3 reasons why the Islanders must make a strong play for Adam Henrique

Henrique would be a remarkable asset on the penalty-kill

The Islanders have the worst penalty-kill unit in hockey, where they currently stand at a 71.7 success rate. This shows us that, if the Islanders make enough room to be a buyer at the trade deadline, they need somebody who could, if nothing else, upgrade what has been a horrific penalty-kill. 

Henrique has spent a lot of time with the Ducks while they faced the man advantage with over 130 minutes as of February 13th. While there are no guarantees that one player would do much to fix the PK unit on Long Island, Henrique’s presence should at least improve it.

Therefore, this is a player who would upgrade the New York Islanders in most facets of the game, from their scoring to playing better defense at 5-on-5 and even-strength, and even on the penalty kill. 

No, Henrique isn’t an elite player who will magically turn the Islanders into shoo-ins for the postseason down the stretch. But this is already a solid hockey team that only needs a versatile asset, and a versatile player like Adam Henrique would bring them that. Now, they would just need to figure out a viable trade package to bring him to Long Island. 

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of February 13th)