Islanders Have Great Value With Scott Mayfield Contract

The Islanders have great value when it comes to their second pair defender, Scott Mayfield. His cap hit is $1.45 million over the next three years.

When looking at the Islanders roster, most point to the Adam Pelech deal as one of the best on the Isles. It’s hard to disagree, a lockdown defender at $1.6 million is a fantastic deal that holds great value.

But it’s not the only one on the blue line. In fact, Scott Mayfield’s $1.45 million over the next three years is going to be huge for this team.

Over the last two years, Mayfield has developed into a steady second-pair guy. He’s not going to give you a ton of offense, his career-high in points is 19 with five goals as his career-high, but he’s going to give you steady defense.

His ice time has taken a significant step up over the past few years, and this past year Barry Trotz trusted him with 19:57 of ice time per game. Mayfield was third on the team for defenders in goals for percentage with a 52.11 percent.

Additionally, Mayfield was third on the team for defenders in Scoring Chances For with a 49.13 percent. What that shows is that the Isles are more likely to get offensive opportunities when he’s on the ice.

At six-foot-five and 223 pounds, he’s a force down low and can move just about anyone out of the way. You need players like that and having him locked in through his age 30 season for $1.45 million is a steal.

It’s likely safe to assume that Mayfield has reached his ceiling as a defensive-minded second pair guy which is more than fine in a Barry Trotz system. The Islanders don’t need him to put up 30+ points from the blue line.

Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson, and Nick Leddy can be those guys for this team. More than likely, Mayfield is going to give you 15-25 points, throw the body around, and keep pucks out of the back of the net. And for a $1.45 million cap hit in a COVID cap crunch era, that’s pretty damn solid for the Islanders.