3 Players Entering Final Season With New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are stuck in the middle and will likely be there again this season. They didn’t get a whole lot better and have to make changes to alter the direction of their team. That may only come when Lou Lamoriello steps down as general manager, but if the team makes any changes to personnel, it’s going to be by next offseason. In anticipation of that, these are three players entering their final season with the Islanders.

Brock Nelson

Brock Nelson has been with the Islanders for his entire career and it has been a very good career. At this point the team isn’t getting any better and don’t have the room to. He has earned a pay raise from his $6 million AAV even though he is in his 30s now. For the term he will likely be looking for on his next deal, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Islanders to entertain that unless they are trying to win right now before he declines too much. There may not be any better options down the middle externally, but Matt Barzal and Bo Horvat could easily be the 1-2 in New York and the team deals with getting better on the wing while saving money.

Kyle Palmieri

Kyle Palmieri is another one of the veterans whose contract is ending and just has to part with the Islanders. He scored 30 goals and recorded 54 points last season. That is the first time he accomplished that since 2015-16 and only the second time he’s reached those numbers in his career. There is an unlikely chance Palmieri can do that again or even multiple more times if he’s given another contract. At 33 years old, his age is going to start to show and he may be too expensive or want too much term to warrant another multi-year contract.

Mike Reilly

Mike Reilly only played 59 games for the Islanders last season and as a defenseman playing just over 17 minutes per game, finished 10th on the team in scoring. This is both concerning for the team’s lack of ability to score, but also great for him personally. He may be able to put up another 24 point season, but last season was the most games he played in his NHL career and he’s 30 years old. Reilly should serve as the seventh defenseman this season for the Islanders, but there just isn’t a place for him long-term if he is looking for more playing time. The only hope he has at playing games is an injury to the top six defensemen in 2024-25.