Kyle Palmieri has turned into the NY Islanders ironman over the last two seasons

Not too long ago, Kyle Palmieri was considered injury-prone after he missed a combined 68 games during the first two years of his four-year contract with the New York Islanders, including a lower-body injury and two stints in concussion protocol.

The Islanders expected Palmieri to be a consistent 25-30 goal scorer, but the injuries and inconsistent play resulted in him scoring just 33 goals in his first 141 games with the team. For a player entering his mid-30s, it was considered a warning sign of things to come that would prevent Palmieri from being the offensive contributor GM Lou Lamoriello had planned when he elected to leave Jordan Eberle unprotected in the expansion draft and sign Palmieri as a UFA.

However, over the last two years, Palmieri has flipped the script and become the team's ironman, and will play 82 games for the second consecutive season when he takes to the ice in Columbus for the team's final regular-season game. After hitting the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career last year, Palmieri has scored 24 goals and added 24 assists this season. The 48 points are third on the team behind Bo Horvat and Anders Lee.

After Lamoirello decided to hold onto Palmieri rather than trade for him a second-round draft pick, it was done to not only give the current team a chance to compete but also increase the likelihood that Palmieri would return, preferably on a home town discount next season. The contract extension that some thought was inevitable hasn't happened yet, but Palmieri's durability over the last two seasons makes him feel like a safe bet to be available and productive for the next few years.