New York Islanders Mathew Barzal Potential Outcomes For 2017-18

New York Islanders prospect Mathew Barzal is once again this offseason the center of much debate as to where he fits in the Isles plans. As we wait for October lets go over a few likely scenarios.

There isn’t a prospect in the New York Islanders pipeline that’s more coveted than Mathew Barzal. He’s young, incredibly promising, and he plays center.

It’s exactly what the New York Islanders need right now. A young promising center to anchor that second line. But we’ve all been here before. Remember Ryan Strome? The player the Isles sent to Edmonton in exchange for Jordan Eberle?

He was young and promising and played center. Look how that turned out. Not only did he not play center, the position he was he most comfortable with, but he failed to live up to the hype of his fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Call it a chicken or the egg situation if you will. Did Strome fail because he never played center? Or did he never play center because he was failing? And now he’s gone, traded to Edmonton for a known commodity in Jordan Eberle.

We know that the Colorado Avalanche want Mathew Barzal. Or, at least we know that Elliotte Friedman seems to believe the Avs want Barzal in return for Matt Duchene.

"They are looking for young players with term, and I think the guys they’ve targeted include Mathew Barzal and Ilya Sorokin from the Islanders;"

Does Garth pull the trigger and let Barzal go to the West in exchange for the second best forward int he 2009 draft? Maybe. Let’s go over his options and what he may or may not do when it comes to Barzal in 2017-18.