One of the challenges that Doug Weight put forth in his first days as head coach went to Nick Leddy. The Islanders defenseman had been getting No. 1 defenseman deployment under Jack Capuano this season but Leddy’s output had been disappointing.
His points per game were down from his pace during his first two Islanders seasons. Worse, the shots for/against rate while on the ice was below 45 percent, among the worst in the league for defensemen who play as much as Leddy does. His top pair work with Travis Hamonic was a bit of a bust, much like the team’s overall play.