The New York Islanders have top-end talent but face significant depth and health concerns that limit upside for 2025-26. Injuries to Anthony Duclair and Matthew Barzal undermined last season, while Noah Dobson regressed after appearing as a long-term piece. Matthew Schaefer emerges as a potential successor but will require a learning curve. The team will need breakout or comeback seasons from Tony DeAngelo, Adam Boqvist, Duclair, Barzal, Jonathan Drouin, and overperformance from veterans like Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri, and Anders Lee. Ilya Sorokin provides elite goaltending stability, but divisional competition and the Columbus and Rangers pose significant challenges.
Right now, the Isles have the top-end talent, but depth and health is the big question. Players who were supposed to be key contributors last season like Anthony Duclair and Matthew Barzal suffered injuries that kept the Isles from being anything more than a patchwork group half the time. Others, like Noah Dobson (now with the Montreal Canadiens) took a step back. Dobson looked like a long-term chess piece
Still, it's hard to like the Isles as anything more than a middle-of-the-road team, and they'll need magical seasons from players like Tony DeAngelo and Adam Boqvist on the blue line, comeback campaigns from Duclair and Barzal, and for newcomers like Schaefer and Jonathan Drouin to play up to scratch. New York Islanders have talent, but are they deep enough? It should go without mentioning that Ilya Sorokin will keep this team in games.
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