New York Islanders

Metropolitan Division, Eastern Conference · 23 reports in the 2025-26 edition.

This is the 2025-26 edition — an archived read, written from that season alone. Read the 2026-27 club page →

The club

2024-25 · 82 games · 192 for, 209 against

How it played

Shot attempts share, five-on-five: 50.0% 15th of 32
Expected goals share, five-on-five: 49.9% 17th of 32
Power play expected goals per sixty: 6.71 26th of 32
Penalty kill expected goals allowed per sixty: 8.45 32nd of 32

Where the record lies

Finishing goals scored above what the chances were worth: -3.1 18th of 32
Goaltending goals prevented beyond what the chances allowed were worth: +10.0 9th of 32

New York Islanders got 10.0 more saves than the chances they faced warranted — 10 goals of the record that the underlying play does not explain, and it regresses.

Roster shape

Points-weighted, so these are the ages and origins of the production rather than of the sweaters.

Average age: 29.4; weighted by points
From 33 and up: 23.1%; of skater points
From under 26: 23.7%; of skater points
Homegrown: 37.7%; drafted by this club
Continuity: 80.3%; of last season's five-on-five minutes

The read

the numbers, and the eye

Outscored opponents 154-148 at five-on-five and finished 224-260 — a season lost entirely on special teams, and a first overall pick at the end of it.

Who this names 7 of 23 on the roster · 36% of their five-on-five minutes details

Both columns above are searched, and a name counts on the same terms the page links it: in full always, by surname only when one man in the edition wears it. Nothing here says who ought to be named — only who was, so the weighting can be seen rather than guessed at.

Not named here: Adam Boqvist, Casey Cizikas, Tony DeAngelo, Jonathan Drouin, Anthony Duclair, Marc Gatcomb, Isaiah George, Emil Heineman, Marcus Hogberg, Simon Holmstrom, Kyle MacLean, Scott Mayfield, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, David Rittich.

What the Quant Says

82 points and no playoff place, from a club that outscored its opponents 154-148 at five-on-five and finished the season at 224-260.

That gap is the entire chapter. A club that is positive at even strength and minus-32 overall has lost thirty-eight goals to special teams and empty nets, and the ledger says where: 27th on the power play and 25th on the penalty kill, on a roster that was 10th at creating chances, 9th in goaltending and essentially neutral at finishing.

Almost everything else went right or nearly right. Sorokin was 10 goals better than the chances he faced. Pelech posted the 89th percentile. Maxim Tsyplakov arrived undrafted from the KHL at 26 and posted the 84th. Barzal posted the 99th — and played thirty games.

The organisation drew its own conclusions. Lou Lamoriello was replaced after nearly a decade, Noah Dobson was traded to Montreal for two first-round picks, Brock Nelson was sold to Colorado at the deadline, and the club won the draft lottery and took Matthew Schaefer first overall. For a team that was better than its record at even strength, that is a substantial amount of demolition.

What the Scout Says

A competent, disciplined, heavy five-on-five club that could not kill a penalty, and whose best two players were unavailable and unnoticed respectively.

Mathew Barzal changes direction at full pace with the puck, which means a defenceman who steps up is beaten and one who backs off surrenders the zone — and he played thirty games, for the second time in three seasons. Adam Pelech reads a breakout before it forms and moves the puck to somebody who can use it, and he scored no goals on 109 shots, which is why nobody will ever put him on a list.

Anders Lee is the identity: 6-3 and 234, standing in the blue paint, taking 64 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet at a median of 13, and scoring 29 goals at 35 doing it. Bo Horvat is 225 pounds and wins the wall and took 16 penalty minutes in 81 games. Alexander Romanov is among the most punishing defencemen in the league at 22 minutes a night and took 20.

This is a roster full of large men who do not take penalties, playing for a club that finished 31st at killing them.

Who this names 9 of 13 forwards · 78% of their five-on-five minutes details

Not named here: Jonathan Drouin, Marc Gatcomb, Emil Heineman, Kyle MacLean.

What the Quant Says

224 goals and 11th in the league in creating chances at even strength at 2.55 expected goals per 60, which is a better figure than this roster is usually given credit for.

Bo Horvat had 57 points and 7 game-winning goals on 243 shots. Anders Lee scored 29 at 35 with a median shot distance of 13 feet. Kyle Palmieri had 24 goals at 14.2 per cent, Simon Holmstrom 20 on 96 shots, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau 42 points from the third line.

Finishing was 18th, 3.1 goals below expectation — essentially neutral. The distribution is where it gets strange: Horvat's line scored 28 against an expected 50.12, and he scored all 28 of them himself. Mathew Barzal's line posted a 58.7 per cent chance share — the 99th percentile in the league — and was outscored 24-11 across the thirty games he was fit for.

What the Scout Says

A captain who scores from thirteen feet, a centre carrying wingers who cannot finish, and a first-line playmaker who played thirty games.

Anders Lee occupies the crease for a living and is among the two or three hardest men in the league to move from it; the tips are genuinely skilled and everything he produces comes from a space six feet wide. Bo Horvat scored 28 of his line's 36 five-on-five goals, which is the most quietly damning fact in this chapter. Kyle Palmieri has removed the perimeter from his game at 34 and shoots from between the circles the instant it opens.

Mathew Barzal is the most gifted player here and the one who passes up shots a scorer takes — 78 attempts in 30 games. Maxim Tsyplakov arrived undrafted from the KHL at 26 and posted better underlying numbers than every forward who played a full season. Simon Holmstrom scored 20 goals on 96 shots at 20.8 per cent and took 8 penalty minutes.

Underneath, it is honest and thin. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is 180 pounds and plays much heavier. Casey Cizikas is 34 and played all 82. Anthony Duclair is genuinely fast and produced 11 points in 44 games in the first year of a four-year contract.

Who this names 6 of 7 defencemen · 93% of their five-on-five minutes details

Not named here: Adam Boqvist.

What the Quant Says

260 goals against and 19th in even-strength expected goals against at 2.54 per 60, with a 15th-ranked shot-attempt share. An ordinary defensive club that had a very good goaltender.

Adam Pelech posted a 54.8 per cent chance share — the 89th percentile in the league — and scored zero goals in 60 games on 109 shots. He is the best defenceman in this chapter and nothing in a box score will ever say so. Alexander Romanov played 22:18 a night at 25, the heaviest even-strength workload on the roster.

Below them it thins quickly. Ryan Pulock played 21:05 at the 15th percentile. Scott Mayfield finished plus-18 — the best figure on the club by thirteen — at the 24th. Tony DeAngelo signed in December and immediately played 23:21 a night, the largest assignment on the roster, which says more about the depth than about him.

Noah Dobson was traded to Montreal in June for Emil Heineman and two first-round picks.

What the Scout Says

One excellent defenceman nobody credits, one heavy 25-year-old, and a great deal of contract behind them.

Adam Pelech defends with position and timing rather than force and is very rarely beaten to a spot; the first pass is quick and accurate under pressure, and 21 assists with no goals is a man whose whole value is in moving the puck to somebody better. He has now missed meaningful time in four of five seasons.

Alexander Romanov steps up at the line and finishes, clears his crease by force, and takes 20 penalty minutes in 64 games at twenty-two minutes a night — a genuinely heavy defenceman who almost never reaches. Ryan Pulock blocks shots as well as anybody in the league and posted the 15th percentile in chance share doing it. Scott Mayfield is 6-4 and clears the front of the net and cannot play against a real line.

Tony DeAngelo runs a power play from the blue line as well as most defencemen in the league and cannot defend a corner. Isaiah George is 21 and took 6 penalty minutes in 33 games at fifteen minutes a night, which for a first-year defenceman is remarkable.

Who this names 3 of 3 goaltenders details

What the Quant Says

Ilya Sorokin went 30-24-6 with a .9068 and 4 shutouts across 61 games, facing 1,695 shots — among the heaviest workloads in the league. The club's goaltending came in 10 goals better than the chances faced, 9th in the league.

On a club that finished 25th on the penalty kill, that surplus is the reason the season stayed alive into April. It is a good year rather than one of his great ones, and it arrived behind a defence that was 19th at suppressing chances.

Behind him it was thin and expensive. Marcus Hogberg went 2-6-3 with a .8776 in 15 games and Semyon Varlamov's season ended in surgery. David Rittich was signed out of Los Angeles, where he posted a .8859 in 34 games.

What the Scout Says

The best player in this chapter, and nothing behind him.

Ilya Sorokin is 6-3 and 189 and the most technically complete goaltender here — square almost without exception, judging his depth better than anybody in the league, never travelling further than the puck requires. The economy is the signature and it is why he holds up across sixty starts and 1,695 shots. The glove is excellent and the tracking through traffic is exceptional. The rebound control is the ordinary part, and on a club conceding this many shorthanded chances it was punished repeatedly.

David Rittich plays an aggressive, athletic game out at the top of the crease and is beaten by lateral movement more than a positional goaltender would be; the puck-handling is good and the record says he plays well cold, which is the actual skill in a backup. Marcus Hogberg is 6-5 and 232 and takes away the top of the net by standing in it, and a puck moved across the slot finds him late.

Sorokin's ten goals of surplus is the reason this was a near miss rather than a bad season.

Who this names 8 men details

The data does not say who takes these minutes, so there is no denominator to hold this against — a count of names is all it can honestly be. Both columns above are searched, and a name counts on the same terms the page links it.

What the Quant Says

31st at 7.45 expected goals against per 60. The second-worst unit in the league and the single reason this season ended in April rather than May.

The one mercy is the volume: 4:04 a game is among the least shorthanded time in the league, because this is a disciplined roster. Bo Horvat took 16 penalty minutes in 81 games, Simon Holmstrom 8 in 75, Mathew Barzal 4 in 30, Ryan Pulock 16 in 74, and Alexander Romanov 20 in 64 at twenty-two minutes a night.

So the club spent less time shorthanded than almost anybody and still conceded at the 31st-ranked rate. That is not a discipline problem and it is not a personnel problem — Pageau, Cizikas, Pelech and Pulock are all genuinely capable killers. It is a structural failure, and it cost roughly the difference between 82 points and a playoff place.

What the Scout Says

31st in the league, with capable men, on the least shorthanded time in hockey. That combination is unusual and it is not flattering to anybody.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau reads a breakout as well as any forward here and wins the draw that starts it. Casey Cizikas blocks shots and has done this job for a decade. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock take the defensive minutes, and Pulock is among the more willing shot-blockers in the league.

Those are four genuinely good penalty killers on a unit that finished 31st, in front of a goaltender who was 9th in the league. The discipline is not the problem either — Horvat took 16 penalty minutes in 81 games, Holmstrom 8 in 75, Romanov 20 in 64 at twenty-two minutes a night, and the club spent 4:04 a game shorthanded.

When the personnel, the goaltending and the volume are all in order and the rate is 31st, what is left is structure. It is the clearest coaching indictment in this edition and it cost the club its season.

The roster

Evidence 0 Full 20 Light 3 No record

No measured season behind three of them: Marcus Hogberg, David Rittich and Ilya Sorokin. Their pages carry an older stat line and a judgment, and nothing from 2024-25.

Mathew Barzal

C · New York Islanders

A 58.7 per cent chance share — the 99th percentile in the league — across the thirty games he was able to play.

Adam Boqvist

D · New York Islanders

The 8th overall pick in 2018, on his third organisation at 25, with 14 points in 35 games.

Casey Cizikas

C · New York Islanders

82 games at 34 on the fourth line, and a line that scored 47 goals against an expectation of 33.5.

Tony DeAngelo

D · New York Islanders

23:21 a night in 35 games — the heaviest ice time on the club — after signing in December.

Jonathan Drouin

LW · New York Islanders

37 points in 43 games in Colorado at a point-per-game rate he had never previously held, signed here in the summer.

Anthony Duclair

LW · New York Islanders

7 goals in 44 games in the first year of a four-year contract, at 15:03 a night.

Marc Gatcomb

C · New York Islanders

A 41.9 per cent chance share — the 4th percentile in the league — and 8 goals on 41 shots.

Isaiah George

D · New York Islanders

A fourth-round pick playing 15:39 a night at 21, with 77 per cent of his shots from beyond 40 feet.

Emil Heineman

LW · New York Islanders

Acquired from Montreal in the Noah Dobson trade, with 10 goals in 62 games at eleven minutes a night.

Marcus Hogberg

G · New York Islanders

Six foot five and 232 pounds, a .8776 across 15 games, and the third goaltender on a club with two.

Simon Holmstrom

RW · New York Islanders

20 goals on 96 shots — 20.8 per cent, the highest rate on the club — and 8 penalty minutes in 75 games.

Bo Horvat

C · New York Islanders

28 goals on 243 shots and 7 game-winners, on a line that came out 51-38 while the chances said 53-50.

Anders Lee

LW · New York Islanders

A median shot distance of 13 feet with 64 per cent of his attempts from inside 20 — the most extreme interior profile in this edition — and 29 goals at 35.

Kyle MacLean

C · New York Islanders

The 11th percentile in chance share, a line that outscored expectation by twenty goals, and a minus-15.

Scott Mayfield

D · New York Islanders

Plus-18 — the best figure on the club by thirteen — at the 24th percentile in chance share.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau

C · New York Islanders

51 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet at 33, 42 points, and the defensive centre on a penalty kill that finished 25th.

Kyle Palmieri

C · New York Islanders

24 goals at 34 on 14.2 per cent shooting, with 42 per cent of his attempts taken from inside 20 feet.

Adam Pelech

D · New York Islanders

The 89th percentile in chance share, and zero goals in 60 games on 109 shots.

Ryan Pulock

D · New York Islanders

21:05 a night at the 15th percentile in chance share, and 3 per cent of his shots taken from inside 20 feet.

David Rittich

G · New York Islanders

A .8859 in 34 games with Los Angeles, signed to be the backup who lets Ilya Sorokin play sixty times.

Alexander Romanov

D · New York Islanders

22:18 a night at 25 — the heaviest workload on the club among men who played a full season — and 4 per cent shooting on 100 attempts.

Ilya Sorokin

G · New York Islanders

.9068 across 61 games on 1,695 shots faced, and 10 goals better than the chances behind a club that missed the playoffs.

Maxim Tsyplakov

RW · New York Islanders

An undrafted KHL free agent who arrived at 26 and posted the 84th percentile in chance share on a club that missed the playoffs.

How they were used

2024-25 · 78 games

Measured from shift charts at five-on-five, not projected. Units are built from the strongest partnership outward and ordered by how much they were used; the percentage is the share of the first player’s five-on-five ice time spent alongside each linemate. A low number means the club never settled on a combination. Players who have gone are marked — either to another club, or off an NHL roster altogether, which covers retirement and an unsigned summer alike.