2013-14 record: 34-37-11 (79 points)
Missed the playoffs
Captain: John Tavares
The New York Islanders will be playing their last season on Long Island, moving to Brooklyn in 2015. Ending that time with a playoff run is probably going to be easier said than done, but at worst, they will have an offense that can compete with other teams most nights. It begins with John Tavares, who is the by far, the team's best player. His absence after getting injured during the Olympics was felt, as the offense was sparse, with only Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen joining Tavares in the 40-plus point club. Okposo led the club in points, but was only three points ahead of Tavares. Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin join the team and will add secondary scoring to a club in desperate need of it. Other players to watch for include Ryan Strome and Michael Grabner, as Strome will be better acclimated to the NHL after a 37-game stint with the big club while Grabner hopes to rebound after an injury riddle season.
Defense is where things get dicey. Right now, the top pairing is Travis Hamonic and Lubomir Visnovsky, and while Hamonic would be a solid option on the top pairing on most teams, Visnovsky is the team's best offensive option from the blue line by default, and he's nearing 40. The rest of the group is what can be best described as average, at best. There was a reason the Islanders went with all defensemen in the 2012 NHL Draft, and it appears that the first pick from that year Griffin Reinhart is ready to join the Islanders. 2013 first round pick Ryan Pulock may not be far behind. At least the Islanders have a better duo in goal than last year, as Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson bring 2.25 and 2.10 GAA, respectively, to a team that was the third worst in the league on defense. How either will handle the team in front of them remains to be seen, as the Islanders are a far cry from the defensively strong Blues and Bruins.
Prediction: 6th in the Metropolitan Division
The Islanders have the ability to score, and this time, they won't have to rely on Tavares for all the scoring. However, until their blue line gets fixed and we find out just how well the goaltending tandem will handle facing many shots a night, the Islanders are not likely to make the playoffs in their last season before Brooklyn.
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