Mathew Barzal has been linemates with Jordan Eberle for the majority of his time in the NHL. When fully healthy, Eberle, Barzal, and Anders Lee frequently composed the New York Islanders’ best scoring line. However, Eberle was left unprotected by the Islanders in the Seattle Expansion Draft and was drafted by the Seattle Kraken.

This was an immediate loss for the Islanders, as Eberle was a key player in the Islanders reaching two consecutive Conference Finals. Losing Eberle cleared enough cap space to re-sign Kyle Palmieri, but Palmieri was never quite as impactful as Eberle at this point in their careers.

As of December 3, Eberle has 11 goals and five assists for 16 points through 22 games for the Kraken; he is the leading goal-scorer and is one point behind Jaden Schwartz for the team lead in points.

Eberle’s start has been better than that of any of his four seasons as a New York Islander. His leadership role on the Kraken has helped him start so hot, although he was already a first-line wing with the Islanders. Unfortunately for Eberle, the Kraken are towards the bottom of the standings, ranking 27th in the league with 18 points.

Shockingly, despite having played only 18 games, the Islanders are even lower in the standings. The 13-game road trip to start the season was not ideal, and the COVID-19 outbreak among the team was disastrous. Still, no matter the circumstances, the Islanders had high expectations this season and are severely underperforming.

When a team is struggling this much, it can be hard not to look at the stars and critique them. Mat Barzal has played every game so far, and his linemates have been changing. For the season opener in Carolina, Barzal skated with Lee and Palmieri. For the UBS Arena debut against the Flames, Barzal skated with Kieffer Bellows and Zach Parise. Eventually, when many Islanders tested positive for COVID,-19 Richard Panik found himself on Barzal’s line. It was just his second game as an Islander.

Barzal, like most of team, is off to a rocky start. He has four goals and four assists for eight points through 17 games. If this rate of scoring were to continue, Barzal would finish far below any of his past totals. With Eberle’s success in Seattle this year and Barzal’s struggles on the Islanders, the notion that Barzal would be significantly better if he still had Eberle on his wing persists.

So the question is: does Barzal Need Eberle? The answer is not a simple one. Clearly, Barzal has been at his best with Eberle on his wing, but many of the reasons Barzal is in a slump to start this season are out of his control. He has been viewed by most as the Islanders’ best player for a few years now and will most likely turn it around soon. 

Barzal is a good enough player to be very effective with just about any linemates. Sure, the Barzal we have seen since Eberle left has not compared to the Barzal that had Eberle, but every member of the hockey community knows that Barzal can step up and light up the score sheet night in and night out.

Ben Kule

Die-Hard Islanders fan and writer from Plainview, Long Island, NY. I have a passion and knowledge for this team and I enjoy sharing that with others