvist’s 2009-10 season for the analytics era record (from “NHL awards watch: The Norris Trophy race intensifies in the final month”, The Athletic, 4/10/23). Sorokin was top five in every major goalie category, and was playing on a team that struggled defensively. He is already eighth all-time in wins for the franchise and tied with Rick DiPietro for third all-time in shutouts with 16. There is no question that a healthy Sorokin is one of the top goaltenders in the NHL. The Islanders waited a long time to find a franchise goalie and he was worth the wait.
If Sorokin has another season like last year, the Islanders will have a chance to get back to the postseason. With the style the team plays, they rely heavily on their goaltending and defense. The strength of this team is in net with Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov is back with the organization for four more seasons after signing a long-term extension over the summer. The Islanders need to find a good balance in net to keep Sorokin fresh. Last season, Sorokin made 60 starts and wasn’t as sharp in the postseason as he was all year. If the Islanders can find a way to have him play somewhere around 55 games, he will be a lot fresher come playoff time. There is no doubt the Islanders’ success will depend on Sorokin. He is the type of goaltender that is capable of carrying a team and is on track to possibly become the best goaltender in franchise history.
Noah Dobson
The Islanders have a ton of confidence in Dobson, despite him regressing on the defensive side. In Lamoriello’s end of season media availability, he went out of his way to show he believes in Dobson. “He knows what he can do to be better and he will do that,” Lamoriello said. “I have high expectations for him. I think he’s going to be one of your elite scoring defenseman in this league before his career is over.” The production for Dobson was almost identical to the year before, but where he really lacked was on the power play. Dobson needs to be the lead power-play quarterback for the Islanders if they aren’t going to make any additions. If he can improve on his 49-point season last year, the power play will definitely get better.
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As far as his defensive play, there were times he looked a bit gun shy and afraid to make a mistake. With more seasoning, hopefully the 23-year-old will gain more confidence and become more aggressive in his own zone. He really struggled in the first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes and was even benched in the third period of Game 5 for his poor play. He needs to work on getting the puck out of the zone quicker, and building strength so he doesn’t get knocked off so easily. The Islanders envision Dobson as their future top-pairing defenseman and there is no doubt if they want to make the playoffs, he has to be that guy.
Bo Horvat
When looking at this season, there are many players the Islanders need to produce if they want to be successful. The forward that they need the most is Horvat. The Islanders went out last season and acquired the top player available in Horvat. He came in and immediately made an impact in his first few games with the team. Once Barzal went down with injury, things changed for him. He struggled to do much of anything offensively and constantly had different linemates the rest of the season. The one thing about Horvat that remains consistent is his two-way play. He is a great defensive forward and one of the top faceoff specialists in the league. However, the Islanders need a lot more from him after signing him to an eight-year extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $8.5 million.
Before the trade, Horvat was having a career year with 31 goals in 49 games for the Vancouver Canucks. With the Islanders, he had only seven goals in 30 games. You can see the chemistry with him and Barzal starting to develop in the first few games. Hopefully, with a full training camp together and Horvat learning the system, he can get back to the season he was having with the Canucks. Lamoriello put all of his chips into Horvat by signing him to a long-term extension and giving up yet another first-round pick as well as Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty. The 28-year-old is in the prime of his career and is poised for a breakout season on the Island.
There is no doubt that the Islanders need more great seasons from everyone and not just these three players. They are the key factors in the Islanders having effective goaltending, goal scoring, and defensive play. There is no reason to not expect this team to fight for a playoff berth again. How far they go in the playoffs is another question…
