At the start of the 2017-18 NHL seasons, the New York Islanders had high hopes for Mathew Barzal. (Can you tell that I’ve been watching the awards ceremony?) The Islanders needed a second line center to lineup behind John Tavares, and the hope was Barzal could be that guy.
After losing Frans Nielsen during the 2016 free agency period the Islanders had a big hole to fill down the middle. And Brock Nelson clearly wasn’t the guy.
After a false start in 2016-17 where Barzal played two games before shipped back to the WHL, we didn’t know what to expect.