New York Islanders: Why the Islanders Will Become a Contender for Years to Come

The New York Islanders are on the rise. There is no question about that. They have the pieces in place to become a contender year in and year out. But, are they ready to take the next step?

I've really been compelled to write this for a while now after seeing so many negative comments about this team. People keep asking "are the Islanders going to be the real deal?" It's defiantly a fair question. Why should anyone believe in the Islanders after what has happened in the previous years? What makes them a possible contender? I'm very surprised by the amount of people that don't think the Islanders will be good.

This team has been growing together for a few years now and I see improvements every game. The Islanders have drafted players like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo who have instantly contributed. While doing that, they also added players like Matt Moulson and Michael Grabner, who both were projected as nothing more then average players. Both have gone on to score 30 plus goals. While all this was going on, they added veterans like Doug Weight and Mark Striet and more recently Marty Reasoner and Brian Rolston.

All teams that contend every year have one thing in common. They all have a good mix of young talent and veteran leadership. The Islanders have this.

What is scary about the Islanders in the future are the number of top prospects they have. Imagine having guys like Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Strome and Calvin de Haan playing on the same team for years. Maybe add other talented prospects to the mix like Kirill Kabanov and Casey Cizikas.

There is no question that the Islanders are a talented team with a lot of potential. But, how will they get into the playoffs?

The Isles play in the toughest division in the NHL. The Penguins, Flyers, Rangers and Devils are teams that usually will make the playoffs every year. That makes up half of the teams in the Eastern Conference that make the playoffs. The Washington Capitals make the playoffs along with the Boston Bruins. That's six teams right there that contend almost every year.

People ask "how are the Islanders going to jump past these teams?". Do they not realize that teams improve and get better? How did the Chicago Blackhawks become a top team in the West? How did the Pittsburgh Penguins go from nothing to a Stanley Cup champion team? They got better then everyone else. Why can't the Isles do that? They have the pieces in place

I really have a hard time understanding why people say they can't be good. As mentioned before, they have some of the best talent in the NHL. They have more players coming up through the system that should help out a lot. The offense is actually one of the better ones in the league. All these things are the perfect mix for success.

Now, the Islanders do have holes in their team. While their offense is one of the better ones in the league, their defense is not. It has seen injuries the past few season that really have hurt the team (losing Mark Streit for the whole season was the latest blow to the defense). Add to that the inexperience of some of the players and you don't get a good outcome.

But there is reason to believe the defense can improve. Players like Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic have played great with the Islanders. Also, with prospects like Calvin de Haan, Matt Donovan and 2011 34th overall pick Scott Mayfield, there is reason to believe the defense will improve very shortly.

Another question, and maybe the biggest, is the goaltending. Even though Rick DiPietro is injured, the Islanders are surprisingly deep at the position. Al Montoya played very well last season. Along with him, rookie Kevin Poulin was also impressive. Mikko Koskinen played alright for the Islanders also, If they don't work out, the Isles have Anders Nilsson, a prospect that I think is very underrated. There's no reason to believe the Isles can have good goaltending very soon.

Of course this team has off the ice issues. But I made the comparison earlier with the Penguins. The Penguins were in a very similar spot around the time of the lockout. They were on the brink of relocation and had little hope. What did they do? They only won the Stanley Cup a few years later.

Why can't the Islanders do that? Why can't they be a top team? They have the pieces in place to be something that is worth watching. This team will be good. Give them some time. I really believe this team has the potential to do some amazing things in a few years. To think that they will never be good is crazy.

The Islanders will be contenders. Maybe not this season. Maybe not the next. But mark my words, this team will be great for years to come.