Islanders’ biggest question: Will they finally make a deep run?

By James O'BrienAug 24, 2015, 2:18 PM EDT
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The New York Islanders haven’t won a playoff series since they foiled Mario Lemieux’s quest for a three-peat.

In case that doesn’t provide you context (or if you’re a Penguins fan, memories of a bloodied Kevin Stevens), that came back in 1993.

Let’s skip the “insert list of historical events/amusing Geocities references since 1993” portion of the post and merely note that the Isles have seen seven first-round exits and 14 failed postseason bids since they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 Eastern Conference Final.

One would assume that Islanders fans have learned to be patient over the years, and GM Garth Snow’s steady approach is really starting to pay off, even if some fans might feel a little antsy.

“We have a lot of players that still have term on their contracts,” Snow told NHL.com recently. “We’re looking for our younger players to take another step in the right direction, guys like Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee … they’re all good, young players that had quality seasons and they’re just going to keep getting better.”

When you pour over the Islanders’ roster, it’s clear that the team boasts a little of everything. John Tavares is absolutely one of the best forwards in the league. Their defense may lack a Duncan Keith-type superstar, but Johnny Boychuk isn’t chopped liver. They may not have the most mainstream recognition, but Jaroslav Halak – Thomas Greiss ranks as one of the better goalie tandems in the NHL.

The possession stats were there, too, last season.

Just about every sign points to the Islanders possessing the tools to finally make a nice playoff run, now they just have to get there.

It could get a little messy if they provide an all-too-familiar feeling, albeit in a new building.

It’s New York Islanders day at PHT

By Dhiren MahibanAug 24, 2015, 10:25 AM EDT
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Throughout the month of August, PHT will be dedicating a day to all 30 NHL clubs. Today’s team? The New York Islanders.

The Islanders finished the 2014-15 season with a 47-28-7 record good for third in the Metropolitan Division; however, their first round playoff woes continued as the Washington Capitals edged New York in seven games. Four of the seven games were decided by one goal.

The Islanders have not been to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1993.

“We were disappointed that we lost a Game 7 against Washington,” GM Garth Snow told NHL.com. “We have a great group of players in that room that are motivated to win a Stanley Cup, and I’m sure there are 29 other teams that are saying the same thing. We know we’re in for a battle. It’s a grind of a season for 82 games and just to make the playoffs is quite an accomplishment. Once you get in, anything can happen. We feel we have a team that can compete on a nightly basis.

“Two of the last three years, we’ve been in the playoffs. We lost a Game 6 two years back to Pittsburgh and lost a Game 7 to Washington last year. You hope that those experiences help a player grow, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Captain John Tavares led the way offensively scoring a career-high 38 goals and 86 points in 82 games. The 24-year-old was a finalist for the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career.

Rookie Anders Lee had a solid first full season in New York scoring 25 goals and 41 points in 76 games. The 25-year-old finished ninth in Calder Trophy voting.

Nick Leddy, who was acquired by the Islanders last October, paced all New York defensemen with 10 goals and 37 points in 78 games.

In goal, Jaroslav Halak went 38-17-4 while posting a 2.43 G.A.A. and a .914 save percentage in 59 games during his first season with the Islanders.

Off-season recap

After 43 years of playing at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders begin playing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this season.

On the ice, Snow didn’t make many changes to his roster, but he did ink goaltender Thomas Greiss to backup Halak.

The Islanders also dealt prospect defenseman Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for a pair of draft picks in June.

Isles give Poulin another one-year, two-way contract

By James O'BrienAug 11, 2015, 9:15 PM EDT
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The New York Islanders announced the signing of goalie Kevin Poulin to a one-year, two-way contract on Tuesday.

It’s an identical deal to his previous one ($600K at the NHL level, $275K in the AHL), according to Newsday’s Arthur Staple.

At 25, Poulin still has time to emerge, although he must be at least getting a tad bit anxious. The Islanders added proven backup Thomas Greiss this offseason, so Poulin stands as the third option (at best) beyond Greiss and starter Jaroslav Halak.

Poulin lost his only start with the Islanders in 2014-15. He was mediocre in the AHL, going 16-21-7 with a .912 save percentage for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

While he hasn’t distinguished himself at any real point (aside from a nice start in 10 appearances back in 2010-11), Poulin does have 50 games of NHL experience under his belt, so there’s that.

Pens opt against making AHL record-breaker Murray a backup for Fleury

By James O'BrienJul 23, 2015, 11:07 PM EDT
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The departure of Thomas Greiss and a record-breaking AHL season apparently aren’t enough to inspire the Pittsburgh Penguins to tab Matt Murray as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup, as the team website reports.

Management’s explanation is simple enough: Fleury is the No. 1 guy, so why not allow Murray to get more reps as the top dog in the AHL instead of being glued to the bench?

“He’s not coming in here and beating out Marc-Andre Fleury and taking over this team,” Assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald said. “We love what we have down the line here, and it is down the line. He just turned 21. He needs to play hockey games. You can’t develop if he’s sitting on the bench. That’s just a fact.”

Although he said the Penguins knew he was good, Fitzgerald admitted that they didn’t expect him to generate the kind of 2014-15 campaign he did, winning the AHL’s goalie of the year award while putting up big numbers.

A devil’s advocate take might be that it’s sometimes wise to ride out surprise hot streaks with goalies. The Ottawa Senators rode Andrew Hammond’s out-of-left-field surge to a playoff berth while Devan Dubnyk went from the scrap heap to saving the Minnesota Wild’s season, and neither team anticipated either scenario, right?

Regardless, the good news for the Penguins is that Murray seems fine with both scenarios.

“I think either way could be good for me,” Murray said. “I think playing in the AHL wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but also practicing with the best players in the world wouldn’t be a bad thing either, so the way I look at it, either way I can take the positives out of it. Wherever I end up, I’m still going to have the same determinations and play the same way each and every day and let things take care of itself.”

Matching a record-breaking season might be asking for too much, but if Murray’s for real, he’ll get his big chance sooner or later.

Ex-NHLer Sturm named coach, GM of German national team

By Mike HalfordJul 10, 2015, 1:53 PM EDT
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Marco Sturm, the highest-scoring German player in NHL history, has agreed to become the head coach and general manager of Germany’s national team.

“I’m very proud that the DEB [German hockey federation] gives me the huge responsibility and I’m really immensely looking forward to this challenging and exciting task I will work on with huge motivation,” Sturm said, per the IIHF website. “Together we want to go the next step with German ice hockey.”

Sturm, 36, retired last January after a 15-year NHL career that went through San Jose, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, Vancouver and Florida. He also represented Germany at nearly every international level, participating in three Winter Olympics.

As mentioned in his quote above, this new gig will be a challenge. Sturm, who doesn’t have any pro coaching experience, inherits a struggling national team; Germany finished a disappointing 10th at the 2015 World Hockey Championships, suffering one of the biggest blowouts of the tournament, a 10-0 loss to Canada.

This came on the heels of an equally disappointing effort at the ’14 tourney, in which the Germans needed group stage wins over Latvia and Kazakhstan to avoid relegation.

Currently, there are seven German skaters in the NHL: Tobias Rieder, Dennis Seidenberg, Christian Ehrhoff, Marcel Goc, Leon Draisaitl, Korbinian Holzer and David Wolf. Thomas Greiss and Philipp Grubauer are the country’s lone netminders.