When the New York Islanders let go of Jordan Eberle in the Seattle expansion draft, I was excited. This meant Kyle Palmieri was sticking with the Islanders after a magnificent run during the NHL playoffs with seven goals and two assists in 19 playoff games.

Palmieri played on a line with J-G Pageau through the regular season and playoffs, and head coach Barry Trotz often complimented the chemistry they had. Both were veterans who were defensively responsible and could score 20 goals per season. But we’ve yet to see those two play together regularly this season.

At the start of the year, we saw a line of Lee, Barzal and Palmieri, which was incredibly ineffective. Soon after, Palmieri dropped down to the second line and Josh Bailey took his spot. Still, both lines continued to struggle.

So why won’t Palmieri return to the third line? The line was highly efficient in the playoffs last season and was steady in the defensive zone too.

Trotz praised them during the team’s playoff run.

“I think that’s why a guy like [Pageau] has had success in the playoffs because he loves the challenge of that moment of battling you,” Trotz said. “It’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder because he’s not the biggest guy and I think [Palmieri] has that in his game. When he played against us, the thing I liked about Palms was that he had a bit of that edge, especially when you tried to be hard on him.”

Palmieri and Pageau combined for 21 points during the playoffs and had a combined +14 rating. Additionally, Zach Parise has had great chemistry with Pageau and could slot into the role Travis Zajac was filling on Palmieri and Pageau’s left side.

The Islanders have set Kyle Palmieri up for failure by throwing him around the lineup and not making the simple decision to keep him where he thrived a few months ago. A line of Palmieri, Pageau and Parise would create havoc for top lines around the league with a relentless forecheck, goal scoring and responsible defensive zone play.

This would also allow Oliver Wahlstrom to reach his full goal-scoring potential by taking a spot on Mathew Barzal’s wing and dropping Josh Bailey back down to the second line. Don’t forget that he, Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson were also terrific last summer.

Fans have the right to criticize Palmieri’s play this year but him playing with Pageau could create a spark to get him back to playoff pace.

John Smark