New York Islanders Season Preview: 2024-25

It's no secret that an 82-game regular season in the Elite Hockey Experience can be a rollercoaster ride.

Any successful team needs to navigate the ups and downs; from management to coaches to players, the very best organizations never get too high when everything is clicking for them, and never get too low when things don't go their way.

Considering the track record of the New York Islanders in recent years, they should at least have one side of that equation down to a science.

Indeed, the Isles head into the 2024-25 season with the same old questions hanging over their heads: Is this the year they finally shed their underachiever status, and maybe even start learning how to manage highs more often than lows?

As ever, the players don't seem keen to engage in any narrative-building.

"Every season is a new start, whether you win the Cup or finish 32nd," said defenseman Adam Larsson, in his first media availability since joining the team as a free agent three weeks ago.

"When I was in Arizona we went from winning the President's Trophy one year to like, 25th the next year. So it doesn't really matter what happened last season, good or bad."

Fellow defender Rasmus Dahlin was of a similar mind.

"The only thing I care about from last year is that we have a bunch of great players coming back," said the big Swede, now heading into his fourth campaign on Long Island.

"We know what we're capable of, and we're not worried about outside noise. We're just gonna hold each other accountable, and good things will happen."

FORWARDS

As usual in the three years since GM Kyle Phillips took the reins, there has been plenty of turnover in the team's forward corps between season openers.

This time around, the big change is wingers Jared McCann and Jonathan Marchessault finding new homes, replaced by legendary centreman Steven Stamkos. On paper that could be called a lateral move, but on the ice neither McCann nor Marchessault ever lived up to their billing, and after plummeting from 302 Goals For in 2022-23 (2nd in the league) to 248 (15th) in 2023-24, the Isles are banking on Stamkos to help stabilize their offensive production.

Of course, one player alone won't accomplish the feat, and the club will once again lean on their two underwhelming superstars, Nathan MacKinnon and Mitch Marner, to finally elevate their production to a level comensurate with their skill—not to mention their reputations. To be sure, it shouldn't be asking too much for two world-class players to exceed the meagre 154 combined points they managed last year. If they can't, however, the Isles' enviable top-9 depth will likely go for naught once again.

DEFENSE

At this time last year, the Islanders were preparing to roll out the exact same group of seven defensemen as the year prior. That won't be the case this time around, but it shouldn't be to the team's detriment, with Adam Larsson sliding into the defensive specialist role previously occupied by Ryan McDonagh (traded to Vegas), and Connor Murphy filling the bottom-pairing spot of the departed Mikey Anderson (traded to Pittsburgh).

Beyond the newcomers, the Islanders have, as usual, prioritized building a blueline that can counterattack just as well as it defends. To wit, Erik Karlsson is still an offensive dynamo at age 34, while Rasmus Dahlin and Gustav Forsling have polished their 200-foot games to an elite level. Vladislav Gavrikov, meanwhile, rounds things out with his size and puck-moving ability.

It won't be easy to match the 42 goals provided by the 2023-24 Islanders defense corps (not to mention the league's 7th-best Goals Against total) of the but this year's squad certainly has the personnel to achieve the feat.

GOALTENDERS

It seems like only yesterday that the Islanders were copping some (justifiable) criticism for surrendering 1st and 2nd round picks for pending UFA Sergei Bobrovsky, then expending a franchise tag on the veteran puckstopper to boot. But for better or worse, the man known as 'Bob' has provided the stability the team was seeking when they acquired him in 2021, posting a .914 Save Percentage and 17 shutouts across almost 200 starts for his second EHE franchise, while also closing in on the league's all-time wins record. Indeed, the Isles' overall struggles can hardly be pinned on their goaltending, with presumptive backup Stuart Skinner looking like a legitimate #1 in his own right, ringing up a .925 Sv% over 23 appearances in 2023-24.

All things being equal, goaltending should continue to be an area of strength for the Isles.

So where do the Islanders stand heading into the new season? On paper they once again have all the hallmarks of a championship contender. But as they and their followers have learned time and time again, looking good on paper counts for nothing out on the ice.

As always, Phillips has tinkered with the chemistry in hopes of finding the perfect mix, and he will no doubt get an itchy trigger finger if the team gets off to a slow start. Could this be the year that Head Coach Mike Sullivan becomes the scapegoat for a GM looking to buy himself more time? Will the franchise continue to hang their hopes on two disappointing superstars? Or will this confounding group finally live up to its enormous potential?

At the very least the Islanders should be a playoff contender, even in the merciless Metropolitan division. Whether they can navigate the roller coaser ride to become more than a bubble team will be the defining question of their whole season—perhaps even the entire Phillips regime. 

Will they come out smiling at the finish line? Or will they lose their lunch yet again?