In this edition of the hotstove, we share our choices for best player on the New York Islanders.
Todd Cordell
I don’t think there’s much room for debate with this one. Mathew Barzal.
He has piled up 207 points in 232 games since making the jump to the NHL. That puts him 37 points ahead of Josh Bailey for the scoring lead, and 51 points clear of Anders Lee (3rd).
Barzal is by far their most dynamic and consistent offensive player. His speed makes him a big time threat through the neutral zone. He’s an awesome play driver as well.
Be it shots, chances, expected goals, or goals, the Islanders’ share has been anywhere from 3-6 percentage points higher with him on the ice than without.
He’s already elite and, at 22, I think the best is still yet to come.
Honorable mention goes to Anders Lee. He is one of the league’s best net-front players and finishers. While I do have some concerns about how his contract will age, he is still a really solid player.
Sean Maloughney Hands down it's Matt Barzal.
Since entering the league in the 2017/2018 season I think the case could be made that Barzal has been the Islanders best player and John Tavares was still with the team that season.
Barzal might be the most creative player with the puck in the league. His ability to skate north, south, east, west, change on the fly, change speed, stop, all while carrying the puck is a wonder to behold. While a player like Kane might be more creative in his goal scoring, I think a case could be made for Barzal being the best playmaker in the league. If this season continued, Barzal surely would have broken his previous career high of 22 goals.
Barzal logs massive minutes, leading the Islanders forwards in time on ice and while he is on the ice his team out chances the opposition at a regular rate. The 22 year old is only improving and is the obvious choice for the Islanders best player.
And no I'm not still bitter about the fact that Edmonton could have had him at 16th overall.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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