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The 10 best Islanders' players of the decade

December 31, 2019, 4:45 PM ET [50 Comments]
Ben Shelley
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Following a big win over the Washington Capitals and with the decade coming to a close, I thought it could be fun to take a look at the top New York Islanders players of the decade. Here are my top-10 Islanders of the 2010s (and let me know where I went wrong in the comments).

Honourable mentions: Travis Hamonic, Frans Nielsen, PA Parenteau, Ryan Pulock


MATHEW BARZAL
Kicking things off is the face of the franchise. The 2018 Calder Trophy winner is already far and away New York’s best forward in just his third NHL season. He’ll help to usher in a new era of talent over the next few seasons and will be the Islanders’ poster boy for a long, long time.



JOSH BAILEY
The knock on Bailey is that sometimes he just doesn’t come to play. Despite this, he was still able to score at least 55 points in the last three seasons and with many years remaining on his contract, the Islanders will continue to count on him for the next few years as well.

THOMAS GREISS
This may be an odd addition for some but Thomas Greiss has been in the crease for almost exactly half of New York’s games throughout the last five seasons. In that time, he holds a very solid .916 save percentage and he’s on pace to complete another good season again this year.



NICK LEDDY
He’s far from perfect but Leddy adds offense to New York’s defense corps and has for the last number of years. Last season, Leddy also upped his defensive reliability which was the part of his game that was clearly lacking.

ANDERS LEE
The Captain. He started his NHL career on Long Island and that’s likely where he’ll finish it, based on the length of his contract. He was a top-15 player in goals over the last three seasons and rarely misses a game.



MATT MOULSON
Despite playing parts of five seasons in New York, Moulson’s game really peaked around 2011. Between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, he scored at a rate of about 72 points per 82, before moving to Buffalo.

BROCK NELSON
The exciting part about Nelson is that it seems like he’s only now realizing his potential, even though he’s in his eighth year with the Islanders. Nelson’s game improved dramatically last season and he’s continued the trend this year as well.

KYLE OKPOSO
Despite his time with the Buffalo Sabres not going according to plan, for many years, Kyle Okposo was a key piece for the Islanders. In his final three seasons in New York, Okposo produced at a pace of at least 65 points per 82.

MARK STREIT
Mark Streit was quietly one of the most offensively productive defensemen at the start of the 2010s. Despite only playing with the Islanders for two seasons this decade, he outscored most forwards on the team in both years.

JOHN TAVARES
After kicking things off with the current face of the franchise, it’s fitting to wrap up this article with the former face of the franchise. From the time he was drafted first overall by the Islanders, John Tavares was New York’s star player for nearly a decade. While many will still harbour bad feelings towards the former captain after his departure, Tavares’ 621 points with the Islanders made him one of the franchise’s best players in recent memory.




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OTHER ISLANDERS ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER

Brock Nelson has been the Islanders' biggest surprise

Ilya Sorokin: What we know

Islanders should steer clear of deadline rentals

Beauvillier's development is key for Islanders

Piero Greco deserves credit for New York's success in net

Game Recap (Game 24): NYI vs CBJ
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