New York Islanders Re-Signing Jordan Eberle: Pros and Cons

Cons of Re-Signing Jordan Eberle

With all that being said about him being essentially a lock at 50 points he still didn’t hit that benchmark this season. And while most forwards did take a hit in terms of production, not all of them did. Brock Nelson put up career numbers with 53 points this season.

The difference for Brock Nelson is that he looked engaged from day one on the season, Jordan Eberle did not. There’s a ten game stretch between the end of November and mid-December where Eberle only scored two points. There’s yet another eight-game stretch in March where he didn’t register a single point.

That’s two points over 23% of the season. Not good. And certainly not the type of play Lou Lamoriello is going to want to reward as he reshapes the franchise.

And then you have to consider the cap hit he’ll take and how that affects the Islanders approach to free agency. They’ll certainly want to re-sign captain Anders Lee, center Brock Nelson, and goalie Robin Lehner.

How much money is left after all three are signed for Eberle and maybe one of the big fish in the free agent market? Players like Artemin Panarin or Jeff Skinner? If Eberle is going to hinder the Islanders ability to get either (or someone else) that’s reason enough to let him walk.

Cons

• Didn’t look committed throughout the season
• Poor production in a contract year
• Impact on re-signing current free agents