A Pause Now For Islanders Duclair

The 29-year-old is taking an indefinite leave of absence.

EAST MEADOW, NY — It’s been a trying season for forward Anthony Duclair in his first year on Long Island. The Islanders’ top free agent signing, who put pen to paper on a four-year deal worth $3.5 million on July 1, fell victim to a groin injury in game five of the regular season, missing the next 28 games.

Upon his return, the 29-year-old didn’t look 100 percent, and he wasn’t. He told us that on the morning of Jan. 16:

“It's tough. Yeah, it's tough. I try my best. But yeah, my game is based on speed, especially with the way I skate; a lot of power and obviously using a lot of my legs. So, with my injury, I think it was tough to come back, and I'm still feeling it. But I'm not using that as an excuse at all. I just need to play better."

Unfortunately for Duclair, he was never able to get to his game, with just five goals and three assists over the last 39 games.

And now, we do not know if we will see him at any point in the final eight games of the regular season as he is taking some time away from the team to “reflect”, per head coach Patrick Roy.

“This morning, Anthony and I had a very good conversation, a very positive one, and Anthony asked me to take some time off and reflect. So, obviously, I agreed to that, and we'll give him all the time that he needs.”

This news came a few days after Roy unloaded on him following their 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.