Despite general manager Mathieu Darche not tweaking the roster much this offseason — we’ve discussed why numerous times — that doesn’t mean he’s not hoping for his New York Islanders to be competitive and fight for a playoff spot in 2026-27.
You don’t bring in Pete DeBoer with four games to go, plus three more years at one of the top premiums in the league, if the goal isn’t to be competitive.
There’s also DeBoer’s track record, especially in his first year with new teams.
His first NHL head-coaching job came with the Florida Panthers, where he missed the playoffs in Year 1. Since then, his first seasons in New Jersey, San Jose and Vegas all ended in playoff berths, with the Devils and Sharks reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
He also made it to the Western Conference Final in his first season with Vegas.
No, he didn’t win with any of those teams, and whether he can come anywhere close to continuing that trend with the Islanders remains to be seen.
Despite what the sports books say, everyone has the same odds to win it all ahead of game one of the regular season.
But we did get a four-game glimpse at the end of last season of what DeBoer wants his Islanders to look like, to play like.
And while four games are far too small a sample to draw any definitive conclusions, there were some noticeable trends.