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Isles Defense; the weak link? |
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With September nearly upon us and training camp right around the corner, there are still glaring questions surrounding the Islanders’ roster as we head into training camp. The Islanders’ have had a very productive offseason. The news of the team’s sale should create some much needed stability within the organization. Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow addressed the goaltending and added some high quality forwards to give this team some much needed depth. However, as we look at the roster as it is constructed right now, there are simply too many questions surrounding this blue line.
I fell for this trap last season, as I thought the blue line was good enough, and I was dead wrong. I will say this, having two NHL quality goalies will instantly make this defense better. Too many times last year, goals went past the Islanders’ netminders that should have been stopped. I do think that stability between the pipes will go a long way in helping this blue line.
With that being said, I do think the defense at this point has too many questions. Calvin de Haan cannot have a sophomore slump. He showed us last season why the Islanders’ brass thought so highly of him. He must stay healthy and continue to improve. Hopefully he can add some offense to his game this year and I would love to see him get some time on the power play.
Travis Hamonic also needs to stay healthy and bounce back from a very average 2013/2014 season. Hamonic needs to regain that edge that he had two seasons ago. He needs to bring the sandpaper back into his game that earned him the nick name “the hammer.” The amount of concussions that he has had over the past four seasons are definitely a concern but if this team is going anywhere, Hamonic needs to be that top four defenseman that we saw frustrated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs a year and a half ago.
Health is an overall theme with this blue line as Lubomir Visnovsky has to stay healthy. It is critical for the Isles' success that Visnovsky be on the ice and run that power play. I know Visnovsky is long in the tooth, but he has to be the Quarterback on the powerplay. I do think de Haan is fully capable of running the second unit, however, I’d feel a lot better if Vis was in charge of the main squad.
There is still a gaping hole in the top four. The remainder of the candidates are not top four defensemen. The Islanders have kicked the tires on numerous dmen and there is still time to trade for someone who could log valuable minutes for this team. However, if the roster stays as is, one of the kids is going to have to step up and win a roster spot. I think the Islanders can survive with whomever that bottom pairing rotation is but someone desperately needs to step up and prove that they can log important top four minutes. It could be Griffin Reinhart or Ryan Pulock; it doesn’t really matter who it is. If the roster stays the way that it is currently constructed, then one of these blue chip prospects must make a significant impact on this team if they are going to make a run at the playoffs.
There is still time before opening night for a trade to occur. I know that the Isles have talked to the Blackhawks, Bruins, Jets and Panthers, but as of right now I’m not hearing of anything that is close. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were a couple of camp invites on the blue line to compete for a job. I do think that this team is much improved, however, I’m not willing to go all in on the Islanders being a playoff team until I see what this defense looks like and how they perform throughout the season. This doesn’t have to be a top five ranked defense. It just has to go from dead last to average and this team will be significantly improved. Please join me at 3p today on the Hockeybuzz webcast where we will talk all things Isles. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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