Looking for someone to fill a void at the center on the third line, Lou Lamoriello, Islanders President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, had Derick Brassard on his radar to fill the hole in the lineup vacated by Valtteri Filppula, who signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings during the offseason. The NHL veteran joined the Long Island faithful for his 13th NHL season on a one-year deal.

The Good:

Although he got off to a slow start, Brassard quickly started finding consistency in his game by the end of October while the Islanders were in the middle of their 17 game point streak. During the streak, Brassard tallied a total of six goals and 15 points, which is almost half of his total points for the season. Brassard found success on the wing, playing alongside Brock Nelson as it seemed as if when one of them notched a goal, the other tallied the assist. While prior to the season expectation weren’t that high for Brassard, it seemed that he was exceeding these expectations exponentially for the time being. Brassard found some key time on the second power-play unit as well as helping on the penalty kill from time to time.

The Bad:

As the Islanders season started to trend downward after the 17 game point streak, so did the play of Derick Brassard. He recorded 15 points, the same total he had during the point streak, in the following 47 games. The struggles the Islanders started to see after their magnificent stretch, seemingly hit Brassard harder than other players on the team. Although 15 points in 47 games for a role-playing third liner isn’t bad, it is definitely a downfall from his hot streak at the start of the season. The fall in his play alongside countless mistakes and careless errors led to a disappointing later part of the season for Brassard.

The Expectations:

At the start of the season, expectations were rather low, needed to fill a gap after losing Valtteri Filppula, Derick Brassard came into the roster being a veteran role player to keep the consistency the team saw in the outstanding previous season. As the season started gaining momentum, Brassard did too and through the Islanders 17 game point streak Brassard seemingly was exceeding expectations. As the Islanders started on a downward trend the same was going on for Brassard. In the following 17 games succeeding the streak, Brassard notched only four points seemingly seeing his consistency fall and scoring rate reach a low for the season. Brassard had ten goals and 32 points at the time of the pause. After a rollercoaster of a season in which his great play followed with a lack of energy and countless mishaps, I would say Brassard met his pre-season expectations to be a veteran role player the Islanders needed.

The Moment of the Season:

On January 16th, the Islanders faced off against the Rangers at NCYB Live and the game finished as a sight for sore eyes. With 25 seconds remaining in regulation, the Rangers scored the game-winner on the powerplay which came following a lousy cross-check from Derick Brassard. After the season Brassard has had, its only fitting that his moment of the season causes the Islanders to fall to the Rangers. 

The Verdict:

Overall, Brassard definitely exceeded expectations as he was perceived to be a veteran role player with the Islanders, but he was much more than that. He had a dominant stretch during the point streak and has been consistent since then.

Final Grade: 81/B-