New York Islanders: Top 3 In-House 3rd Line Center Options

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 03: Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders sits in the net after being pushed in by Jean-Sebastien Dea #10 of the New Jersey Devils during the second period at the Barclays Center on November 03, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Option 1: Casey Cizikas

In 2016, Casey Cizikas signed a lucrative five-year extension with the Islanders. The thought then was that with his new $3.25 million cap hit the expectation would be to play on the third line as the center.

That, so far, hasn’t happened. After a breakout season putting up 33 points (20 goals, 11 assists) moving up Casey to the third line might be the best option.

Now, that would mean breaking up the Martin – Cizikas – Clutterbuck line that has been a staple of this team for four out of the last six year. A lot of people are opposed to that idea, but let’s face it Cizikas would be more productive away from Clutterbuck and Martin.

There’s no guarantee that Clutter is ready to start the year anyway, and Martin has just one more year left on his deal. The Islanders can have either Tanner Fritz or Leo Komarov center that fourth line and they’ll be just fine.

Cizikas is phenomenal defensively and on the penalty kill, this past year he added an offensive element to his game. Pair that with a player like Anthony Beauvillier on the left and either Michael Dal Colle or Josh Ho-Sang on the right and you might just have something there.

Cizikas is also someone who is good on the faceoff, is 50 percent over the course of his career, and he deserves more ice time in the offensive zone. This is their best option.

Lines

Lee – Barzal – Eberle

Bailey – Nelson – Ho-Sang

Beauvillier – Cizikas – Dal Colle

Martin – Komarov – Clutterbuck