NY Islanders are giving Anthony Duclair another chance at a fresh start

When Anthony Duclair signed a four-year contract with the New York Islanders in the summer of 2024, the expectation was that he had finally found stability.

Instead, his first two seasons on Long Island have been anything but.

Duclair arrived after a career defined by stops across multiple organizations, flashes of All-Star talent and stretches where he struggled to find consistency. The Islanders hoped he could become a fixture in their top six. Instead, he has managed just 38 points in 106 games, while navigating injuries, inconsistent production and an off-ice storyline that overshadowed much of last season.

The low point came when then-head coach Patrick Roy publicly challenged Duclair's effort following a game, comments that were followed by the veteran winger taking a leave of absence. Although he returned with what the organization described as a clean slate, the consistency never followed. Duclair showed flashes of the speed and offensive creativity that once made him one of the league's most dangerous transition players, but he never secured a regular role or regained the form that saw him produce nearly 60 points with the Florida Panthers.

That leaves Duclair entering Year 3 with perhaps more to prove than anyone else on the Islanders' roster.

The 30-year-old entered the offseason as a candidate to be traded or even bought out, but instead remains part of the club's plans under new head coach Pete DeBoer, who has made it clear the past won't define Duclair's future.

"My conversations with Duke at the end of the year and in exit meetings were just: clean slate and come to camp and ready to prove what you can do and how you can help us," DeBoer said in The Athletic. "I remember the Duclair in Florida that had (around) 60 points and was effective every night. That's going to be the challenge: for him to bring the best version of himself to camp."

For Duclair, the opportunity is clear, and he can become a X-Factor if he takes advantage of it.

After two turbulent seasons that fell well short of expectations, no player on the Islanders' roster stands to benefit more from a coaching change than Duclair. Whether he can finally find the stability that eluded him throughout his career—and during his first two years on Long Island—could become one of the Islanders' biggest storylines heading into the 2026-27 season

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