The Islanders Should Be the Most Talked About Team in the NHL
There is an argument to be made that the New York Islanders should be the most talked-about team in the NHL right now.
After a relatively successful postseason compared to the team’s past postseason runs, a big question mark hung over the organization’s head on where do they go from here. The most likely answer for most NHL analysts was that the Islanders were going to regress. Success in the National Hockey League is hard to sustain, and it is easy to maintain failure, so the safe bet to make when deciding on the Islanders’ success for the upcoming season was a regression.
However, the Islanders are an unconventionally complicated team that often has a zeal for defying expectations and doing the unthinkable. Despite the uniqueness of the whole Islanders’ team’s current situation and abstractness, there is no way to know what is in store for the Islanders this upcoming season.
Nonetheless, as the Islanders began training camp this past week, the message remains clear: the Islanders are hungry. Satisfaction can be the most dangerous combatant to an organization, and it was quite certain from training camp the Islanders want more. They are hungry for the Stanley Cup. Head Coach Barry Trotz told the media point-blank, “we’re not happy,” without winning the Stanley Cup.
While the Islanders’ fire inside them certainly is scorching, another takeaway from this offseason has been the lack of attention for the New York Islanders.
In football, the three most important things for a team’s success are a quarterback, a coach, and a general manager. Look at the New England Patriots, for years they ran the table with an essential front office, and as we know, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Although hockey is a different sport, these essentials to success translate to other sports, and it is quite apparent what they are. If you look at teams that have won in the past, they all have things in common: a talented goaltender, a good head coach, robust and capable management, and usually with some other right pieces, the remaining parts seem to fall into place.
The Islanders have a hall of fame General Manager in Lou Lamoriello and head coach in Barry Trotz. This offseason, they brought over their “white whale” in Ilya Sorokin, who will fit like a glove with the Islanders’ defensive style of play.
The Islanders are moving into a brand new state-of-the-art arena, UBS Arena at Belmont Park, which should assist in bringing them attention from around the National Hockey League.
The Islanders are not getting the respect they deserve as an organization, and after a year where they were so close to a birth in the Stanley Cup Finals, should be talked about more.
Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.
