by Roger Quinn

Created on: August 13, 2010

Youth rules on Long Island.  And with very serious talks of moving the team if the Islanders can not get a new arena or more fan support the new players need to step up their games in a big way.  John Tavaras had a good rookie season, but it was clear that he could not handle a full 82 game season.  The Islanders look like a team that is still a couple years away.

They Isles have very little offense once you get past their first line.  Perhaps Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau can step up into the 25 goal range but this is a lot to ask of two young players in just one year.  If they can the Islanders will have two solid scoring lines, though the probable thing is that they score around 20 goals a piece and the top line will have to carry the load.  Behind the first two lines there is no offense.  The third and fourth lines will have to play solid defense and still will have plus/minus tallies that look like a PGA leaderboard on Sunday.

Defensively the Islanders really helped themselves with the addition of James Wisniewski.  He is a young defensemen who averaged over 26 minutes per game last season.  He will be able to cover for a couple of weaker defensemen down the roster.  Mark Eaton, another off-season addition, gives the Isles a top defensive pairing to compete with the suddenly solid defenses in the east.  The Islanders biggest problem is their division.  They will have to face Gaborik, Crosby, Malkin, Parise, Zajac, Ricards, Briere, Giroux, and maybe even Kovalchuk on a regular basis.  Any defensive weaknesses will be very quickly exposed.

In net Rick DiPietro has to become the goalie that the Islanders thought they drafted.  He has to be healthy enough to start 55-65 games and he should have a save percentage above .910.  I know that is a lot to ask of any goalie, but he was drafted number one overall and is signed for the rest of his prime for huge dollars.  Everybody knows he has the natural ability and the mental toughness.  He just needs to get healthy.

The Islanders are building a very nice team.  James Wisniewski, John Tavras, Kyle Okposo, and Matt Moulson are building blicks for the future.  Give the Isles a couple more years and a big free agent signing or two and they will be a force to be reckoned with in the east.

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