Sports radio host reveals when everything changed for the NY Islanders this season

The turning point of the New York Islanders’ season didn’t come after a buzzer-beater, a big trade, or a stirring speech. According to ESPN New York's Alan Hahn, it came the day the organization decided to hold one of its best players accountable — and didn’t blink.

Speaking on the Don, Hahn and Rosenberg show, Hahn pointed to the moment Mathew Barzal was scratched for missing a morning skate as the inflection point that changed everything. “They said enough’s enough,” Hahn explained. “You’re supposed to be one of our leaders, and you can’t do this. And so they scratched him. That’s embarrassing for a star, to be scratched — a healthy scratch.”

It cost the Islanders a game. They didn’t care.

Since that day, Hahn noted, Barzal has looked like a different player. “He has been such a dynamic player. He has been an all-star. He has played great. He has given you an honest effort every night.” For Hahn, that response was the proof the message landed — not just with Barzal, but throughout the room.

“Something changed in that organization that day,” Hahn said flatly.

That accountability coincided with better health, elite goaltending, and the arrival of rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer, whose energy Hahn described as shaking veterans out of “country club ways.” Suddenly, the Islanders weren’t coasting — they were competing.

Hahn credited Patrick Roy for standing front and center in that moment, calling it real coaching. He also acknowledged Mathieu Darche for helping set the organizational tone. “Darche has been great since he took over,” Hahn said, “but Patrick Roy deserves a lot of credit.”

The results are visible beyond the standings. Hahn pointed to seven straight sellouts at UBS Arena, pushing back on the idea that fans only show up when things are perfect. “They come out when the team gives them a reason to come out,” he said.

For the New York Islanders, that reason was simple: effort, standards, and accountability — starting at the top. And as Hahn put it, “They are a team to watch as we get close to the playoffs.”