Puck Drop Preview: 2026-27 New York Islanders
· Yahoo Sports
Last Word On Hockey‘s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2026-27 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team. We will look into the team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how each team will fare throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2026-27 New York Islanders.
February 3, 2026; Elmont, New York; New York Islanders centre Bo Horvat (14) celebrates his game winning overtime goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with centre Mathew Barzal (13) and defenceman Matthew Schaefer (48) at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesThe 2026-27 New York Islanders
For the first time in three seasons, the Islanders will have a new man behind the bench. That man is a former Stanley Cup-winning coach, Peter DeBoer. This move happened with just four games left in the season last year. It came as a surprise to many, as the Islanders were overachieving and in a playoff spot for most of the season. The 58-year-old DeBoer brings a wealth of experience and is expected to implement a more defensive-minded system. This will be a welcome change as the team gave up a lot of grade-A chances last season.
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The 2025-26 Season Recap
The Islanders finished the 2025–26 NHL regular season with a 43‑34‑5 record (91 points), placing sixth in the Metropolitan Division, but missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team was inconsistent, struggling early on in the season but finding its stride mid-season. They were carried by goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who stood on his head while the team gave up the third-most high-danger shots. In front of him, number one overall pick, defenceman Matthew Schaefer burst onto the scene and had a historic rookie season. He was awarded the Calder Trophy unanimously, the first unanimous choice for the award in 33 years. These two were a big part of the reason the team was winning and ranked in the top 10 in goals against.
However, in the second half of the season, the team’s inconsistency started to show again. The offence dried up, and Sorokin couldn’t steal them every game. Those struggles led to a tough stretch from March into April where the team had lost a season-high four in a row and seven of 10 games while getting outscored 37-26. That stretch of losing dropped them from a playoff spot to on the outside looking in. This led to the aforementioned firing of former coach Patrick Roy with just four games left in the season.
2026 Offseason
It was a quiet offseason for the Islanders with not a lot of notable moves. The team that ended last season is pretty much the team that will start next season. They brought back defenceman Tony DeAngelo on a two-year deal. While deciding to bring in one new forward, Matias Maccelli. The 25-year-old forward had 39 points in 71 games played in a bottom-six role last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Veteran goalie Vitek Vanecek was brought in too. He’ll likely be the third goalie and serve as an insurance policy for Semyon Varlamov, who is working his way back from double knee surgery.
While it was a quiet offseason, it also saw a couple of departures. None bigger or sadder than Anders Lee. He has been the team’s captain since 2018 and played 14 seasons for the Islanders. He went on to sign a three-year deal with the Utah Mammoth. This loss will be a big one not only on the ice but off it as well. David Rittich and Carson Soucy are also both gone as well. Rittich to the New Jersey Devils and Soucy still remains unsigned to this point.
Lineup Projections
Forwards
LWCRWEmil HeinemanBo HorvatKyle PalmieriCalum RitchieBrayden SchennMathew BarzalMatias MaccelliJean-Gabriel PageauSimon HolmstromOndrej PalatCasey CizikasAnthony DuclairThe Top Six
The top line will feature Bo Horvat as the centre again this season. He enjoyed another very productive 30-goal season. That number led the team by a good margin. He has been as advertised since joining the Islanders, and he will need another strong year if this team wants a chance at the playoffs. Emil Heineman and Kyle Palmieri join him. Heineman had a career-high 22 goals in his third year in the league. The 24-year-old will look to build on that this season. For the veteran Palmieri, he will be one to watch this season as he comes off a torn ACL that limited him to just 25 games last year. At 35, this will be a tough injury to come back from. However, he has proven in the past that he can be an effective goal scorer when healthy.
The second line features the team’s leading point producer from last season, Mathew Barzal. He was impressive, racking up 72 points in 81 games. He, alongside Horvat, will need to match their play from last year if this team is going to score goals. With Barzal are Calum Ritichie and Brayden Schenn. Schenn came over at the deadline last year from the St. Louis Blues. He provided decent production with 11 points in 19 games with the team. He is expected to improve as he gets more comfortable with his new team. Ritchie showed flashes of elite potential in just his first full season in the NHL. He produced 30 points in 65 games; the 21-year-old will need to show consistency if he wants to stay in the top six.
Bottom Six
The bottom six is where the new acquisition, Matias Maccelli, is expected to factor in. He will look to bring a depth scoring punch the team has lacked over the years. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom would likely join him. You know what you’re going to get from Pageau. He is a solid faceoff and penalty-killing centre who chips in on offence here and there. Holmstrom has turned into a solid bottom-six contributor as well, with 45 and 41 points in the last two seasons. He and Pageau also kill penalties together on a line and do a solid job at it.
The fourth line leaves a little something to be desired. It features the longest-tenured Islander, Casey Cizikas. He doesn’t score much, but he plays his role as a grinder and wins over 50% of his faceoffs. He is normally available as well, playing 82 and 81 games over the last two years. His two wingers, Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair, are not exciting options. Palat came over in a trade from the Devils at the deadline. He scored five points in 25 games and was dropped from the second to the fourth line. Duclair has been a bust since arriving in free agency two seasons ago. He was so bad that he found himself as a healthy scratch by old coach Patrick Roy at times. He will try to prove himself to his new coach this season.
Defence
LDRDMatthew SchaeferRyan PulockAdam PelechScott MayfieldAlexander RomanovTony DeAngeloTop Four
The top pair is highlighted by Matthew Schaefer, of course. The Calder Trophy winner from last season was the team’s second-leading point producer with 59 points in 82 games. He looked every part of a number one overall pick and will look to have an even better second year. His partner, Ryan Pulock, provides good offensive skill while also being on the team’s top penalty-kill unit.
Adam Pelech pairs with Scott Mayfield. These two play a similar style to one another; they are both more stay-at-home defencemen. Pelech, being the more trusted of the two, plays with the top penalty kill and averaged over 20 minutes of time on ice last season. Mayfield plays the second-line penalty kill and only saw 16 minutes of ice time a game last year.
Bottom Pair
Alexander Romanov and Tony DeAngelo round out the defence. Romanov was injured last season, only appearing in 15 games. The drop-off in level of play was noticeable, as Romanov provides very solid shutdown defence whenever he is out there. DeAngelo is a solid puck-moving defenceman who quarterbacks the second power play unit. He has been solid since the Islanders gave him a second chance in the NHL. He was then rewarded with that two-year extension this offseason.
Goaltending
StarterBackupThird StringIlya SorokinSemyon VarlamovVitek VanecekIlya Sorokin remains the undisputed number one goaltender. The Russian franchise goalie finished last season 29-24-2 with a .906 save percentage. These numbers had him finish as the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy. Despite that, he was brilliant and the only reason this team was even in the playoff race to begin with. Semyon Varlamov will back him up if he is healthy enough to do so. Varlamov hasn’t played in nearly two seasons and is coming off a double knee replacement. At 38 years old, who knows what to expect from him? That is why Vitek Vanecek was brought in as a capable backup with plenty of experience. He is here just in case something happens to Varlamov or his play has completely dropped off.
Players to Watch
Kyle Palmieri: Palmieri’s injury was a devastating one not only for him but for the entire team. Palmieri has been an effective goal scorer in the Islanders top six the last two seasons before this past one was cut short. He racked up 30 goals in 2023-24 and 24 in 2024-25. Coming off an ACL injury at his age will not be easy. However, if he can return to form, his goal-scoring production could be huge for a team that missed it last season.
Matthew Schaefer: The kid who won the Calder Trophy was electric and took the league by storm last year. When you have success like that in just your first year, that draws a lot of attention. Everyone will now be watching to see how he follows it up. He will be leaned on heavily by his new coach, and the team will need him to improve on last year if they want to make it to the playoffs.
Prediction for the 2026-27 New York Islanders
After missing the playoffs last season, the result will be the same for the New York Islanders this year as well. The team last year wasn’t good enough to make it, and they did not do enough to the roster in the offseason to fix that. They brought in one bottom-six forward to help an offence that was in the bottom half of the league last year. That factored in with them being in the Metropolitan Division, where there are a lot of good teams, and it will be an uphill battle for them to make it to the playoffs. They will be a competitive team thanks to high-end talent like Schaefer, Horvat, Barzal and Sorokin. These guys will keep them in the mix all season, but in the end they will most likely fall short of their goal.
More News and Notes from Around the NHL:
Mathew Barzal 2026-27 Point Total Prediction
New Jersey Devils Season Preview
Chris Kreider Becomes Free Agent
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images