The player empowerment era that has arrived in the NHL represents a test of the hypothesis the Islanders have spent the last year restating in various forms.
They have Matthew Schaefer. They have UBS Arena. They have proximity to New York City without the bright lights and media scrutiny of Broadway.
For much of the franchise’s history, the Islanders have been treated around the league as the Rangers’ ugly stepbrother, the opposite of a destination franchise. Can that change now, when the answer to that question carries serious ramifications?
The answer will dictate so much in the long term. The Islanders need to both build around Schaefer and, eventually, avoid ending up in the same situation with him as Ottawa and Detroit did with their franchise cornerstones. How much of that process is able to take place this summer, though, is less clear.
Mathieu Darche holds the 13th pick in Friday’s first round of the draft, and if he keeps it, expect him to take the best player available.
Predicting who that will be as late as 13th overall is a fool’s errand, but players such as winger Ethan Belchetz, center Tynan Lawrence, defenseman Ryan Lin or winger Wyatt Cullen could be in range.
It seems worth highlighting, though, that the pick is Darche’s most easily tradeable high-end asset, should the chance arise.
In an offseason that so far has seen Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Kyrou — linked to the Islanders ahead of the last trade deadline — traded, Dylan Larkin request a trade and rumors surround fellow Team USA Olympians Connor Hellebuyck and Zach Werenski, the Islanders have mostly been on the periphery of all the noise.
Darche’s two-pronged strategy of trying to make the playoffs and compete as the old guard cycles out — including captain Anders Lee, who, with whatever caveats you want to throw at it, appears likely to hit free agency July 1 — while keeping the prospects who should form the nucleus of a Cup contender a few years down the line means that he must pick his spots carefully.
The Islanders general manager, though, has said publicly he doesn’t find the free agent class appealing. He has some cap space to work with — $10 million to $15 million depending on how creatively you account for it — and plenty of holes to fill on a roster crying out for help on the right side of its blue line and more scoring on its wings.
There doesn’t seem to be an obvious star for the Islanders to target in a trade, especially with Kyrou now off the board, but Brayden Schenn was not an obvious target when Darche dealt for him at the trade deadline either. By the way, here was Schenn the very next day, talking about the leaguewide perception of the Islanders:
“When superstars in the league are good guys that take care of their teammates, guys are only gonna want to be around him and guys are only gonna want to come to the New York Islanders in the future just because of his talent and character.”
At least for the last few years, the trend has been that, though the Islanders aren’t a destination per se, once players come, they don’t want to leave. Listen to how Schenn, Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri, JG Pageau, Tony DeAngelo and even David Rittich have talked about the place.
Schaefer’s singular brilliance can be what moves the perception up a level and makes Long Island a place players ask — no, demand — to go. The Rangers have been making noise for two years about trying to attract Connor McDavid, sounding not unlike the Knicks circa 2010, deluding themselves into thinking LeBron James would ride into Madison Square Garden on a white horse.
Why shouldn’t the Islanders, who can offer McDavid a better hockey situation and less of a daily spotlight, quietly hope he’ll hear their pitch?
Granted, that is a question for after Mike Babcock flames out in Edmonton.
As for the matter of how the Islanders will fit into the flurry of activity leading into Friday, it is a question of opportunity and salesmanship.
