NY Islanders Plus/Minus for 2023-24: Oliver Wahlstrom needs to have an explosive year

Fans of the NY Islanders have been clamoring for the past few years for the team to find a forward with actual finishing ability. Without any significant additions to the team during the 2022-23 offseason, eyes should turn to Oliver Wahlstrom as an in-house solution to the Islanders' scoring woes.

Wahlstrom, 23, is entering his fourth NHL season where he will be up with the club full-time. This past season, he played 35 games until he sustained a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the 2022-23 season. In the 35 games he played, he scored seven goals and nine assists for 16 points which put him on pace to score a career-high 37 points through a full 82 games season.

Last year showed that Wahlstrom had improved his game over his first few seasons, but the Islanders will need even more production from the former 2018 11th overall pick this upcoming season to succeed with their competition in the Eastern Conference only getting stronger. The time to break out is now for Wahlstrom, who signed his qualifying offer of $874,125 for this upcoming season and will be looking for his first big payday next offseason after hopefully cementing himself as a key piece of the Isles' starting lineup.