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New York Islanders Three Takeaways from Anthony Beauvillier Contract

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 22: Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the New York Islanders awaits a face off against the Arizona Coyotes during the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 22, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 22: Anthony Beauvillier #72 of the New York Islanders awaits a face off against the Arizona Coyotes during the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 22, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Islanders 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – MARCH 30: Anthony Beauvillier #18 of the New York Islanders celebrates his goal at 6:07 of the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on March 30, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Sabres 5-1 to qualify for the playoffs. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Paid for Goals

We constantly hear that goals are a premium in the NHL. They’re hard to come by, so if you have a player that can put pucks in the back of the net you pay them. That’s why Jeff Skinner got an eight-year deal worth $72 million ($9 million AAV) from the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason.

Beau isn’t anywhere on the same level as Jeff Skinner in the goal-scoring department, but he can still score goals. Over the last two seasons, Beauvilier has put in 39 goals (21 in 2017-18 and 18 in 2018-19) for the New York Islanders. An average of 19.5 per season.

While that certainly isn’t worth a huge payday, it’s worth something. And that’s why the New York Islanders weren’t able to get him at a Michael Dal Colle-like bridge deal. They need goals and Beauvillier scores ’em.

With 223 goals scored last season, the New York Islanders had the 22nd ranked offense in the NHL. While their defensive abilities were top-notch, at times their lack of offense let them down. The series against Carolina in the second round of the 2019 playoffs immediately comes to mind.

We’ve seen stretches were Beauvillier is an absolutely dominant goal scorer. In the final six games of the 2017-18 regular season, Beauvillier scored five goals in five back-to-back games. He was unstoppable. He just had a knack for getting in the right place at the right time.

The same thing happened after he was demoted to the third line last season. In a 16 game sample from November 15th to December 18th Beau scored ten goals. He was finding his grove and converting on his chances like we – and the organization – know he can.

So while that $2.1 million price tag is a bit higher than we thought it might be, Beau still scores goals and in today’s NHL teams pay a premium for that.

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