Islanders shouldn’t rush their rebuild after surprise season

The New York Islanders had a surprising return to form, largely led by rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer. With a 43-34-5 record, the Islanders finished just eight points out of a playoff spot, and even that doesn’t do justice for how long they were in the race.

So after a step in the right direction, how should the Islanders approach the summer? Should they stay the course of the rebuild, or look to push for the playoffs? Matt Larkin talked on Daily Faceoff Live about how the Isles should be patient this summer, even in the wake of last season’s success.

Matt Larkin: I would say two words: don’t rush. If you look at the progress that’s been made, they’ve really corrected their trajectory. They’ve gotten away from that murky middle denial that we saw at the end of the Lou Lamoriello era.

I think you have to be careful and keep this team young and keep some roster spots open and elastic to make room for the kids. So can you find a way to move out, let’s say, an Anthony Duclair, for example. If you’re going to bring back Anders Lee, your captain, fine, and have some veteran leadership.

But I think overall, especially in that forward group, you want to get younger. You want there to be room for someone like Victor Eklund to crack the lineup, maybe be one of the better, more dangerous rookie forwards in the league next year. You have Cole Eiserman on the way. You want to make sure that Cal Ritchie is not blocked long-term as well.

You only have [around] $10.68 million in cap space anyway. So if I’m the Islanders, if I’m looking to add, which they do need, I think, at forward, you got to add younger. So kick the tires on, let’s say, Mason McTavish, someone like that, that has room to grow into your core in the long term. I don’t think you want to chase an aging veteran, late 20s, early 30s, because you’re moving in the right direction.

I will say in terms of shopping list for Mathieu Darche, you have to consider a more reliable backup goalie for Ilya Sorokin to not burn him out. Semyon Varlamov, he had two knee replacement surgeries this last year. So I’m not sure what his long-term outlook or even short-term outlook is now. I think you need someone more reliable there.

So I’d say backup goalie, look at a younger forward, but don’t force it. Don’t get too old with this roster.

You can watch the whole episode here…