The Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the New York Islanders in the third round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive year. Calling this year successful would be an understatement. Entering the playoffs as the fourth seed in their division, the Islanders pushed the defending Stanley Cup Champions to the brink. The Islanders have a long offseason ahead, but for now, let’s have some fun and look at a few players from the last decade that could have been useful in the Islanders playoff run.

Note: this completely disregards salary cap compliance and is just a fun exercise.

John Tavares

John Tavares is one of the most hated former Isles players, yet, no one can argue that his skill would raise this team’s ceiling. Tavares’ fit can be called into question, as one can wonder whether he would mesh well with the hard-nosed defensive style Barry Trotz enforces. Regardless, adding a top-end forward to a team lacking offensive firepower would help Mathew Barzal and company feel less pressure to score. Tavares is not gifted defensively, but in Trotz’s system, one can assume he would be an average defender on this team.

It is well documented that since Tavares has left, the Islanders have gotten significantly better; however, one could argue that is due to the overhaul in management and coaching rather than the superstar forward going to Canada.

Travis Hamonic

The Islanders are a fantastic defensive team, so why not add another defensive stalwart to the backend? Travis Hamonic has had some down seasons since leaving Long Island; however, those seasons consisted of playing for the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. One can cut Hamonic some slack if the team he is playing for is subpar.

Plugging Hamonic into the Islander’s defensive scheme could work wonders. Pairing him alongside Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, or Andy Greene could provide an even better foundation to the blue line than what is already there.

The Islander’s defensive core is a staple in how to do defense right, and adding anything to it may seem unnecessary; yet, upgrades when possible are always a good idea.

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Kyle Okposo

Kyle Okposo has not found success in Buffalo. Injuries and poor play have made Okposo a negative asset in the NHL. This unfortunate reality may not have been as apparent during his time with the Islanders. In his prime, Okposo was a consistent 50-point scorer with the potential to reach 30 goals. For the sake of this exercise, let’s assume that it would be the Islanders version of Okposo that this team would add.

Like Tavares, an additional scoring threat never hurts. Okposo is also a playoff performer. Throughout the Islanders 2016 playoff run, Okposo scored at nearly a point per game pace. Reliable playoff scoring is essential in a deep playoff run, and Okposo could have provided that for the Islanders.

John Smark