In 2025/26, the New York Islanders took a huge leap forward behind a standout performance from Matthew Schaefer, and this year, they’re hoping to take a similar step.
Unfortunately, injuries play a major role in all sports, and for the Islanders, that’s already an issue before the season has begun, as the often-injured Mathew Barzal has been an issue for them in previous years. Last year, Barzal appeared in 81 games, but in two of the three prior seasons, the talented forward appeared in 60 or fewer games, and given the firepower he provides, they need him close to 100%.
With New York’s season opener slated for Wednesday on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s still no definitive answer on Barzal’s status. In their latest release with NHL.com, the Islanders have provided a promising update on the 29-year-old, revealing that he’ll travel with the team to Toronto but won’t skate for the first time until the morning of the game, with the team not yet ruling him out.
Early in the process of training camp, Barzal reportedly aggravated a previous injury, causing inflammation, and at the time, GM Mathieu Darche revealed it could be a little more or a little less than two weeks until he returns to the ice.
As a result, his status for opening night has been up in the air, and with promising young rookie Cole Eiserman and others pushing for a spot in the lineup in place of Barzal if he is indeed out, there's still no indication one way or another on how this will play out.
Even with Barzal in the lineup, the Islanders ranked 25th in the NHL in scoring with 2.79 goals per game, and while they improved their future with another solid off-season, the team could be limited offensively again without elite-level depth up front. However, without Barzal, this team would be much, much worse, as he tallied 19 goals and 72 points in 81 games, representing the third-highest point total in a single season in his career, with that mark being 13 points higher than any other Islanders player.
When he was asked about Barzal's absence from the lineup, recently acquired veteran Brayden Schenn made it clear that it's not going to be easy to replace Barzal, and it's not a role that one player can fill if he does miss several games.
"It's not going to be one guy turning into Mat Barzal," said Schenn.
During the 2025/26 campaign, the Islanders finished the season with a record of 43-34-5, missing out on a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot in the East by eight points, as the team would ultimately falter at season's end. This year, hopes are high, and with Barzal's status up in the air right now, it becomes even more obvious how critical he is to any potential success they'll experience in 2026/27.
As of right now, fans will need to wait patiently, as the organization likely won't announce his status until the hours preceding the Islanders' opening-night matchup in Toronto, but given how the expectations have risen with this group in the past 18 months, the organization will be desperately hoping he's close enough to 100% to be on the ice.