New York Islanders: 2 Underrated Players To Watch

The NHL has so many underrated players who deserve far more recognition. In this segment, we will be discussing two from every team in the league. Their overall roles and abilities may differ, but they all share the common theme that they are not as respected as they ought to be.

For full transparency, two teams will be randomly picked from a wheel each day. The winners will then be discussed.

Today's first piece will focus on the New York Islanders. As a whole, this team is often overlooked by opposing fans for some strange reason. Yet, over the last two seasons, they have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals because of how well they play. These two players may not get the same attention as star center, Mathew Barzal, but they are still integral pieces of their core.

Adam Pelech D: Adam Pelech has become one of the top shutdown defensemen in this league over these last few seasons. In 56 games this past season, he scored four goals and recorded 14 points. His excellent play on the backend is exactly why the Islanders signed him to an eight-year, $46 million contract this off-season. He is an important part of the team and fans of opposing teams should pay much more attention to him.

Casey Cizikas C: Casey Cizikas also received a long-term contract with the Islanders this off-season. The 30-year-old center will be spending the next six years with the team and have a $2.5 million cap hit. You often don't see bottom-six forwards receive this long of contracts, but with Cizikas, it is entirely warranted. He's the heart of their fourth-line and an extremely effective penalty killer. In 56 games with them this past season, he scored seven goals and had 14 points. He is not there to dominate the scoresheet, but he also had a 20-goal campaign during the 2018-19 season. Therefore, he can be a very solid depth scorer, too.