2015 Pool Projections: Long Island

As long as John Tavares is healthy and on the ice for the New York Islanders, the team remains one of the more intriguing squads in the NHL, even in a hockey pool sense. No matter how "crazy" the ownership/management situation seems to be, it is undeniable that this team has improved over the last few seasons, thanks in large part to Tavares, but building around him has gone well too.

Injuries were the biggest problem for the Islanders in 2014, losing their best players at the Sochi Olympics and then numerous goaltending injury concerns, which turned a promising year before the Olympic Break into a tailspin into the off-season.

Assuming all goes well on the injury front for the Islanders, I think the moves that were made, will make this team into a wild card contender and I think that could translate into some reasonable hockey pool numbers from this team.  I believe the projections will speak to that as well.

Forwards	14/15 Proj	Cap Hit	Defense	14/15 Proj	Cap Hit	Goaltenders	14/15 Proj	Cap Hit
John Tavares	85	5.500	Lubomir Visnovsky	35	4.750	Jaroslav Halak	75	4.500
Kyle Okposo	70	2.800	Thomas Hickey	30	0.675	Chad Johnson	20	1.300
Frans Nielsen	60	2.750	Calvin de Haan	25	1.967	Kevin Poulin	5	0.650
Josh Bailey	45	3.300	Travis Hamonic	20	3.857
Michael Grabner	45	3.000	Brian Strait	15	0.775
Mikhail Grabovski	40	5.000	Matt Carkner	5	1.500
Ryan Strome	40	0.863
Brock Nelson	30	0.900
Nikolai Kulemin	20	4.188
Cal Clutterbuck	15	2.750
Eric Boulton	15	0.650
Colin McDonald	15	0.638
Casey Cizikas	15	1.000
Matt Martin	10	1.000
COUNT		14	COUNT		6	COUNT		3
SUBTOTAL		33.338	SUBTOTAL		13.524	SUBTOTAL		6.450
						BUYOUTS & OTHER		2.204
						TOTAL		55.516
			PLAYERS		23	CAP SPACE		13.484
Anders Lee	30	0.851	Griffin Reinhart	20	0.863
Cory Conacher	25	0.600	Kevin Czuczman	10	0.925
Jack Skille	10	0.750	Matt Donovan	10	0.827
Mike Halmo	5	0.864	Aaron Ness	5	0.827
Johan Sundstrom	5	0.770
Harry Zolnierczyk	5	0.650
John Persson	5	0.627

First Round Picks

This team has the potential to have two opening round picks this sesaon, given a 24-team hockey pool draft, like last year.  The given pick is Tavares, but if there is more belief in the hockey pool, that the Islanders could be a wild card playoff team, then that means Jaroslav Halak will have to be playing at a rate where his points on the year will be good enough for being picked early in the draft.

Most Intriguing or Breakout Player

If Halak is worthy of being a 1st round pick in the draft, then that, to me, makes him the most intriguing player on this Islanders team.  Halak has bounced around in the NHL, usually failing to usurp a position as the number one keeper on a team, be it Montreal, St. Louis or Washington.  I think the fact that the Islanders have only signed on career back-ups behind Halak is the best sign that the 29-year old Slovak will have himself a career year.

Other Pool Worthy Forwards

Looking at the Islanders on paper, they are likely going to throw the kitchen sink at this season, trying to push for that playoff spot.  They have acquired some more depth up front, which could translate into some more pool points from Long Island.  Kyle Okposo will try to show the rest of the league that his breakout year was not a fluke, Frans Nielsen should quietly go about a good season, while Josh Bailey and Michael Grabner will attract some attention from us poolies as well, possibly breaking out more than their initial projections.  If you're looking for some good depth players, this could be a good place to look.

Other Pool Worthy Defense

The defense does give a cause for concern, especially since their number one guy, Lubomir Visnovsky, is coming off a concussion-marred year, where he was still having some problems at the end of April.  I don't think he'll be quite the same, but he will definitely give it a go.  Thomas Hickey has finally came around from being a junior standout to an everyday defender in the NHL and his talent will earn him some points.  Calvin de Haan is still waiting for his every day job, but he came pretty close in 2014, playing in 51 games.  This could be his year.

Goaltending Situation

Halak is on top, no question, so the debate rages on... who will back him up?  The Islanders went out and signed Chad Johnson, who had a great year in Boston and they will give a shot to Kevin Poulin, who played last season on the island.  Johnson will have the upper hand going into camp, but I wouldn't count out seeing Poulin at some point during the year.  Johnson will be a decent back-up option, if you missed out on the starters.

Team To Pick From Late?

The Islanders may see some picks late, more so by default.  The big guys will go relatively early, but there should be some guys left in the depth positions for you to choose from.  I think this team goes all out in the 2015 season and they might surprise with some points in unexpected places.  Take a chance.

Unsigned Players and Salary Cap

The Islanders have no one left to sign and their projected roster does have 23 players on it currently, although the goaltending race may need to be clipped, since they will probably want to hold seven defenders.  However, for our purposes today, we'll call it according to this 23-man roster and the distinction for this team is that they are still a budget franchise.  Only $5.5 million above the salary cap floor, the Islanders are in no danger of going in the red financially.

Injuries

It sounds like Visnovsky is clear of his concussion and is ready to get back to it.  The Islanders should be clear of any injury concerns going into training camp.