New York Islanders Season Preview

This series of articles will preview the New York Islanders for the upcoming season. I’ll cover the general overview of the team, the goaltenders position, the defense and the forwards.

Overview:

The Islanders will open the season with a brand new coach (Scott Gordon, former star AHL coach) who will hopefully bring a brand new winning attitude with him as well.

The 2007-08 Islanders were not expected to make much noise. They suffered a large defection in free agency (Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti all left the Island) and were counted out right from the start by the media. However, for much of the season, those same naysayers had to admit that the team had overachieved. Former coach Ted Nolan may not have had a lot of talent to work with, but he utilized what he was in the cupboard and kept the team competitive. However, a spate of injuries and a rift between Nolan and GM Garth Snow conspired This series of articles will preview the New York Islanders for the upcoming season. I’ll cover the general overview of the team, the goaltenders position, the defense and the forwards.to sink the team’s chances in the latter part of the year. Nolan parted ways with the team over the summer. The writing had been on the wall concerning the coach for quite some time: He was clearly uncomfortable with the direction the club was going in terms of a youth movement and his dissatisfaction was apparent in his post game interviews.

The roster has seen some turnover: Doug Weight will now center the top line and defenseman Mark Streit will attempt to revive the moribund power-play. RW Kyle Okposo should play with the big club this year and will be expected to take a big step in his growth process. Jeff Tambellini, the AHL scoring phenom, will be given his final opportunity to stick in the majors. Gone are enigmatic wingers Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, as well as popular backup netminder Wade Dubielewicz.

The key to this season is whether or not Scott Gordon will be able to aid the youngsters in the lineup (Okposo, Tambellini, Blake Comeau and Franz Nielsen, among others) in their evolution as NHL players. New York realizes that they are not going to be a desirable free agent destination, so the only way they will improve is through the draft and the development of young prospects.

Next: The Goaltender Position