Mat Barzal, New York Islanders ( Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
So perhaps a better center and a few more minutes of ice time at five on five, and maybe the powerplay, could get him into the 60-plus point plateau. Who’s to say that playing next to Barzal, arguably the best center he has ever played with, wouldn’t help raise his game?Īccording to Cody Hagan of Canes Country, Niederreiter “scored 44 points while almost entirely playing on the third line with Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast and averaging just over 13 minutes per game.” Additionally, my colleague here at The Hockey Writers Mack Gordon mentioned, “he led the Canes in both goals scored per 60 minutes and expected goals scored per 60 minutes (1.1 and 1.09)” last season. Just look at Nelson, who popped off for a career-high 37 goals last season after never hitting the 30-goal mark before. But we’ve seen plenty of players improve at 29, 30, or 31 years old. A season that ended in a 1-0 Game 7 loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning proved the Islanders need more of a scoring punch, something Niederreiter has the potential to provide, but hasn’t yet thus far in his career How a Niederreiter Reunion Could WorkĪt 29, it would be a safe guess to say what we’ve seen out of Niederreiter is the type of player he’s going to be. This may effectively mean a reunion with Niederreiter would simply get the team’s offense back to where it was during the 2020-21 season, which would be unsatisfactory for many. Niederreiter and Eberle have similar numbers throughout their career, with the latter topping out at 34 goals in his second season and the former hitting 25 goals at his peak. Niederreiter doesn’t bring that same flash, but could effectively replace the scoring he brought next to Barzal. Mathew Barzal was arguably his most effective next to Jordan Eberle, and vice-versa, as the slick forward managed to find openings in tight spaces to score some big goals during the Islanders’ runs to back-to-back Stanley Cup semi-finals.
#Wow ascension stat free#
Niederreiter has maintained a similar pace throughout his career as a 30-45 point player, and while he wouldn’t be the massive free agent signing or trade the Islanders desperately need to take their offense to the next level, a reunion with him – should he choose to come back to Long Island – could improve their scoring, however marginally.
He continued that trend with the Carolina Hurricanes, but it’s unclear if there’s a return to Raleigh in his future. It took a trade to the Minnesota Wild, in return for Cal Clutterbuck, for him to catch on as a perennial 20-goal scorer. Niederreiter had a faster route to the NHL, but Nelson’s ascension to solid scoring forward took hold a bit quicker. Then general manager Garth Snow chose Nino Niederreiter at fifth overall before trading the Islanders’ 35th and 58th picks to the Chicago Blackhawks to move up to select at number 30, Brock Nelson. The New York Islanders’ 2010 Draft was largely forgettable outside of their two first-round selections.
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