The Islanders haven’t had much wiggle room to adjust their roster in the past few seasons. Yet new(ish) head coach Pete DeBoer will take over a core that might be thinking about a mantra of ‘only one more year.’ That’s because the New York Islanders, led by phenom Matthew Schaefer, are still focused on the big picture. It’s Matthew Schaefer’s future that will define whatever this next iteration of the Islanders.
Schaefer’s present reality is surrounded by a veteran core that likely has no appetite for losing. “Locked On Islanders” podcast host Gil Martin discussed the Islanders’ curious position heading into the season on a recent edition of the “Locked On NHL Game Night” podcast.
“We hope Peter DeBoer implementing his system will improve [the Islanders] just enough to get into the playoffs, but the concentration is really on a year from now when the team is projected to have $40.6 million in available cap space,” Martin said. “That’s when I really think you start to see some of the older guys moving out and some more younger and different guys moving in.”
Present Success Won’t Change Focus On Isles, Matthew Schaefer’s Future
Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche made his share of gambles in year one. Some of those gambles, like trading Noah Dobson, worked out well. Even Schaefer, the consensus number one overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, represented a gamble. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defenseman labored through an injury-riddled draft year. He was also one of the youngest players in the draft class. Schaefer was 10 days removed from being part of the 2026 class. Despite his youth and injury history, Schaefer was one of the best defensemen in the NHL last season. He proved fairly quickly that Matthew Schaefer’s future was actually a part of the New York Islanders’ present.
“I was debating, does he play more than nine games in the NHL? By game three, we knew,” Martin said.
Schaefer’s success recently earned him praise as the seventh-best defenseman in the NHL, according to NHL Network’s annual ranking. He even came in ahead of New York Rangers star Adam Fox. Matthew Schaefer’s future appears brighter than ever on Long Island.
“I don’t think anyone expected him to be that good that soon,” Martin said.
Between Schaefer and Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders got off to an astonishingly hot start. An 11-13-0 finish to the regular season, which included seven losses in eight games to end the season, brought the Islanders somewhat back to reality.
But before they did that, Darche made a few more gambles. He acquired winger Ondrej Palat and then center Brayden Schenn. The idea, of course, was to reward an Islanders team playing well in the present.
Must Win in 2026-27?
Martin does not believe this is a must-win season for the Islanders. The team, he said, should still be primarily focused on their future and Matthew Schaefer’s future. Hiring Pete DeBoer, generally known as a win-now coach, was just as much about fixing what ailed the team’s defense as anything else. Under Patrick Roy and his staff, the Islanders were one of just three teams to finish the season allowing more than 13 high-danger chances per 60 minutes at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
The Islanders finished with 91 points last season. The other two teams that finished at the bottom of that statistic were Vancouver and Chicago. They finished 32nd and 31st in the NHL standings, respectively.
“The Islanders overachieved last year under Patrick Roy for most of the season,” Martin said. “But defensive structure was lacking. The reason the Islanders were able to compete was because Ilya Sorokin stood on his head.”
It’s one more season for a core that has been together for a long time. Martin noted that the real prize is in 2027-28 and beyond, particularly with the New York Islanders’ fast-rising farm system. As the “Ice Wars” author noted on the podcast, it’s not a ‘prospect puddle’ any longer. The Islanders’ prospect system is a full pool, seemingly rebuilt in one season by Darche.
Matthew Schaefer’s future, if it lives up to his rookie season, could feature a lot more hardware. The difference between now and then will come down to how much turnover the Islanders’ roster is about to see in the next year or two.
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