NY Islander's Plus/Minus for 2023-24: Casey Cizikas can contribute more offense

MINUS - Too many penalties

While we value his aggressive play, Cizikas has been finding himself in the penalty box too often in recent seasons. The 2022-23 season saw the center's career high in penalty minutes per game since the shortened 2019-2020 season. This past season, Cizikas had 54 penalty minutes in 81 games played, which included two major penalties.

This was especially a problem in the first half of the season. Cizikas racked up 40 PIM in the first 33 games of the year, including a ten-minute major and a game misconduct on November 1st for goalie interference when he ran into Alex Stalock of the Chicago Blackhawks.

When Cizikas is in the penalty box, it means he's not killing penalties, requiring his teammates to step up in his absence. While playing the style of play Cizikas plays may require some pushing and shoving, the center must control his stick, his feet, and emotions a bit better this season and stay out of the penalty box.