As Islanders nation held their collective breath over the injury status of Mat Barzal, a worst-case scenario was passed along by the team today.
Barzal has been ruled out indefinitely with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot off the stick of Darren Raddysh late in the third period of the NY Islanders' 3-2 OT victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
The injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the Islanders who were amid a 7-game winning streak and putting themselves back into contention for a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Mat Barzal out long-term
Barzal had missed 20 games earlier in the season and was finally beginning to look like his normal self. After keeping Barzal and Bo Horvat on separate lines when Barzal first returned to the lineup, Patrick Roy decided to play the two together once again, finding the chemistry they developed from last season.
Along with Barzal, Scott Mayfield sustained a lower-body injury in the same game but has been listed as day-to-day.
Now, four points out of playoff position, and without four of the defensemen the Islanders started the season with, both backup goalies, and now the team's most dynamic player, Lou Lamoriello is faced with a decision regarding the direction he’ll take this team.
He can elect to sell off the likes of Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri and recoup any assets he can, or, he can move Barzal to LTIR, making available his $9.15M in cap space to obtain another forward.
With only three games before the 4 Nations Face-Off and just over a month before the March 7th trade deadline, a critical decision regarding the future of this franchise will need to be made.