Brock Nelson has been under-performing over the last 10 games for the NY Islanders

There have been very few NY Islanders who are performing to their full potential this season. Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom, and Kyle Palmieri are arguably exceeding expectations, but the team isn’t getting the production out of their top players, with Brock Nelson being the most recent culprit.

Nelson has been a 30-goal scorer in each of his last three seasons, but through 32 games this season, the career-long Islander has just 10 tallies. Nelson has been scoreless in the Islanders' last nine games, producing just three assists over that span. 

Brock Nelson has struggled as of late

The team's top scorer in recent memory, Nelson has been unable to get going while on the man-advantage. To be fair, nobody on this team has performed on the power play as it’s clicking at a measly 12.2%, but Nelson has been the catalyst for the special teams unit in the past. Scoring just once while a man up this season, Nelson has zero power play assists, compared to four goals and six assists through 32 games last season.

Nelson is in the final year of his contract and could become one of the biggest trade targets in the league this season if the Islanders find themselves outside of playoff contention come the March, 7 trade deadline. Despite his production not being what it has been in years past, there’s still likely to be a long line of suitors hoping to acquire the 33-year-olds services in hopes of pushing for a Stanley Cup.

But despite the Islanders' subpar performance at this point in the season, they remain in the thick of the playoff race in a mediocre Eastern Conference, sitting one point out of a wild-card spot. Nelson is one player the organization can ill-afford to have underperformed and will be one of the key components to an Islanders resurgence if it ever comes to fruition.