Mat Barzal is Underrated: His First Season Shows Why
Mat Barzal’s monstrous 85 point Calder warpath would forever alter Barzal’s perception in hockey media; but maybe not for the better.
A player being both considered a “superstar” and “underrated” may seem like somewhat of an oxymoron. Mat Barzal, though, finds himself at this strange crossroad. In the national media, Barzal’s star power is disputed. Though in the Islanders fandom, Barzal’s talent is one of the few points of consensus. His initial season in the NHL serves as the “why” to this polarizing dispute.
Mat Barzal’s rookie season with the New York Islanders came at a transitional period for the organization. Doug Weight, replacing Jack Capuano, would man the bench for his first and only season as Islanders head coach. In December of that same season, the Islanders would announce a move away from Brooklyn to a new home at Belmont Park. The season would also be the the farewell tour of John Tavares. The transitional shakiness of the season left Barzal skating to his own volition without accountability for his style of play.
In his first season, became a playmaking machine, scoring goals and racking up assists. Barzal’s unchained play included a lot of risk-taking offensive opportunity and the word “defense” slowly disappearing from his vocabulary. This style would not last long under Barry Trotz and company, as they added stability entering the 2018-19 season. Trotz’s solid structure forced the emerging offensive superstar to learn something most players of his status are not asked to do: buy in and back check.
Points were no longer the driving factor of Barzal’s ice time. His goals shifted to being smart on assignments and playing effortlessly with teammates. In this, Barzal excelled. Moving from being a playmaker to a quarterbacking two-way center is difficult; even more difficult when you’ve been succeeding in your current style of play. Though, Barzal bought in. This change in play yielded results, and fast. The Islanders would make the playoffs in his second and third seasons, reaching the ECF in his most recent.
His statistics would tell a different story, showing a player who peaked in his first season. Here lies the tragedy. Barzal gained a reputation of being a point producer, something that didn’t stick under Trotz. His numbers were bound to dip, that was part of the plan. Though, from a far-away perspective, it looks like an obvious regression. TSN this year, in their midseason ranking, did not even list Barzal in their top 50 players. Barzal still had his moments, showing his league-best speed at the All-Star game, but his statistical flashiness regressed.
When a reporter is looking at 31 teams, a player who’s flashy and whose statistics jump out are more enticing. Mat Barzal is not an enticing player. Media perception does not pay the bills though, your value to the organization does. As Barzal now enters negotiations, the conversation will not be on his production totals–though they are impressive–but on his ability to alter his play to what the team desires. This malleability of Mat Barzal may not put him on top 50 rankings, but will make him an asset that any team would desire.
Mat Barzal cemented his perception his first season as a playmaker. While his style has drastically changed under Trotz, his reputation for point production amongst the hockey community stays. Barzal’s career is young, but this perception and its expectations may be hard to shake for years to come.
