Tom Kuhnhackl has been a player who is always in and out of the lineup throughout his NHL career.  After playing in a total of 215 games in three seasons (regular season and playoffs) for the Pittsburgh Penguins and winning two Stanley Cups during his time there, he signed with the Islanders in the 2018 offseason.  The Isles signed him to build their bottom-six, add depth to their lineup and add strength to their defensive system.  His job isn’t to score goals or to put up points, it is to help stop the opposing team from scoring.

The Good

This season, so far, Kuhnhackl has played 28 games and has put up six points (three goals, three assists) in that span.  Although he doesn’t produce many points, he is a very effective player in the defensive zone and even in the offensive zone.  Kuhnhackl adds depth to the Isles roster and fits right in on Barry Trotz’s defensive structure.  He blocks shots, finishes checks, has a good stick when defending and has a pretty solid hockey IQ.  In the offensive zone, he is hard on the forecheck and wins puck battles, and has the ability to slice his way through defenders on a rush, which are all essential to creating scoring opportunities.
Kuhnhackl also can be a physical, gritty player when you need him to be.  There were multiple times throughout this season where he had to fill in a spot on the Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck line, or the “energy line.”  Although he doesn’t normally play any special teams, he could be a pretty solid replacement on the penalty kill if anyone gets injured.

The Bad

The only thing that is a knock on Kuhnhackl is that he doesn’t play consistent.  For Barry Trotz, he loves consistency and throughout his time with the Islanders, and even with the Penguins, Kuhnhackl can be inconsistent which effects his ice-time.  There are too many times where Kuhnhackl is hardly noticeable when he’s playing, which is neither good or bad.  He doesn’t always bring that same energy to games that makes him an effective player, and it hurts his ice-time.
You could say that his offensive abilities aren’t great, but that’s not the type of player he is.  He was signed to be a steady, solid and deep player to fit Trotz’s system.
While there aren’t many negative things to say about Kuhnhackl, the one knock on him is a major one.  In order to have success as a team, you need to be consistent, and in order to be consistent as a team, you need to have consistent players.  Consistency wins games and championships.  There’s are reasons why Kuhnhackl is always in and out of the lineup, and consistency is one of them.

The Expectations

After having a pretty good first season with the Islanders in 2018-19, the expectation for Kuhnhackl was to be that same player he was in the 2019 Playoffs.  Not as much in the second round, but in the first round, against his former team, Kuhnhackl was one of the Islanders best players.  He brought the energy that is needed in a playoff game, and was consistent throughout those four games.  That is all from experience, as he played in the postseason all three seasons he was with the Penguins and won back-to-back Stanley Cups.  Although he had two goals called off in Game 1 of the first round, he was able to record three points (three assists) in eight games, which is pretty good for a player like him.

The Moment of the Season

This season, Kuhnhackl scored two of his three goals in back-to-back games in December.  He scored his first of the season on Dec. 29, 2019 in Minnesota, in a 3-1 win over the Wild and he scored his second of the season on Dec. 31, 2019 in Washington, D.C., in a 4-3 win over the Capitals.

The Verdict

Tom Kuhnhackl is exactly what you expect: a decent depth player at a cheap price. His grade reflects that.

The Grade: B/85