Season Preview: 3 questions facing the Islanders
theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
The New York Islanders' biggest question might be where they ultimately end up playing, but the organization has a few more immediate matters when it comes to the on-ice product.
It was a disappointing summer for general manager Garth Snow, who watched productive winger and longtime Islander Kyle Okposo sign a seven-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1.
Frans Nielsen also bolted on the opening day of free agency, signing a six-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.
After a season in which New York won its first playoff series in 23 years but failed once again to make a deep postseason run, several concerns remain.
Here are three questions facing the Islanders as they head into the 2016-17 campaign:
Can the new arrivals offset the departures?
The Islanders will have a new-look top line this season, and it will likely feature Andrew Ladd and P.A. Parenteau on either side of captain John Tavares.
New York got older when it signed 30-year-old Ladd and 33-year-old Parenteau, and while the team certainly could have done worse, it will be tough to replicate the steady production provided by Okposo and Nielsen.
Ladd scored 25 goals in a season split between the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks, but he had his worst non-lockout campaign points-wise in six years. Parenteau led the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring -- with 20 goals.
The Islanders also added 37-year-old forward Jason Chimera, who scored 20 of his own with the high-octane Washington Capitals last season, but how much he has left in the tank remains to be seen.
Can Halak finally figure out how to stay healthy?
If the last few years of Jaroslav Halak's career are any indication, the chances of him staying off injured reserve don't look good. The starting goaltender's health, however, will once again be integral to New York's success.
Halak played only 36 games in 2015-16, missing the entire postseason with a nagging groin injury suffered in March.
Thomas Greiss is one of the best backup netminders in the league, but the Islanders need a healthy Halak if they want to play in June.
What will they get from Ryan Strome?
The 2011 fifth overall pick took a significant step backward in his sophomore season, managing only eight goals and 28 points in 71 games.
New York had high hopes for Strome, who posted 17 goals and 50 points in his first full campaign with the Islanders two seasons ago.
The 23-year-old was a healthy scratch multiple times in both the regular season and the playoffs, and he was even sent down to the AHL for an eight-game stint.
Strome, a restricted free agent, is still without a contract as the preseason looms. Assuming he signs and reports to camp, he'll need to rediscover the form that he showed for the Islanders in 2014-15 and for the OHL's Niagara IceDogs, with whom he authored three straight 30-plus-goal seasons.