The Islanders were a huge surprise last season, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs and sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round despite losing their captain John Tavares to the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency on July 1, 2018. This offseason, New York re-signed its captain Anders Lee, along with forwards Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson, keeping together the core that had success in its first season under coach Barry Trotz. Although Lee's goal total dipped a bit last season (40 to 28), he is still 13th in the NHL in that category over the past three seasons (102), and that shouldn't change with his exposure to center Mathew Barzal and Eberle on the top line. Eberle, who had a strong showing in the playoffs (nine points in eight games), could be in line for a bounce-back season.
The Islanders also improved in net by signing Semyon Varlamov from the Colorado Avalanche. He is a veteran No. 1 goalie whose play last season wasn't as bad as it seemed. Although Philipp Grubauer excelled down the stretch and started for the Avalanche in the playoffs, he struggled for the majority of the season, and it was Varlamov who kept Colorado in the postseason hunt. Through Feb. 28, Varlamov had a 2.80 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and two shutouts, and Grubauer had a 3.26 GAA and .896 SV% and one SO. Colorado's penalty kill ranked 25th in the NHL (78.7 percent), and the Avalanche allowed the 12th most shots per game (31.9), neither of which helped Varlamov's cause. Working with Mitch Korn (director of goaltending) and Piero Greco (goaltending coach) in Trotz's defensive system -- New York allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (191) last season after allowing the most (293) in 2017-18 -- can only help as well.
Although Lehner is coming off a breakout season, his NHL career numbers were similar to Varlamov's before signing with New York. Lehner had a .915 SV% and 2.82 GAA in 219 games prior to signing with the Islanders, including three seasons playing for a weak defensive team in the Buffalo Sabres. Varlamov has a .916 SV% and 2.68 GAA in 448 career games, and the Avalanche have also struggled defensively in recent years. Varlamov, a capable No. 1 goalie in the past, could be just as good, if not better, than Lehner was with the Islanders last season. Varlamov, who will compete for the starting job with Thomas Greiss, was a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2014, and his connection with Russian goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin makes this signing even more intriguing for the long term. Especially after offseason improvements for the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division, the Islanders will likely be overlooked again in fantasy.
