Are the NY Islanders the most mid team in the NHL?

For those of you not familiar with Gen Z, TikTok slang, the term "mid" is not an endearing one.

It means you're kinda blah, perfectly average. Another way to think about it is that it can be used instead of "boring" or "mediocre." A hockey content creator named Mike Bartner, put out rankings of the "Most Mid Teams" in the National Hockey League and listed the New York Islanders at No. 1

For purposes of his rankings, he describes mid as "too good to tank while too bad to contend and okay to bad young players/prospects." Given that lengthly definition, even those most ardent Islanders fans can understand why Patrick Roy's team ended up in the top spot.

That pretty much sums up how a segment of the fanbase feels about the state of the organization. It's far from the worst of times, but the team will enter the year with similar, uninspiring expectations for the third consecutive season. The Islanders' roster, as currently constructed, is likely good enough to be in the Wild Card mix with a ceiling for third place in the Metropolitan Division. For what it's worth, the Isles were among four Metro teams that made the "Mid" list, including the Washington Capitals (2nd), Pittsburgh Penguins (6th) and Philadelphia Flyers (7th).

Is there a chance they will make a deep playoff run? Of course, it's hockey. However, to do so, it will likely mean having to knock off heavily favored teams with home-ice advantage, hoping that hot goaltending, timely scoring, and some puck luck are there at the right time of the season.

Bartner isn't down on all things Isles. He ranked the free-agent signing of Anthony Duclair to a four-year $3.5M deal as the best UFA signing of the summer. However, even Duclair's 25+ goal potential and ability to score off the rush wasn't enough to beat the "mid" moniker.

Duclair, Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Kyle Palmieri give the Islanders one of their most explosive forward groups in years. There are also other reasons for optimism. If franchise goaltender Ilya Sorokin can return to Vezina form and Roy can implement a winning style in his first full season, behind the bench, younger fans will need to come up with a new way to describe the Isles.