Andrew Gross: Newest Islanders winger Ondrej Palat delivers what Max Tsyplakov couldn't
Current Devil Max Tsyplakov, left, and current Islander Ondrej Palat were traded for each other last week. Credit: Getty Images/Ishika Samant; Bruce Bennett
Comparing Ondrej Palat and Max Tsyplakov, at this point, is the proverbial apples-and-oranges situation. That’s something Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche recognized fully when he swapped the latter to the Devils for the former last week to improve his team for the playoff push.
Each faced his previous squad on Thursday night at Prudential Center in the Islanders’ last game before the three-week Olympic break. Even in the short sample size since the Jan. 27 trade, it’s clear to see what the Islanders are getting from Palat that they could not coax from Tsyplakov.
It’s also clear that the Islanders, who will have 24 games remaining once the season resumes on Feb. 26 in Montreal, can ill afford to have struggling players in their lineup. For instance, Cal Ritchie returned to the lineup on Thursday after a six-game absence for a lower-body injury with Anthony Duclair sitting as a healthy scratch. Duclair has gone seven games without a goal and was benched for the final two periods of Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime win over the Penguins at UBS Arena because coach Patrick Roy did not like his defensive effort.
That won’t be the case with Palat who, in his 14th NHL season, has the physical presence, the hint of offense, the puck retrieval ability and the defensive wherewithal to play on a top line with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. Palat (Team Czechia) and Horvat (Team Canada) are the only two Islanders headed to Milan, Italy for the Winter Olympics.
Tsyplakov was a scorer in the KHL but the Russian has yet to find his NHL identity in his second North American season.
“[Palat] has been great, he’s such a smart player,” Horvat told Newsday. “He’s a very good complementary player. He might not be the flashiest or the fastest. But his ability to make plays and stay in the rush and make those little plays that go unnoticed from a lot of people doesn’t go unnoticed in here.”
Tsyplakov showed just the opposite too often with the Islanders, struggling to manage the puck and not always directing it up ice. The offensive production struggled along with his defense.
He had 31 goals and 16 assists in 65 games for Moscow Spartak in 2023-24, then notched 10 goals and 25 assists in 77 games for the Islanders last season as an NHL rookie. This season, Tsyplakov had one goal and one assist in 27 games before being traded as he was a frequent healthy scratch.
From the Islanders’ standpoint, they needed Tsyplakov to play more physically and responsibly.
Tsyplakov saw it differently. He believes the Islanders tried to alter his playing style and then didn’t give him the ice time to do so.
“This last year was different,” Tsyplakov told Newsday. “I played not a lot and can’t use my skills. I don’t have a lot of opportunity and chance to show what I can [do] and I’m really upset about this. But it’s a good chance for me here and I need to play hard and show how I can play.”
Tsyplakov said he had discussions with both Darche and Roy throughout the season about what was expected from him.
“Yeah, the guys wanted to look at me as more physical,” said Tsyplakov, who started Thursday’s match on the Devils’ fourth line. “Be around the full ice and hit. Yeah, maybe it makes sense. But I need more time. I know I am a player who can change the game and bring some skills. Maybe it was because of that I don’t play a lot. But I know I can bring some points and skills in the game.”
But it simply no longer made sense for Darche to wait on Tsyplakov’s development.
“Sometimes those things are tough to explain,” Darche said after the trade was announced. “We gave him opportunities. Maybe his confidence was down. One thing I’ll say though and I told him when I called him, I really respected him. It was a tough situation and his attitude was outstanding the whole time. The matchups didn’t click and he had tougher games and we’re in the business of winning games. We had extra players so we could afford to decide to play other players in his position.”
In Palat, Darche found what he had always wanted from Tsyplakov.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
