Adam Pelech All-Star Nod Reveals Isles’ Offensive Woes
Islanders fans and the Pelech Posse got their wish when the NHL announced Adam Pelech would represent the Islanders at this year’s All-Star Game. But it also highlighted the fact that the Islanders are a team in desperate need of offense.
Pelech has scored the least amount of points among All-Star skaters. He has only one goal and seven assists, although his +7 rating leads the Islanders. But Isles fans know that points alone don’t tell Pelech’s story. And that’s precisely the problem.
The NHL consciously chose Adam Pelech over Mat Barzal, the Isles’ leading point-getter. If he’s not good enough to warrant an All-Star selection, what does that say about the offense as a whole? Not to mention neither Pelech nor Barzal would’ve gone to the All-Star Game if not for the league’s policy that at least one player from each team must attend. There are better, or at least flashier, forwards and defensemen the league could’ve snagged. The Islanders simply don’t have a forward with an All-Star-worthy offensive output.
The Islanders are scoring 2.31 goals per game, third-worst in the NHL. The scary part, however, is that this has been an ongoing trend for years. Last season, the team was sixth-worst. They also finished ninth-worst in both 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. No player on the Islanders has scored at a point-per-game pace since Barry Trotz became head coach in the summer of 2018.
That just emphasizes how much Pelech carries this team and deserves an All-Star nomination. Don’t forget that the Islanders allowed 3.07 goals against after he suffered a torn Achilles Tendon in 2019-2020.
If management is paying attention, they should see this as a wake-up call. The team can’t keep defending its way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and this season is proof of that. The Islanders need to find goals and points, quickly.
However, given the Islanders’ track record under Trotz, they shouldn’t panic. They’re a winning streak away from being back in the wild card race. The team had to overcome numerous hurdles in the first three months of the season that fans would likely rather forget about.
No matter how this season concludes, Pelech’s nomination should force the Islanders to re-examine their offensive strategy heading into next year.
Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.
