Andrew Gross: Islanders must use sting of missing playoffs as motivation for next season
The Islanders' Kyle Palmieri addresses members of the media during break-up day at Northwell Health Ice Arena on Wednesday. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
This wasn't recency bias.
This empty, sinking, missing-the-playoffs feeling does — and should — feel worse than previous seasons for the Islanders. Because they know how badly they messed up their chances of playing in the postseason.
“We showed all year we can compete for the playoffs,” general manager Mathieu Darche said. “We had a bad three weeks.”
So instead of a practice to prepare for the first round, the Islanders conducted breakup day and exit interviews on Wednesday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. They were gutted after losing three straight, seven of eight and 10 of their last 14 — all regulation defeats — to end their season.
“It stings,” said defenseman Ryan Pulock, revealing he played through a shoulder problem most of the season and a lesser knee issue at the end. “It hurts today or the last few days compared to the past. Where we got ourselves to a few weeks ago and just the fact to find a way to get ourselves in, it cuts deep this time. More than years past I feel like.
“It’s hard to look past that right now because of how much it hurts. If you look at the first 72 games, I think the future in here is bright.”
The pain will eventually subside. It always does as the opening of training camp in September nears. But the missed opportunity should absolutely fuel the Islanders for next season.
The uncertainty is how Darche will reshape the group this offseason and how coach Pete DeBoer — hired to replace Patrick Roy with four games remaining — will impact the team.
“Hopefully we put in some building blocks that are going to help us next September, October,” DeBoer said after a season-ending 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. “But we have a lot of work to do. The guys coming back have to use this feeling that you’ve got in the dressing room and how bad that feels as motivation and fuel for next year to make sure that we’re not in that spot again.”
The Islanders finished in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a 43-34-5 mark, the most wins for the franchise since 2018-19. Still, they’ve missed the playoffs two straight seasons and have not won a postseason series since 2021.
They were 35-21-5 on March 1, tied in points with the second-place Penguins.
“If you’re not [ticked] off with the result of where we’re at today, if that doesn’t fuel you and motivate you to be better next year as a team, we all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and come back and be prepared and be hungry,” said Brayden Schenn, the former Blues captain acquired on March 6. “We all know how tough of a league it is. It showed us the last month how tough it is. Nothing comes for free.”
“We were in a really good spot,” captain Anders Lee said. “The last six, eight weeks were really disappointing. It’s frustrating. It didn’t culminate in a strong finish. That’s a tough pill to swallow. We had our worst stretch at the worst time.”
Lee is a pending unrestricted free agent as he completes a seven-year, $49 million deal and there’s a growing sense he’s played his last game for the Islanders after 14 seasons. He called his exit interview with Darche on Wednesday, “Pretty important.”
Darche, speaking to the media for 30 minutes in the early afternoon, did not rule out Lee’s return next season.
“The way he handled all of this year is outstanding,” Darche said. “I told him I’d love to see him play his 1,000th game with the Islanders. What that looks like, whether we’re able to find something that’s suitable for us and for him, we’ll discuss. The way Anders played this year, I think he can still help us. There’s meetings I have to go through. It’s not going to be anything imminent. We’re going to keep talking.”
Lee, along with fellow UFAs Tony DeAngelo and goalie David Rittich, all expressed a strong desire to return. But DeBoer’s vision for the Islanders should inform a lot of Darche’s offseason moves.
One was already made on Wednesday as Darche announced the signing of undrafted free agent left wing Quinn Finley out of Wisconsin after the Badgers went to the NCAA championship game.
He’ll be one of several prospects looking to impress DeBoer at September’s training camp.
“I feel way ahead of the curve than I would have coming in blind into camp,” DeBoer said of his four-game introduction to the Islanders. “I feel like I’ve gotten to know the personnel. I’ve gotten to know the team. We started to implement some building blocks on style of play.
“Most of my next few weeks the last seven or eight years have been heading into the playoffs. I’m not going to get an opportunity to do that. I’m going to use that as fuel, just like the players, to make sure that we’re not in this spot again next year.”
Because this one hurt more than the rest.
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.
