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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
The New York Islanders are beginning a transitional season, the first since 2018 without Anders Lee as their offensive engine. Having left for the Utah Mammoth on July 1 against a three-year, $16.2 million contract, the former captain closed a chapter spanning fourteen seasons — 923 games, 308 goals, 549 points, and a captain's armband worn for eight years. To mitigate this void, as symbolic as it is statistical, the New York management is banking on a mix of experience and youth, centered around Matias Maccelli and the promising Victor Eklund.
Matias Maccelli, a one-year addition to convince
Signed for just one season, Matias Maccelli arrives on Long Island with a contrasting resume.
Signed for just one season, Matias Maccelli arrives on Long Island with a contrasting resume. At 25, the Finn totals 169 points in 295 NHL games, including a benchmark campaign in 2023-2024 with the Arizona Coyotes, where he compiled 57 points. Last season, under the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, he produced 39 points in 71 games — a decent output, but far below what the Islanders hope for from a winger called upon to relieve the Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal duo.
General manager Mathieu Darche, who succeeded Lou Lamoriello after a disappointing 2025-2026 season — 43 wins, 34 losses, 5 overtime losses, sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, and a playoff miss — embraces a cautious recruitment approach. Coach Peter DeBoer has also acknowledged the constraints imposed by a salary cap already heavily loaded with the long-term contracts of Barzal, Horvat, and goaltender Ilya Sorokin, limiting the franchise's summer flexibility.
Victor Eklund, the 19-year-old Swedish promise
If Maccelli embodies the short-term gamble, Victor Eklund represents the long-term bet. The 16th pick of the 2025 draft, the Swedish winger tasted the NHL as early as last April, earning an assist in his first game against — ironically, given the schedule — the Utah Mammoth, Anders Lee's future club. Before this first North American experience, he had compiled 24 points, including six goals, in 43 games with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish top division, then added 10 points in 9 games in the American League with the Bridgeport farm club.
In the lineup projected by NHL.com, Eklund is positioned on a promising third line alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri. A complementary role that could quickly evolve if the young Swede confirms the maturity shown during his brief New York stint. His integration into a team that finished 23rd in the NHL for goals scored last season is hardly a luxury.
A defense still under construction
Beyond the offense, the defensive project remains open. The departures of goaltender David Rittich and defenseman Carson Soucy were offset by the arrival of Matthew Kessel from the St. Louis Blues and the extension of Tony DeAngelo for two seasons. But DeBoer admitted without hesitation: his roster is still seeking an additional right-handed defenseman before training camp opens.
The announced return of Alexander Romanov, who underwent shoulder surgery, and the potential full-time promotion of young Isaiah George, a fourth-round pick in 2022 who recorded 18 points in 47 AHL games last season, are among the internal solutions considered. In goal, the Sorokin-Varlamov tandem remains one of the league's most solid, provided the veteran Russian, who underwent surgery on both knees, regains full fitness for the September return. Vitek Vanecek, signed for one year after a complicated season in Utah, will serve as a safety net.
A new face for a new season
The projected New York lineup sketches a deeply revamped team. On the first line, Swede Simon Holmstrom will support Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal; on the second unit, Calum Ritchie and Brayden Schenn will flank Emil Heineman, while Eklund and Maccelli will share the third and fourth lines. All within an NHL that will move to 84 regular-season games, further increasing the physical and mental toll on all rosters.
The Islanders do not enter the season as favorites in a Metropolitan Division where the Rangers, Hurricanes, and Devils have strengthened their ranks. But if Victor Eklund confirms the hopes placed in him and Matias Maccelli rediscovers the touch that made him one of the league's most promising young playmakers in 2024, New York could turn what looks like a disguised rebuild into a credible playoff bid. The answer will come as early as October, on the ice at UBS Arena.