The Islanders’ Erik Gustafsson experiment is officially over, and it couldn’t have ended worse for the blue and orange.

After the Islanders released him from his professional tryout contract on Sunday, the defenseman signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 60 points with them in the 2018-19 season, but the Islanders let him slip out of their grasp.

Considering Gustafsson’s offense-first profile isn’t exactly what head coach Barry Trotz would want in an Islanders defenseman, fans were surprised when the team gave him a PTO. But he had a pretty decent preseason for the Islanders, which makes it strange why the Isles would let him go.

After Erik Gustafsson’s dominant season with Chicago, he has been on four different teams. The problem with Gustafsson is that he has always been a one dimensional player. He can quarterback a power-play and generate offense. But when a defenseman can’t defend, that’s a significant issue. So he bounced around the league the past three years. But why did the Islanders take a chance on journeyman defenseman who struggles to defend?

This team needs offense and defensive depth, mainly the latter. The Islanders lost a speedy offensive defenseman in Nick Leddy this offseason, so at least replacing him in the depth chart made sense. The Islanders’ defense is also somewhat one-dimensional, albeit in a good way. Having a power-play quarterback and offensive defenseman in your back pocket is a weapon the team could’ve utilized.

The Islanders would like for Noah Dobson to become that type of player, but he isn’t there yet. Gustafsson has proven that he is good in the offensive zone and can be that quarterback on the power-play until Dobson becomes the player we all want him to be. But the Isles let him go.

Even though his defensive play is suspect, it could have improved. Gustafsson, like so many players in the last three years, could have benefitted from head coach Barry Trotz’s tutelage. With the right amount of minutes and the right pairing, he would’ve been fine for the team. He could have certainly reinvented himself as a player on this team.

Were there no question marks surrounding Robin Lehner when he signed with the Islanders on a one-year deal? What about Mayfield or Pelech before Trotz came to town? Players have been reviving their careers on Long Island in the last few years, and Gustafsson had a shot of doing just that.

But easily the most important reason the Islanders should have kept Erik Gustafsson is depth. All the great teams in the history of the National Hockey League had incredible depth. If the Islanders kept Gustafsson on the roster, even if he played in the AHL, they would’ve had eight NHL-capable defensemen on the team. Andy Greene and Zdeno Chara will not be able to play a full season. That’s where having a player like Erik Gustafsson could have been so helpful.

The deepest teams go the farthest in the playoffs, just look at the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Having Gustafsson would’ve given Trotz more options to choose from on any given night. But I guess what’s done is done.

Jack Kobil

Hi, my name is Jack Kobil. I am currently attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC. I am a huge Islanders fan and I love to share my passion for this team.