New York Islanders March Madness Round Two Of Votes

(2) Barzal’s Season v. (7) Ladd’s Goal Drought

From December 22nd, 2017 to March 15th, 2018 Andrew Ladd didn’t score a single goal. Yes, he missed time through injury. But he still played 25 games in that span, and not a single goal.

Why is that important? This is the man Garth Snow brought in through free agency two years ago to be Tavares’ top line winger. He didn’t last longer than two weeks on his wing. Since then he’s bounced around the third and fourth line.

Oh. And he’s making $5.5 million per year for the next five years. Great.

The obvious winner is the Calder Trophy season Mathew Barzal is having. In his first year in the NHL, he’s already a point per game player. And an absolutely dominant force on the ice.

He’s skilled, fast, shifty, creative, and doesn’t stop skating. And it’s year one. So fans are so enamored by Mathew Barzal that they’re OK with John Tavares leaving. Which is absurd, but the point is clear. This kid is special.

The fact that he came out of nowhere is even better. He wasn’t a first overall at the draft. He was taken 16th overall from a trade with the Edmonton Oilers and skipped over three times by the Bruins who had picks 13,14 and 15.

Next: 10 Step Plan To Fix The Islanders

We all knew that Mathew Barzal was going to be good, but not this good. I have a feeling that Mathew Barzal’s season is going to be a non-number-one seed to take the entire thing.