NY Islanders Wisley Not Seen as a Stanley Cup Contender Right Now

Should the New York Islanders be considered a Stanley Cup contender right now?

Apr 9, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders head coach Peter DeBoer speaks to the press following the team’s 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming off a good campaign in which they just missed the playoffs but still exceeded expectations, the New York Islanders are hoping the 2026-27 season will be a good one. 

This is a team that figured to be heading into a rebuild with a new general manager coming in and an aging roster. Mathieu Darche has been able to retool things fairly quickly for the Islanders, and the addition of the first overall pick in Matthew Schaefer helped with that quite a bit. 

New York wasn’t expected to win the NHL Lottery in 2025, but landing a generational talent and the eventual Calder Trophy winner turned things around much quicker than expected. 

However, some injuries held the team back a bit at the end of the season, and they ended up narrowly missing the playoffs. Coming into the summer, there was certainly some hope that the team would go make a splash and try to get better.

That ended up not being the case, and New York will instead be relying on some players returning from injury and some of the younger guys getting better. Now, while that could happen, it doesn’t help them right now look like a contender on paper. 

Sara Civian of Bleacher Report recently ranked the top Stanley Cup contenders as of now. Unfortunately for the Islanders, they didn’t make the top 10. 

New York Has Work To Do

Nov 22, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche speaks with fans at a pre-game event prior to the game against the St. Louis Blues at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After just missing the playoffs last year, that will be the ultimate goal for the team coming into the 2026-27 campaign. If things go right, this team can certainly be in the mix for a playoff spot, and anything can happen if they make it to the dance. 

However, due to the lack of moves this offseason, there is reason to be concerned about the outlook. Of the additions, the team only added Matias Maccelli to their forward group, but they did lose Anders Lee, which will be a significant blow. 

One key player to keep an eye on will be the returning Kyle Palmieri. The veteran forward can be a 25-goal scorer, which would help the team out quite a bit. Scoring and success on the power play have been an issue for the Islanders for many years, and they didn’t do anything really to address that. 

While the team might hope to be a playoff contender, them not being considered to be a Stanley Cup contender right now is certainly a fair assessment.