Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Mathew Barzal is an All-Star but also a star.
Those two things aren’t exactly the same. When Barzal is on the national stage, like he is this weekend, the 26-year-old stands out from many of the other star-studded names in Toronto this weekend.
Looking as comfortable in the spotlight as he does in the open ice, he glides up and down the red carpet, greeting fans and taking questions from the media. He is affable, relatable, and, most importantly, really seems to be enjoying himself.
He’s an asset to the franchise in that way. The Islanders may not have the largest fanbase, but there are plenty of Barzal fans out there for a multitude of reasons.
He has a unique skill set, is a magician off the rush, and is one of the game’s elite transition players. His point total this season is likely to match or surpass his breakout Calder Trophy-winning season, and there’s the feeling that the ceiling can go even higher.
After John Tavares spurned Long Island for Toronto, Barzal never left any doubt about where he wanted to spend his career.
“I love it here. I genuinely do,” Barzal said after inking an eight-year extension before last season. “I think anyone that plays here knows; I think it’s one of the top places to play in the league.”
The fact that one of the league’s most marketable players decided to stay on Long Island instead of going to the open market was as much a relief as it was a sign to the rest of the league that this could be a destination for stars.
You need a star to eventually attract more stars, and Barzal is just that.
Let’s dive in.
Skills to Trill
The injury to Jack Hughes created a spot in the All-Star Skills Competition, and Mathew Barzal had let the league know he was available if a spot opened up.
Each of the 12 participants could select four of the first six events in which they’d participate. Barzal will join in the fastest skater (which he won in 2020), stick-handling, the passing challenge, and one-timers.
The top eight finishers move on to the next round and compete in a seventh event. From there, the final six face off in an obstacle course to determine the winner of the new formal and a $1 million cash prize.
“It's a pretty good field out there, so my expectations are just to go out there do my best obviously try to put on a good show for the fans,” Barzal said.
“I think it's going to be cool for all the fans to see so much talent on the ice. Look at some of the guys that are out there it's going to be a very star-studded event.”
Lots of Leafs
Barzal will be surrounded by a quartet of Toronto Maple Leafs following Thursday night's NHL All-Star Player Draft. The Islanders star forward, playing in his third game, was selected seventh by "Team Matthews," joining captain Auston Matthews, Morgan Reilly, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
If four rivals weren't enough, one of Barzal's backstops will be New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars was the first goalie off the board for Team Matthews. The rest of the high-powered team is made up of Clayton Keller, Filip Forsberg, and Alex DeBrincat, along with another Ranger, Vincent Trocheck, who was the team's last pick.
Barzal will certainly be cheered as part of the hometown team on Saturday afternoon but will quickly become the opposition as the Islanders restart their season on Tuesday night in Toronto.
Help on the Blueline
In a role reversal from previous years, the clearest area of a need for the Islanders is on the blue line. With Ryan Pulock still on LTIR and Adam Pelech’s status up in the air after taking an elbow from Brendan Gallagher in Montreal, the Islanders’ defensive depth is thin, even after the in-season acquisitions of Mike Reilly and the injured Roberto Bortuzzo. The injuries have forced players like Scott Mayfield into top-four roles more nights than not, and the team’s defense and penalty killing have suffered because of it.
For The Hockey News, Stefen Rosner takes an in-depth look at some defensemen that could be made available, though the prices are likely steep. Rosner writes extensively about the Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin.
The Isles’ assets are limited to draft picks, and if a team like Calgary is looking for young NHL-ready talent, the Islanders won’t be a fit, unlike last year when they put Anthony Beauvillier in the deal that sent Bo Horvat to Long Island.
The other issue, of course, is the cap. Because of Pulock’s status on LTIR and the possibility of shifting other players to it, there’s some flexibility for the team to take on a player with a decent-sized AAV. As Rosner writes, while they may have the ability to take on salary now, they need to have enough space to reactivate Pulock during the regular season.
⏭ NEXT UP: The NHL All-Star Game is set for Saturday from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Mathew Barzal and Team Matthews will play in Game 2 of the afternoon versus Team Hughes. Festivities get underway at 3 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
Deep Dive
Dimitri Filipovic of the Hockey PDOCast, did a Mathew Barzal deep dive on this week’s episode. Filipovic is joined by Darryl Belfry to break down Barzal's game, things that have limited his point production in the past, and adjustments both he and the players around him have made this season.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, The Isles' defense has 53 points in the last 25 games and 34 points in the last eighteen games (8-26-34. The Isles have outscored their opponents 39-31 in the first period but have been outscored 65-49 in the second period and 67-54 in the third period and overtime.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Feb. 2, 1995, the first-place Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in overtime to improve to 4-2-1 on the early shortened season. Ray Ferraro scored his second of the game at 1:43, beating Flyers’ goaltender Dominic Roussel. Defenseman Scott LaChance scored his first two goals of the season, and Pierre Turgeon scored a highlight reel goal in the first. Jamie McLellan made 19 saves in the win.
🎧 Never Say Die Podcast: Islanders All-Star Break with Andy Francess
🔗 How Islanders Lack of Top Prospects Complicates Trade Deadline Deals by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “With no top prospects in a weak prospect pipeline, Lamoriello is going to have to work his magic to upgrade the Islanders before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline.”
🔗 Josh Bailey’s No. 12 Needs to Be Retired by the Islanders by Michael Ostrower, The Hockey Writers “Josh Bailey’s contributions often go unnoticed due to his unfortunate ending in New York. His trade to the Chicago Blackhawks was a sour departure, as he got traded as part of a salary cap dump before getting bought out. Despite this, he has a case to see his jersey raised to the rafters.”
And we leave you with this…Mathew Barzal embracing pop star Justin Bieber
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