This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Tom Kuhnhackl.
I’ve always said I don’t mind Kuhnhackl but there are situations where he just shouldn’t be used. For instance, he should never play in the top-six and wasn’t effective in his appearances on the third line this season either. His offensive contributions are limited at best, with just six points in 28 games to show for and a very weak corsi for percentage of just 43.2 per cent. He is, however, able to kill penalties which is a positive for a player who isn’t a regular in the lineup.
Ideally, if there’s an injury, players should move up the lineup and Kuhnhackl should join the fourth line. The problem with this, though, is that the Islanders’ fourth line is made up of players who aren’t really capable of moving up the lineup (minus Casey Cizikas).
As for next season, if the Islanders can get Kuhnhackl back on the same contract, why not? He’s a cheap option who’s capable of playing when there are injuries, though I’d imagine he’ll try to sign somewhere where he may get a better opportunity. Really, Kuhnhackl has never been overly effective for the Islanders and while he may at least be fairly responsible with the puck, he can’t generate a whole lot of offense with possession.
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted Saturday):
Will Tom Kuhnhackl be back with the Islanders next season?