2020–21 New York Islanders season
National Hockey League season
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The 2020–21 New York Islanders season was the 49th season in the franchise's history.[1] It was their first full season in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum since returning to the arena full-time for the 2020–21 season, as well as their 45th overall and final season in the arena.[2][3][4] In June 2020, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum's leaseholder announced that the arena would be closed and seek a new leaseholder, which was found in August 2020.[5][6][7]
| 2020–21 New York Islanders | |
|---|---|
| Division | 4th East |
| 2020–21 record | 32–17–7 |
| Home record | 21–4–3 |
| Road record | 11–13–4 |
| Goals for | 156 |
| Goals against | 128 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Lou Lamoriello |
| Coach | Barry Trotz |
| Captain | Anders Lee |
| Alternate captains | Josh Bailey Cal Clutterbuck Brock Nelson (Apr. 5 – Jun. 25) |
| Arena | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Minor league affiliates | Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) Worcester Railers (ECHL) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Brock Nelson (18) |
| Assists | Nick Leddy (29) |
| Points | Mathew Barzal (45) |
| Penalty minutes | Mathew Barzal (48) |
| Plus/minus | 4 tied (+15) |
| Wins | Semyon Varlamov (19) |
| Goals against average | Semyon Varlamov (2.04) |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada, the Islanders played a shortened 56-game regular season, which consisted of divisional play only, with the Islanders being temporarily realigned from the Metropolitan Division to the East Division.[8]
Fan attendance in home games was prohibited until February 23, per an executive order from Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo.[9] The Islanders reopened Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum to spectators on March 18.[10]
The team made the playoffs for the third straight season when they defeated the New York Rangers on May 1, 2021. This marked the first time since the 2003–04 season that the Islanders clinched a playoff spot for a third consecutive season.[11] They would go on to defeat the division champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the First round in six games. Game 6 of the series was the first series-clinching game at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum since 1993.[12] After defeating Pittsburgh, the Islanders would later compete against the Boston Bruins in the Second round and defeat them in six games.[13] They were reseeded 3rd in the Stanley Cup Semifinals, and competed against the Tampa Bay Lightning,[14] where they were defeated in seven games.[15]
Standings
Divisional standings
| Pos | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Pittsburgh Penguins | 56 | 37 | 16 | 3 | 29 | 196 | 156 | +40 | 77 |
| 2 | x – Washington Capitals | 56 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 29 | 191 | 163 | +28 | 77 |
| 3 | x – Boston Bruins | 56 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 25 | 168 | 136 | +32 | 73 |
| 4 | x – New York Islanders | 56 | 32 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 156 | 128 | +28 | 71 |
| 5 | New York Rangers | 56 | 27 | 23 | 6 | 24 | 177 | 157 | +20 | 60 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Flyers | 56 | 25 | 23 | 8 | 17 | 163 | 201 | −38 | 58 |
| 7 | New Jersey Devils | 56 | 19 | 30 | 7 | 15 | 145 | 194 | −49 | 45 |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres | 56 | 15 | 34 | 7 | 11 | 138 | 199 | −61 | 37 |
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division
Schedule and results
Regular season
The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.[17]
| 2020–21 game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) Postponement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
The Islanders faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round,[78] defeating them in six games.[79]
The Islanders faced the Boston Bruins in the second round,[80] defeating them in six games.[81]
The Islanders faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Semifinals,[82] where they lost in seven games.[15]
| 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semyon Varlamov | 36 | 35 | 2,116:56 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 72 | 2.04 | 1,020 | .929 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ilya Sorokin | 22 | 21 | 1,271:47 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 2.17 | 563 | .918 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semyon Varlamov | 14 | 14 | 797:26 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 2.56 | 437 | .922 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ilya Sorokin | 7 | 5 | 386:58 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 2.79 | 230 | .922 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Islanders. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
- ‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
- Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
Awards and honors
Awards
| Player | Award | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lou Lamoriello | Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award | June 22, 2021 |
Transactions
The Islanders have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.
Trades
| Date | Details | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 11, 2020 | To Colorado Avalanche Kyle Burroughs |
To New York Islanders A. J. Greer |
[108] |
| October 12, 2020 | To Colorado Avalanche Devon Toews |
To New York Islanders 2nd-round pick in 2021 2nd-round pick in 2022 |
[109] |
| December 11, 2020 | To Detroit Red Wings Future considerations |
To New York Islanders Dmytro Timashov |
[110] |
| April 7, 2021 | To New Jersey Devils A. J. Greer Mason Jobst 1st-round pick in 2021 Conditional 4th-round pick in 2022 |
To New York Islanders Kyle Palmieri Travis Zajac |
[111] |
| April 11, 2021 | To Ottawa Senators 7th-round pick in 2022 |
To New York Islanders Braydon Coburn |
[112] |
Free agents
| Date | Player | Team | Contract term | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 9, 2020 | Christopher Gibson | to Tampa Bay Lightning | 1-year | [113] |
| October 9, 2020 | Thomas Greiss | to Detroit Red Wings | 2-year | [114] |
| October 13, 2020 | Austin Czarnik | from Calgary Flames | 2-year | [115] |
| October 29, 2020 | Seth Helgeson | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year | [116] |
| December 23, 2020 | Jared Coreau | to Bratislava Capitals (IHL) | 1-year | [117] |
| December 30, 2020 | Derick Brassard | to Arizona Coyotes | 1-year | [118] |
| January 9, 2021 | Travis St. Denis | to Binghamton Devils (AHL) | 1-year | [119] |
| January 21, 2021 | Jordan Schmaltz | to Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) | 1-year | [120][121] |
| January 22, 2021 | Tom Kuhnackl | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year | [122][123] |
| January 22, 2021 | Andrew Ladd | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year | [122][123] |
| April 9, 2021 | Ken Appleby | from Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 2-year | [124] |
Retirement
| Date | Player | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| November 25, 2020 | Johnny Boychuk | [125][126] |
Signings
| Date | Player | Contract term | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 5, 2020 | Sebastian Aho | 2-year | [127] |
| October 13, 2020 | Grant Hutton | 2-year | [115] |
| October 27, 2020 | A. J. Greer | 1-year | [128] |
| October 27, 2020 | Josh Ho-Sang | 1-year | [128] |
| October 27, 2020 | Mitchell Vande Sompel | 2-year | [128] |
| October 27, 2020 | Parker Wotherspoon | 2-year | [128] |
| November 4, 2020 | Ryan Pulock | 2-year | [129] |
| January 11, 2021 | Mathew Barzal | 3-year | [130] |
| January 11, 2021 | Andy Greene | 1-year | [130] |
| January 11, 2021 | Matt Martin | 4-year | [130] |
| January 14, 2021 | Cory Schneider | 1-year | [130] |
| February 12, 2021 | Robin Salo | 2-year | [131] |
| March 19, 2021 | Anatolii Golyshev | 1-year | [132] |
| April 14, 2021 | Collin Adams | 2-year | [133] |
| May 13, 2021 | Reece Newkirk | 3-year | [134] |
Draft picks
Below are the New York Islanders' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was held on October 6 and 7, 2020, in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing selections from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.[135] It was originally scheduled to be held on June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal,[136][137] but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the conclusion of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.[138]
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 90 | Alexander Ljungkrantz | LW |  Sweden |
Brynäs IF J20 (J20 SuperElit) |
| 4 | 121 | Alex Jefferies | LW |  United States |
The Frederick Gunn School (Connecticut) |
| 5 | 152 | William Dufour | RW |  Canada |
Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 183 | Matias Rajaniemi | D |  Finland |
Lahti Pelicans (Liiga) |
| 7 | 214 | Henrik Tikkanen | G | Finland |
IPH (Mestis) |
Notes
- Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.