As Jordan Eberle’s career with the New York Islanders ended, a new opportunity presented itself for Eberle in Seattle. Eberle’s tenure with the blue and orange was notably successful as the team won 28 playoff games. Moreover, Eberle’s clutch playoff performances with the Islanders helped the discredited forward rewrite the narrative about his history of disappearing in the playoffs. Furthermore, the Islanders gamble on Eberle paid off big as he changed the course of his career and proved people wrong.

Eberle’s Early History

Eberle was selected 22nd overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2008. Eberle was thrown into a disastrous organization with coaching and management problems. However, Eberle performed well during the regular season for Edmonton. In five of Eberle’s seven seasons with the Oilers, Eberle notched 20-plus goal seasons with he even had one season with 34 goals and 42 assists in 78 games.

However, when the Edmonton Oilers made the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the 2016-17 season for the first time since the 2006 season, Eberle disappeared. The Oilers played big and skilled teams in the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, and Eberle had one of the worst performances of his career, in which he recorded just two assists in 13 playoff games.

Subsequently, in the following offseason, Edmonton dealt Eberle to the New York Islanders for forward Ryan Strome in a one-for-one deal. The plan was for Eberle to reunite with his old World Juniors teammate: John Tavares. In the 2009 World Juniors tournament playing on Team Canada, Eberle and Tavares combined for 28 points.

Ironically, Eberle defined himself early on in his career with an all-time clutch moment in the 2009 World Juniors tournament. He scored the game-tying goal in the dying seconds against Russia in the semifinals. Eberle’s entire clutch mantra was severely diminished as he left Edmonton.

The Oilers were willing to give up Eberle just for Islanders’ forward Ryan Strome, who had not put up numbers even close to Eberle’s. That is how much the Oilers had lost faith in Eberle. However, at the time of the trade Strome’s career projection was unknown. The Islanders ultimately took a gamble on Eberle, thinking that he would pan out better than Strome and they were right.

Although Eberle and Tavares would only play on the same team for one season, Eberle’s production was not reliant on Tavares. When the Islanders made the playoffs in 2019, Eberle knew the chance to prove his worth would not come again. And, Eberle proved he could be clutch in the games’ most significant moments. Eberle was electric in the first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Eberle’s Playoff Success

In the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals against the Penguins in 2019, Eberle scored in every game as the Islanders swept the Penguins. Eberle notched six points in four games and played arguably some of the best hockey of his life. And, in the following round against the Carolina Hurricanes, Eberle recorded three points in four games.

In the following Islanders‘ playoff run in the bubble, Eberle continued where he left off. Eberle recorded two goals and one assist in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers against the Florida Panthers in four games. Then, in the opening round against the Washington Capitals, Eberle record one goal and one assist in five games. Then, in a seven-game series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Eberle record six points. Moreover, in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Eberle records three points, including a clutch goal in the second overtime to keep the Islanders season alive and extend the series to six games.

Although these numbers hardly show domination, Eberle’s numbers indicate that he is more than capable of performing in the playoffs. The Islanders practically employed a heist to get him from Edmonton for only Strome.

Although Eberle’s career in New York did not end with a Stanley Cup, he was able to change the narrative on his play and play the most meaningful hockey he has played in his career. The Islanders gamble on Eberle paid off for Eberle himself, and the Islanders organization.

Ethan Halle

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.