Islanders: 5 highlights that define Leo Komarov’s time with Isles

Love/Hate

If you were a teammate of Leo Komarov’s you probably loved playing with him. The man was a walking spark plug. He was physical, he was in the opponent’s face, and he was unapologetic about it. That type of play, more often than not, got players on his bench engaged (if they weren’t already). That type of energy was infectious.

And if that wasn’t enough to get you into the game, Leo would literally slap you on the bench.

Apparently, this was a thing that happened in the locker room but on this occasion, it was done on the bench. When Anthony Beauvillier was asked about it after the game his reply was: “Ah f***”. I guess that was locker room stuff only?

Leo was a much-loved teammate for his ability to keep things nice in breezy for his teammates and for being an absolute pest for the opponents.

Which means if you were on the other team, you likely had a very different opinion of Leo Komarov. His in-your-face play likely got under-your-skin. As can be seen here when all three of the Boston Bruins top players (Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak) converge on Leo during open play.

What that was for isn’t clear anymore. Although you can guarantee it was for something Leo did or said to one of the three earlier in the game. It wasn’t that butt-ending Leo laid on Pastrnak in the playoffs, that would happen 15 months later. This was just a response to Komarov’s general pesty-ness.

There are very few players in the league that have this polarizing impact (Bruins Brad Marchand is certainly another). Leo Komarov was one of the few love/hate players in the NHL.

Snipes

Again, Leo Komarov wasn’t the most productive Islander over his four-year stint. His 0.29 points-per-game is the pace of a 24 point player. His goal scoring was even lower, his 11 goals in 164 games with the Isles is a pace of 0.65 goals-per-game, roughly five a year.

The goals weren’t pouring in for Leo Komarov, and that’s fine. Komarov wasn’t brought in to light the lamp so to speak. On the odd occasion when he did put the puck in the back of the net, he could remind you that even some of the lower-tier NHL players are still good hockey players.

Watch this goal from this past April. That was Leo’s only goal that year, and of course, it came against the Rangers and it was a nice snipe by the Finnish forward.

Nice cross-slot pass from Jordan Eberle by the way, but how about that shot from Leo Komarov? He doesn’t blast it with everything he’s got (which might have sent the puck just about anywhere), he controls the shot with a snap, sending it far side on Igor Shesterkin who’s hoping beyond hope that Leo doesn’t get his first and only goal of the year on him.

Again I know and you know that Leo wasn’t Alex Ovechkin out there for the Islanders. He had a role and he played it well, but he still had some skill as evidenced by this play.

Multitalented

In the bubble much was made of the Islanders players bringing guitars with them. There were at least four players that brought guitars with them to the Toronto bubble. Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle were two of those players.

The musicians on the team were going to jam out inside the bubble as they were forced to stay together and severely limit their movements but also find ways to entertain themselves between games and practice. And while Leo Komarov wasn’t seen with a guitar the veteran showed he can play music too; given the right instrument.

Thanks to former Islander Andrew Ladd for documenting the Toronto bubble through TikTok and capturing this moment of Leo Komarov tickling the ivories.

And Leo’s talents don’t end there. The man is also a talented linguist. By all accounts, he’s fluent in four to five different languages. We know he can speak English, Russian, Swedish, and of course Finnish.

With those four languages, Leo can already communicate fluently with pretty much anyone in the NHL. (Sorry, French-Canadiens.) It may not seem like much, but that’s a wildly valuable skill in an NHL dressing room. Combined with his reported “easy-to-talk-to” demeanor being able to communicate with just about anyone can easily cut any awkwardness in a dressing-room caused by language barriers.

Oh, and then there’s the obvious hockey talent. I know he was a bottom-six player for the Isles, but he’s still an NHL player. Not everyone gets to play in the NHL. It takes a certain amount of talent to get there.

Blood, sweat, and tears

I’ve already gone through Leo’s in-your-face play and how his physical game gets under the skin of the opponent. A full 60 minutes of Leo Komarov getting in your grill is enough to make anyone lose their cool.

But that physical play sometimes took a toll, not just on the opponent, but on Leo himself. That physical play often left Leo Komarov bruised and bloodied.

And he didn’t care. Well, he didn’t seem to care. Leo knew what his game was and what he offered the New York Islanders. And that’s one of the reasons fans and teammates loved him. He was willing to get down and dirty for their benefit.

The coaching staff knew that when Leo Komarov jumped over the boards he’d give them everything he got. Almost quite literally. Look at all that blood dripping down his face! And it seems like a minor inconvenience to the man.

If that doesn’t make you nod your head in approval, even slightly, about Leo Komarov as a player, I don’t know what will.

The Little Things

I’ve mentioned it before, but Leo was brought in not to give this team top-six offense but some of those intangibles that only Leo Komarov can bring. His contributions to the team weren’t always obvious, but they were there.

It was the little things that Leo Komarov did, on and off the ice that made him a valuable teammate. If it meant getting in the dirty area he was there, if it meant standing in front of the goal while a piece of vulcanized rubber was hurled at him at nearly 100 mph he’d do it.

And sometimes all he could do was give his teammates a push in the right direction. Sometimes quite literally.

Was that push from Komarov enough to give Jean-Gabriel Pageau the separation he needed from an oncoming Brad Marchand? Who knows. But it certainly didn’t hurt. Leo didn’t get an assist on that play and I don’t think he cared, he tried to help his teammate in the only way he could. Even if it may not have actually helped all that much. Just like a Christmas gift, it’s the thought that counts.

Good luck in Russia Leo Komarov.