Okposo Injury A Threat to New York Islanders Playoff Run
The New York Islanders are going to make the playoffs. How long they stay in them depends on how Garth Snow reacts to the loss of Kyle Okopso.
The New York Islanders are no longer leading the Eastern Conference and that does not mean the sky is suddenly falling. The top of the conference is loaded with extremely talented teams and the Islanders have earned their right to be mentioned with the elite. That said make no mistake: the injury to Kyle Okposo is a game changer. How Garth Snow reacts to it will go a long way to determining their playoff fates.
Okposo has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace and is one of the better wingers in the NHL that you don’t talk about. He has been a near miss on the US Olympic teams for good reason and likely deserved to be on the roster. But now he is dealing with a detached retina and the timetable on his return is two months. The procedure to reattached his retina doesn’t have to be successful. I’ve known people personally that have had surgery to correct this problem up to three times because the retina continues to detach for unknown reasons.
This could end his season.
With the threat of Okposo not returning GM Garth Snow will have another opportunity to cement his “GM of the Year” season. First Johnny Boychuk, then Nick Leddy. Now Snow will have to go out and look for a top six winger. If you look at the year-to-date production of the Islanders roster with Okposo out injured, the top four scorers are down the middle (John Tavares, Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen). The next best scoring winger behind Okposo’s 44 points? Josh Bailey with 23.
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Eyes On Isles
The Islanders are listing six centers with more than 42 games played this season with Anders Lee and Mikhail Grabovski bring the remaining two. The Okposo injury is going to give a few of these players opportunities to play the wing and they likely can. But is that in the best interest of the team? NHL players have a highly refined set of skills for their position. There are different positions on offense and changing defensive responsibilities from center to wing. Competition in the NHL is such that video exists on all teams and players and if someone is playing out of position, be it due to injury or other reasons, the opposition will recognize that and develop strategy and tactics to exploit it.
Of course trading a center for help on the wing changes the locker room dynamics and alters line combinations similar to an injury. But what the trade does is provides depth at the position to guard against injuries. Even if Okposo returns this season the eye is fragile and there is no guarantee he won’t have another issue considering how physical a game he plays. One big hit in the corner and he could be right back to square one with treatment.
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One name that could be very interesting for this is Los Angeles Kings winger Justin Williams. He is a proven playoff monster and would be a welcome addition on any roster in the league. Which is why the Kings would be reluctant to move him. But they are surprisingly on the outside looking in and sliding back slowly. While the Kings are far from requiring a complete overhaul the roster will have questions that need to be answered, including how you pay Anze Kopitar whom only has next year left on his current deal.
There will be plenty of players available for the right price. Does Garth Snow want to pay that price and protect his roster now? Or will he be patient on Okposo and hope he’s healthy? Because when he is healthy he is a beast. Or do you make the trade anyway and add punch to go with Tavares and company?
The New York Islanders made waves with their acquisition of defense before the start of the season. Look for them to do it again with a forward as the trade deadline approaches.