The New York Islanders have been quiet this off season. And that does not bode well for the near and short-term future.
Defenseman Adam Pelech signed a four-year deal worth an estimated $1.6 million per year. The restricted free agent split time last season, his rookie year, with the Isles and 
the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.
“Adam has proven at a very young age that he’s capable of playing an important defensive role on our team,” Islanders general manager Garth Snow said on NHL.com. “He will be an important piece of our defensive core moving forward and I’m excited to watch him continue to develop at the NHL level.”
The signing was surrounded by a host of one and two-year, two-way contracts between the Islanders and minor league prospects.
GM Snow may be keeping his powder dry for the time John Tavares’ contract renewal. Given the Connor McDavid deal in Edmonton, the Islanders are staring down the barrel of a payday they may not be able to afford. And if they let Tavares go without resigning him it will be even worse in the long term.
The problem for New York is not dissimilar from the Los Angeles Kings from last season. As in LA where the Kings needed Jeff Carter to produce in every game, the Isles need Tavares to drive the bus. The problem is deeper than LA because the Isles have no secondary centermen in the lineup and the never-ending rumors of Matt Duchene arriving in Brooklyn remain that, rumors.
Last season the Islanders scored 2.92 goals per game, good for 10th in the league; they yielded 2.90 goals per game and ranked 23rd in the NHL.
On special teams, the Isles were 28th in the power play at 15% success rate while the penalty kill was substantially better at 81.(% for 11th in the league.
Tavares led the club in overall scoring with 66 points on 28 goals but Anders Lee led the team with 34 goals in 81 games; Tavares iced in 77 games.
Following a slow start to his Islanders tenure, Andrew Ladd netted 23 goals on the season and 31 points. New York needs him to step into the fray sooner this season.
Jason Chimera and Brock Nelson each had 20-goal seasons.
Nick Leddy showed up as a setup defenseman with 35 assists and 46 points on the season and Josh Bailey added 43 helpers on the season to add offensive punch for the Islanders.
Ahead of the free agent season the Isles traded Ryan Stone for the Edmonton Oilers’ Jordan Eberle who is expected to give some support to the club’s offensive output this season.
“Jordan has great scoring depth — very proven, as well,” Tavares told the New York TImes. “I’m sure things will be tried. We’ll see how things start off. You certainly want chemistry with everybody.”
On 1 July 2018, Tavares becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Isles cannot afford to let any contract negotiation get that far or the rest of the NHL will be vying to sign the next eight-year, $100 million dollar player to their roster.
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