NHL division previews: 2017-18 Metropolitan Division

7th in 2017-18 Metropolitan Division – New York Islanders

Much like the rather precarious situation the Islanders are going through right now, they don’t have a ton of hope in a strong Metro Division to seriously challenge for the playoffs. They have elite talent like John Tavares, and a few other good pieces, but it doesn’t look enough to make a push for the playoffs in 2017-18.

In an effort to give Tavares some help with the point production, the Islanders traded Ryan Strome for Jordan Eberle. This was widely viewed as a good deal. Strome hasn’t had the type of development the Islanders had hoped for, and last season was his worst yet.

Strome had his worst CF% of his career last season, coming in at 45.39, which was the only time he has been below 50. His average production can’t really be attributed to bad luck either, as his 0.999 PDO is just 0.001 below average.

Needless to say, the move for Eberle was a smart one for the Islanders.

On the back end things like okay, at best. The top six defensemen for the Islanders is made up of Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuck, Calvin de Haan, Dennis Seidenberg, Adam Pelech and Thomas Hickey. The seventh defenseman is likely to be Ryan Pulock. This is a serviceable group, but not much else.

In between the pipes it is the same as last year. Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak are back, and very likely to have an almost even split in starts throughout the season. Both can perform well, but it will be interesting to see if either can lock down the starting position in 2017-18.

Player to watch in 2017-18: Jordan Eberle. Eberle comes to the Islanders with the reputation of being a good supporting cast for star players. The Islanders will be hoping he can take another step forward and become the sidekick to Tavares.