Odd Offseason: How the Islanders Embraced Their Break

There was no shortage of oddities that unfolded in the year 2020. For the structured breed of hockey players like the Islanders, the roller-coaster season with a spring pause and summer playoff was capped off with a September through December offseason. Hockey players aren't used to having that time off and being home then was an occurrence most NHLers haven't experienced since their youth days.

With the passing of autumn and entrance into an early winter offseason, players had opportunities to soak up time with family - which was appreciated after two months in the playoff bubble - and enjoy the holiday season. Some, like Jordan Eberle, even had the chance to relive his childhood with the convenience of skating out on his backyard, outdoor rink in Calgary, Alberta.
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(Same goes for Ryan Pulock, who said he turned to Manitoba's frozen lakes and ponds to train during a period where rinks were closed.)
Casey Cizikas, who joined the Zoom availability carefully cradling his newborn daughter, Reese, relished the surplus of time at home getting ready for Halloween and eventually building the excitement for Santa Claus to come with his two-year-old son, Jack.
"I got home [from the Edmonton bubble] probably around 12:30 at night," Cizikas recalled. "Kristy wasn't too happy with me, but I had to go in and see Jack. It took him about an hour to fall back asleep after that. It's tough, being away from them for that long. Holding him again for the first time was definitely exciting."

During a traditional season, Clutterbuck's Nov. 18 birthday would land on a game day or a road trip, but this year Clutterbuck was able to celebrate his 33rd birthday with his wife and three kids. The 12-year NHL veteran also embraced taking on the dad duties that he sometimes misses out on due to his own hectic schedule.
"It was strange," Clutterbuck said. "A couple of holidays we were all able to celebrate, especially being with my family. We had the whole month of December to binge watch holiday movies and to get things done that I don't always have the time to do. It was nice to have a different portion of the year off and have the time to be enjoying things. With the kids being back at school, I get to drop them off and pick them off. It was a really cool thing to be off at a different season."
For Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who joined the Islanders back in February, much of his offseason was spent preparing his move from being year-round in his hometown of Ottawa, to settling-into his new home with his wife and two dogs on Long Island.
While Pageau hasn't had the chance to explore too much of Long Island as he's being mindful of COVID-19 restrictions, he made sure to get a glimpse of the Islanders' brand-new home come this October.
"We haven't had much time to go around the Island and travel much, but I'm really looking forward to it." Pageau said. "We drove once by UBS Arena], but it was at night. We're going to need to go by it again. It looks amazing, they've done some great work.
"It's exciting hockey is back," Pageau added. "We're all coming back and together again."
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Islanders captain Anders Lee - who went back to his home in Minnesota, but shortly returned to the Island at the beginning of October - noted the novelty of this year's offseason of how it impacted his training regimen.
"You try to prepare yourself to peak in your fitness at the beginning of camp, even towards the end of camp or beginning of the season because there's a fine line of burning yourself out and staying fresh," Lee explained. "The first thing was we didn't really know when we were going to start so that was the [tricky] think of trying to plan your timing and skating."
With the 10-day training camp on deck to begin Monday, followed by a condensed 56-game regular season, the Islanders have all made their way back to the Island, even Mathew Barzal, who is currently in contract negotiations as a restricted-free agent.
But despite the varying nuances of this year's strange offseason, everyone is looking forward to getting back into game action.
"Since being in town here in New York, we've done a great job of getting on [the ice] as much as possible," Lee said. "[We're] making sure that all cylinders are a go when we start up here tomorrow."