theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
The Islanders aren't as deep as they were last season, but they're well positioned to make another playoff push in 2016-17.
New York won its first postseason series since 1993 last spring, but lost Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and a trio of grinders to free agency, bringing in Andrew Ladd and P.A. Parenteau - solid replacements, but inferior to their predecessors,
That offseason turnover should create opportunities for a couple of promising young players.
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Ladd | John Tavares | P.A. Parenteau |
| Anders Lee | Brock Nelson | Ryan Strome |
| Nikolay Kulemin | Mathew Barzal | Josh Bailey |
| Jason Chimera | Casey Cizikas | Cal Clutterbuck |
- Strome remains unsigned as training camp looms, but Nelson was in the same boat as a restricted free agent last season, and he signed a three-year deal on the eve of training camp.
- Barzal has a legitimate chance to make the team and some are projecting he'll crack the top-six. Parenteau led the Toronto Maple Leafs in goal-scoring last season.
Defense
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Nick Leddy | Travis Hamonic |
| Calvin de Haan | Johnny Boychuk |
| Thomas Hickey | Ryan Pulock |
- Gone is veteran rearguard Marek Zidlicky, but that's good news for Pulock, who should lock down a spot on the NHL club.
Goalies
| G |
|---|
| Jaroslav Halak |
| Thomas Greiss |
- Halak is the unquestioned starter in Brooklyn when healthy, but that's been anything but a certainty over the last four years. Greiss has proven to be more than capable as a backup, and he actually played five more games than Halak last season.
NHL Depth Charts
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY
CAR | CHI | COL | CBS | DAL
DET | EDM | FLA | LA | MIN
MTL | NSH | NJD | NYI | NYR
PHI | PIT | OTT | STL | SJ
TB | TOR | VAN | WSH | WIN
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