NY Islanders picked to finish last in Eastern Conference by NHL writer

Matthew Schaefer recently said he "loves when haters hate."

Well, here's another one for the bulletin board.

The Athletic's Scott Wheeler released his 2026-27 NHL standings predictions Saturday, and despite being one of the more enthusiastic evaluators of the Islanders' prospect pool and recent draft classes, Wheeler isn't nearly as bullish about the team they're putting on NHL ice right now.

He has the Islanders finishing dead last in the Eastern Conference.

Not just outside the playoffs. Sixteenth.

Wheeler projects Carolina, Washington and New Jersey taking the three Metropolitan Division playoff spots, with Ottawa and Buffalo earning the wild cards. He has the Islanders behind Detroit, Columbus, Boston, Pittsburgh, the Rangers and Philadelphia in the East.

That's a pretty long climb from the bottom.

It also isn't the first pessimistic projection surrounding the Islanders this preseason. The Athletic's model recently projected them for 82.4 points with a 15% chance of reaching the playoffs, ranking 28th in the NHL.

Schaefer has already made his feelings about those expectations pretty clear.

The reigning Calder Trophy winner believes the Islanders should have made the playoffs last season before their late collapse and has said the group has more to show.

There are legitimate reasons for skepticism.

The Islanders missed the postseason last year, lost longtime captain Anders Lee, and did little this summer. Peter DeBoer's first full season starts with questions about whether they have enough offense to keep pace in a deep Eastern Conference, as he tries to fix their defensive structure. Mathew Barzal missing the start of the season and the uncertainty of whether backup Semyon Varlamov can last a season and play 30 games add up.

Their future might look considerably brighter than it did a couple years ago. Schaefer is a franchise cornerstone, and a much-improved prospect pipeline is coming behind him.

Wheeler apparently likes that future, too.

He just doesn't think it's arriving this season.

For Schaefer, that's one more doubter to try proving wrong.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow