New York Islanders: Mat Barzal needs to accept more difficult role this year

The New York Islanders are going to look a lot different this season in many different ways. Mathew Barzal, despite winning the Calder must accept a more difficult role on this team.

The New York Islanders no longer have a lot of things they used to. To start, they are technically without a home arena for 2018-2019, they will have two.

That can end up being a good thing down the road, but they are going to be without many other things as well.

One of them is John Tavares. This is all he will be mentioned in this article but the Isles are going to have to replace his production.

More from Empire Writes Back

One of the best ways to make up for the loss of the man who formerly wore 91 is to move Mathew Barzal up to the first line full-time and let him generate much of the offense.

It is a good thing that Anders Lee is a great goal scorer. That will be helpful. It is also an outstanding thing that Mat Barzal is creative with the puck.

However, the man who scored more points for the Isles than anyone last season will have a much more difficult role.

Barzal is now the biggest threat on the Isles offense. He is going to have to deal with getting the best of his opposition. There will be less people to focus on.

Aside from getting used to all the new line changes Barry Trotz will probably make to focus on defense, Barzal is going to have to adjust to the other teams focusing on him more.

This is not to say that Barzal will not have an unproductive season, he will just need to adjust to what might be more difficult players.

Barzal’s skill set will get him far in terms of how productive he can be, but, as we know, there is another team on the ice he has to deal with.

His speed is going to be tough to match and his ice vision is only going to get better with age, but what he says and who he plays against might throw a wrench in what he does.

That is why having a coach like Barry Trotz is great. He always got the most out of Alex Ovechkin and has an ability to make random players look important.

Overall, the Isles will be better. And if you were able to survive the purge of Lou Lamoriello, then that alone is a sign of talent and potential.

As Barzal gets better, his role will get bigger. He is not going to be able to dominate second lines like he did most of last season. No one should expect as many multi-point games he got last year, he is not a rookie anymore.

Next. 5 most imortant Islander players for next year. dark

So, Mat Barzal can succeed in whatever role he is thrust into. The Isles and their fans should be ready for it to get a lot more complicated under all the changes and with a new focus on stopping him.

Home/New York Islanders