New York Islanders Case Study

Save for a brief glimpse, the Islanders youngster has been a shell of himself during his second pro season. Already sent to Bridgeport after a couple of discussions during training camp, he has not responded to being called out by Capuano a couple of weeks prior to the end of the regular season.

Finally, the Montreal defense is improved in the sense that it is as deep as it ever has been. General manager Marc Bergevin has definitely put emphasis on defensemen this off-season. The signings of Joel Hanley, Ryan Johnston, Mark Barberio and the drafting of Noah Juulsen and Simon Bourque demonstrates this focus.

The team saw endless potential in Burke, who has rewarded their patience by blossoming into one of the WHL’s premier playmakers. Following a 34-point rookie year, Burke was expected to come in this year and provide depth, and he took that opportunity and ran with it. He’s currently the team’s leading scorer with 20 goals and a staggering 60 assists, and with Giorgio Estephan (BUF) on the shelf, the Hurricanes need him now more than ever. Eligible for this summer’s NHL Draft, Burke may soon find out that an NHL team needs him,

This is a extremely great thing for a struggling buffalo team. As Larsson is one of the bright futures the Sabres have on their roster. He should have a very good season this upcoming

Both teams have drafted and traded for All Star players, but the Capitals’ record of wasting that potential

The Panthers will certainly enjoy having him on board, as he put together a 14 goal and 35 assist season, an improvement of 32 points from his rookie season. Those totals were good for ninth overall in OHL scoring by defensemen, meaning the Panthers are getting a player who is just beginning to realize his potential.

The ‘addition by getting healthy’ thinking is simply not good enough at this point, and may not be enough to get the Islanders over the hump and into the 2017 playoffs. Travis Hamonic was struggling mightily before, how about after 20+ games off? Shane Prince is a nice depth player but nothing other teams are going to fear. Cal

There are plenty of other favorites you could argue for in this article. Newly acquired Patrick Marleau will prove to be a boon in Toronto's salary when the time comes to sign the rookies, and there's almost no way he'll live up to that contract.

After Dmytro Timashov dropped to the fifth round in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, a number of scouting outlets were puzzled by the fall. Playing with

The Nashville Predators have been going through a seemingly endless process since entering the NHL in 1998. It did not take the Predators long to establish a successful and competitive nature among the franchise. Their first five seasons they struggled becoming a team and missed the playoffs, however, they have come together and made the playoffs every year since. The Predator’s on-ice performance was consistently among the top three teams in the league, but still faced many challenges.

General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen attempted to solve that problem during last season when he traded for the young defender Seth Jones. But the team ended last season still needing help on the back end. They now have that help with the rookie out of the University of Michigan Zach Werenski. Werenski has averaged the third most time on ice per game this year while also scoring 13 points in 14 games.

In the third round of the 2012 entry draft, the New York Islanders chose a Canadian defenseman by the name of Adam Pelech with the 65th overall selection. Never projected to be a prototypical offensive

This is extremely depressing news for the Islanders 32-year old center who has amassed 296 points in 534 career NHL games. He is a good possession player and, statistics be damned, he

Although the organization isn't too fond of signing free agents, there are a few urgent gaps in the lineup that needs to be filled up. Mainly, with the buyout of P-A Parenteau, the second line right wing spot is up for grabs. Currently with the team, the right wingers are Brendan Gallagher, Dale Weise and Devante Smith-Pelly. There is obviously space for improvement and a forward must be added before the start of the season, in my opinion.

Erie’s depth on the blueline prevented Sambrook from making the team right away, but the extra year paid off and Sambrook worked his way into a full-time spot on defense. Despite logging very little time on the powerplay, Sambrook scored nine times, all at even strength, and added 18 assists to Erie’s attack. He’s physically assertive with and without the puck, and took advantage of additional icetime due to injuries and WJC obligations during the holiday season.