This week marks the beginning of the 2023-24 NHL season. The Islanders will begin their new campaign on October 14, when they host the Buffalo Sabres. They’re coming off a season that saw them return to the playoffs but suffer a hard-fought series loss in the first round. It stung to see the team lose such a winnable series, but it did prove that this core can still play a competitive brand of hockey in the postseason. Now the biggest question is if the 2023-24 Islanders can find a way to replicate last season’s success.
The Islanders didn’t move the needle very much this offseason. They did succeed in retaining their internal free agents and handing out some big time contract extensions. But they didn’t make any major improvements to their roster, having only added depth pieces in their offseason shopping. The notable additions include Julien Gauthier, Brian Pinho and Karson Kuhlman.
On the other end of the spectrum, there were two big departures from last year’s team. The first being Josh Bailey, who was traded for cap relief. Bailey fell out of an everyday starting role last season, so it made sense for both sides to move on. Regardless, it’ll be strange to see the career-Islander not suiting up in the blue and orange this season.
The second notable departure was Zach Parise. Parise didn’t officially retire but will not be playing to start the new year. It’s up in the air if he’ll ever return but either way this is a significant loss for the Islanders. It won’t be easy replacing the 21-goals and veteran experience he provided the team with.
From a defensive standpoint, there’s not much to worry about with the Islanders. Their defensive structure remains one of the more consistent areas of the team’s play. The only concern is any potential injuries to one of the top defensemen. The team struggles a lot when players like Ryan Pulock or Adam Pelech miss significant amounts of time. Health is going to be a big factor as their depth isn’t great enough to handle any long-term absences.
Noah Dobson is going to be the most intriguing player to watch on the defensive end. Dobson was not the best version of himself last year and had some significant defensive struggles. How he rebounds from last season is going to be one of the big storylines for this Islanders defense.
As far as goaltending goes, there’s absolutely no concern. Ilya Sorokin has established himself as one of the league’s top netminders in short order. He played his career-best season last year, finishing second in Vezina voting and even getting a handful of votes for the Hart Trophy. Sorokin consistently puts this team in a great position to win hockey games and should continue to do so this year. With Semyon Varlamov returning as a backup, the Islanders have a rock-solid goalie tandem to work with.
On offense, a lot of eyes will be on the Bo Horvat-Mat Barzal line. The Islanders need this line to be productive in the worst way. Down a major goal-scorer in Parise, they can ill-afford Horvat to slump like he did at the tail end of last season. Working again with Barzal could be the answer to getting Horvat back on his pre-trade goal-scoring pace. The duo meshed really well together in a short sample size when Horvat first arrived. The hope is that with a whole offseason to establish chemistry together, the two talented playmakers can form a lethal offensive combination to lead the team.
Along with finding success on their first line, the Islanders need some serious power play improvement. Their power play percentage ranked 30th in the NHL and was, at times, a complete momentum killer. It was also their undoing in the postseason, with the team going 1/18 in a series where all but one of their losses were decided by one goal. Simply put, there’s no chance this Islanders team can have sustainable success with a power play that bad. They need to find ways to consistently capitalize on their man advantage if they hope to stay afloat in this conference.
Featured image courtesy of X/@NYIslanders
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