Mathew Barzal never stopped being The Guy for the Islanders (Fans just forgot)

It's already been an eventful offseason for the New York Islanders, to say the least.

They got a new general manager in Mathieu Darche, who was thrust into the national spotlight during his first month on the job when the team shockingly won the NHL Draft Lottery. After selecting a future franchise cornerstone at No. 1 overall in defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the Islanders traded RFA defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens to net forward Emil Heineman and two more picks in the first round.

Darche used those picks to select forward Victor Eklund and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson at No. 16 and No. 17, respectively, making good on his promise to restock the Islanders' depleted prospect pipeline. He proceeded to add depth at every position on the first day of free agency, signing forward Jonathan Drouin and goaltender David Rittich and extending defensemen Tony Deangelo, Simon Holmstrom and Alexander Romanov.

With the hoopla surrounding Darche's first offseason as GM of the Islanders, their busy first night of the Draft and the flurry of signings in free agency, it's not surprising that some of the franchise's stalwarts got lost in the shadows of all the newness. However, while Darche has breathed new life into this organization, he hasn't lost sight of its existing core – including versatile forward Mathew Barzal.

Mathew Barzal never stopped being The Guy for the Islanders (Fans just forgot)

Barzal's 2024-25 campaign came to an untimely and unceremonious end after just 30 games when he suffered a knee injury that required season-ending surgery. He watched helplessly as the Islanders crashed and burned during the second half of the season, and many fans began to wonder what their deadline selloff meant for Barzal's future on Long Island.

The 28-year-old is currently in year three of an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension he signed with the Islanders in 2022. His contract comes with a 22-team no-trade list, which still leaves the door open for the Islanders to potentially deal him to one of nine other teams – something that looked reasonably plausible once the Islanders did something very out of character under the Lamoriello regime and sold at the deadline despite being within striking distance (sort of) of a wild card spot.

Make no mistake, however. Barzal isn't merely a member of the old guard being shoved aside as the Islanders embark on a youth movement. He is still part of this team's core, and every move Darche has made this offseason has been to build a better team around him both now and in the years to come.