The Joke Is On You, Mat Barzal
On Monday Night, the Islanders secured their second consecutive home victory. The 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets pushed their record to 2-2 on a season-long seven-game homestand. They did it thanks to strong special teams play, timely saves and the herculean efforts of Mathew Barzal. His two assists propelled the Islanders to victory. He still is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the superstar forward on the Islanders.
But camera footage of Barzal on the bench during the game tarnished the win. MSG Networks cameras picked up a conversation between Barzal and fellow forward Bo Horvat. Barzal seemed to say the following…
“This place is empty, man. It’s f*cking empty. What a f*cking joke.”
Could be wrong…
But does Mat Barzal make a comment about UBS Arena being empty here? #Isles pic.twitter.com/S19Bfmwucd
— Isles Territory (@IslesTerritory) January 21, 2025
What Barzal possibly said is correct. The place was empty. The team announced an attendance of about 14,500, but there were vast patches of empty seats in UBS Arena. It’s no secret the Islanders struggle with attendance. The Islanders average about 15,800 fans per night at home, the fifth-lowest in the league. Relative to their capacity, they’re still in the bottom 10 of NHL attendance figures.
They’re a small fish in a big pond. In a city filled with entertainment options, the Islanders often find themselves ranking sixth or seventh in New York sports popularity contests behind the likes of the Rangers, Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Giants and Jets. Even then, a lot could’ve explained the low attendance number.
Yeah. UBS Arena is not packed tonight. #isles pic.twitter.com/cyUDmO03AR
— Will Chiarucci (@WillChiarucci) January 21, 2025
For one, the game began at 7:30 p.m. on a Monday night. Families probably skipped this game because it ended at about 10 p.m. on a school night.
The weather on Long Island was atrocious, with snow, frigid temperatures and icy roads steering even more fans away from the entrance.
The Islanders were playing Columbus, another small-market team that doesn’t travel well to other cities.
Not to mention, the game had steep competition from the College Football Playoff National Championship game, which began at the same time as this game. Plus, the presidential inauguration was earlier in the day.
Even if none of those barriers existed, UBS Arena remains inaccessible to a lot of fans because of the commute, obnoxiously bad parking options and price.
What Barzal said may be true. The place was empty, but Barzal should not be commenting on that during a game. It wreaks of entitlement. Barzal is not owed a packed stadium. Because within all the excuses that could be made, there’s one that Barzal and his team fail to do: play consistently good hockey.
At 19-20-7, the Islanders sit dead last in the Metropolitan Division. They hold the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They hold a losing record at home, something only one other team in the East can say (Buffalo).
They’ve embarrassed themselves (and their fans) several times since the beginning of the 2023-24 season. They blew a giant lead to their biggest rival in the Stadium Series. They blew a 3-0 lead in a playoff game, also on national television.
Recently, they embarrassed themselves in their season opener this year, blowing a third-period lead multiple times and losing in overtime. In an organization that knows humiliation, the Islanders have tested the masochism of their fans during the last 16 months.
Not to mention, a lot of fans are angry at ownership and management. Most fans think Lou Lamoriello has extended his stay on Long Island and is more committed to the group than winning. Scott Malkin is nowhere to be found. Fans don’t care about a luxury shopping village. They care about winning.
Back to Barzal. It is hard not to look beneath the surface of his potential comments. Fans of the Islanders know they’re not plentiful. It’s a small, but extremely loyal community of fans.
The Islanders don’t get a ton of primetime slots, nor do they get tons of outdoor game opportunities like the crosstown Rangers.
Lots of fans grew up outnumbered by friends and family of other allegiances. That, at times, was isolating but it made us love the Islanders even more.
As someone who spent many years parading around a vacant Nassau Coliseum in the early 2010s, the comments especially hurt me. I watched the Islanders lose over and over. Endlessly, I watched opposing fans take over the Coliseum and beat the Islanders into the ice. I know what it felt like to be the “losers” of the National Hockey League, as a fan.
And Barzal just (accidentally) told the fanbase how he feels about their struggle.
Ironically, he will benefit from the “small market” he complained about. In big markets, the media would cover this story. Take, for example, the Elias Pettersson and J. T. Miller situation in Vancouver. The media continues to ask questions to related parties, even though all sides insist that the entire situation is overblown. Or perhaps, take a look at the way Toronto treated Phil Kessel during his time with the Maple Leafs.
Barzal should be grateful that he doesn’t deal with that media cycle here. Because if he played in Canada, somebody would have asked him about that comment, and then he would’ve had to answer to the fanbase.
His opinion would be on display, for the whole hockey world to see. Instead, this will fall silent. Barzal wasn’t asked postgame about his comment to Horvat and he never will be. Most in the hockey world will probably never even know about it happening.
Barzal’s on-ice skill is unquestionable. But the struggles of a small market fanbase are real, especially the loyalists who continue to endure mediocrity.
As the Islanders look to climb back into the playoff hunt, Barzal and the team have to earn back the enthusiasm of the fans. They won’t earn it by complaining about attendance, but by winning games. They need to reignite the pride and passion that define being a fan of the New York Islanders.
featured image courtesy of Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images
Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.
