New York Islanders Positive and Negative of 2018 NHL Trade Deadline

Positive Of Deadline Activities – Mitch Anderson

In acquiring defenseman Brandon Davidson and forward Chris Wagner, Garth Snow addressed two areas that sorely needed addressing for the Isles: the number of shots against and the penalty kill.

Davidson brings with him a steady hand defensively to the Islanders second and third pair. Something the current contingent of defenders didn’t bring. What with the Islanders being the absolute worst in the league in terms of shots against per game at 36.0.

Look no further than his +6 shot differential this season. Only three Islanders players have positive shot differentials: Jordan Eberle (+66), Andrew Ladd (+42), and Mathew Barzal (+41). The highest rated defender is Ryan Pulock with a -9. Hows that for perspective. (Corsica.Hockey for the stats)

With Chris Wagner effectively replacing Jason Chimera the Islanders immediately get younger and faster. They don’t get better production, which might be a problem with some but that’s fine when we’re getting a good penalty killer.

This season the Ducks have the tenth best penalty kill in the NHL at an 82.5% efficiency. Compare that to the Isles 30th ranked 74.6% efficiency. Now, that top ten ranking is all to do with Wagner. But with his average 2:26 of shorthanded time a night, he plays a big part.

We also get a player that does this…