New York Islanders- Mathew Barzal
The Islanders are reeling with the departure of franchise center John Tavares in free agency. It’s been a long time since a team has had to deal with a disaster of this scale, but the Islanders aren’t quite doomed. Along with a decent prospect pool, New York already has a new savior already in the works with 21 year old Mathew Barzal.
Barzal already looks like the replacement for Tavares after just one full season. He burst onto the scene right out of training camp and set the league ablaze with his phenomenal skill and skating ability, setting himself as the rookie to beat for the Calder trophy. Nobody even came close. Barzal scored 85 points in his first season, leading all rookies, and finished fifth in the entire league with 63 assists.
This season however, Barzal is now the go to guy on a desperate Islanders team, and he’s doing every thing he can to keep this team afloat. In seven games so far this season, Barzal is on pace for a similar assist dominant season with one goal and six assists for seven points. It’s not even remotely his fault that the Islanders have look meh out of the gates, especially when the talent around him is just that, meh.
Five years from now, Barzal in all likelihood will be the one of the leagues premier playmakers. His speed, hockey IQ, and vision is something to behold, and it’s go to continue to get even better with experience. In five years Barzal will begin to enter his athletic prime at 26 years old, and the Islanders will ‘probably’ have surrounded with talent by then. I think it’s entirely possible that a Hart or Art Ross trophy could be in Barzal’s future, his pure skill is just that incredible.
Losing Tavares is perhaps the worst gut punch in Islanders history, but having Barzal ready to emerge as the new face of the franchise softens the blow. Barzal never played with Tavares, so his departure won’t affect Barzal’s numbers at all. Who knows? Barzal could even end up being better than Tavares five years down the road.