Can the NY Islanders revamped bottom six be the key to a turnaround season?

Mathieu Darche and the New York Islanders didn’t make any major offseason splashes, choosing instead to run it back with the core group from last season. Injuries were a primary factor that derailed the team’s hopes, along with significant struggles on special teams. But if you ask me what the next biggest issue was—outside of those two—it was the lack of depth contributions from the bottom six.

With a few new faces added this summer, the Islanders’ bottom six could be better than people give them credit for. When you look at the Florida Panthers’ success over the past few years, the stars are obvious, but their bottom six contributed every shift—and that made a difference.

Here’s how the Islanders’ lineup looked at the end of last season:

Lee–Horvat–Palmieri
Tsyplakov–Pageau–Holmstrom
Engvall–Cizikas–Fasching
Martin–MacLean–Gatcomb

Let’s look at the bottom six production:

• Matt Martin – 32 GP, 0 G, 2 A
• Kyle MacLean – 81 GP, 4 G, 7 A
• Hudson Fasching – 43 GP, 2 G, 2 A
• Pierre Engvall – 62 GP, 8 G, 7 A
• Casey Cizikas – 82 GP, 7 G, 10 A
• Marc Gatcomb – 39 GP, 8 G, 1 A

That’s a combined 339 games, 29 goals, and 29 assists—subpar numbers that didn’t provide nearly enough support.

Now, with a healthy Anthony Duclair and Mat Barzal, plus the additions of Maxim Shabanov and Emil Heineman, internal competition in the forward group has been reignited.

Assuming the top six looks like:

Drouin–Horvat–Palmieri
Lee–Barzal–Holmstrom (with Lee and Duclair possibly interchangeable)

Then the projected bottom six could be: Duclair–Pageau–Shabanov, Tsyplakov–Cizikas–Heineman.

Conservative goal projections for this group:

• Duclair – 15
• Pageau – 12
• Shabanov – 10
• Tsyplakov – 10
• Cizikas – 7
• Heineman – 10

That’s 64 total goals—more than double last season’s bottom six total. That kind of depth would allow the Islanders to roll four lines that can contribute consistently. While the top six faces elite defenders, the bottom six has an opportunity to exploit weaker matchups. A line like Tsyplakov–Cizikas–Heineman could bring a relentless forecheck and establish offensive zone pressure.

And if that lineup is what the Islanders roll with, players like Gatcomb, Engvall, and MacLean will still be pushing for ice time. This level of depth can also bolster special teams—a major area of weakness last season—and offer flexibility when injuries inevitably occur.

People may disagree, but this version of the Islanders' bottom six has the potential to be a real asset—and perhaps even the X-factor in a bounce-back season.