# 2019–20 New York Islanders season

The 2019–20 New York Islanders season was the 48th season in the franchise's history. It was their fifth season in the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, which they moved into after leaving Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County on Long Island at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. During the regular season, the Islanders were scheduled to play 21 home games at Nassau Coliseum but on September 23 moved seven more games from the Barclays Center, making it a total of 28 games to be played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. On February 29, 2020, it was announced that the Islanders would play their last game at Barclays Center on March 22, and then would move to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum permanently.
The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled. Instead of Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders started the playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Islanders advanced from the qualifying round where they defeated the Florida Panthers in four games. They would then defeat the Washington Capitals in five games in the first round. They faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, defeating them in seven games and advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 1993, and shifted the postseason to Rogers Place in Edmonton. However, the Islanders went on to lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, ending their playoff run. The Islanders set a franchise record for most games played (22) in the postseason.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Metropolitan Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Washington Capitals | 69 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 31 | 240 | 215 | +25 | 90 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 69 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 31 | 232 | 196 | +36 | 89 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 40 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 224 | 196 | +28 | 86 |
| 4 | Carolina Hurricanes | 68 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 222 | 193 | +29 | 81 |
| 5 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 70 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 25 | 180 | 187 | −7 | 81 |
| 6 | New York Islanders | 68 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 24 | 192 | 193 | −1 | 80 |
| 7 | New York Rangers | 70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 31 | 234 | 222 | +12 | 79 |
| 8 | New Jersey Devils | 69 | 28 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 189 | 230 | −41 | 68 |

### Conference standings

| Pos | Teamvte | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 227 | 174 | +53 | .714 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 70 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 35 | 245 | 195 | +50 | .657 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 3 | Washington Capitals | 69 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 31 | 240 | 215 | +25 | .652 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 69 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 31 | 232 | 196 | +36 | .645 | Advance to Seeding round-robin tournament |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 69 | 40 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 224 | 196 | +28 | .623 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 6 | Carolina Hurricanes | 68 | 38 | 25 | 5 | 27 | 222 | 193 | +29 | .596 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 7 | New York Islanders | 68 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 24 | 192 | 193 | −1 | .588 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 36 | 25 | 9 | 28 | 238 | 227 | +11 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 9 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 70 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 25 | 180 | 187 | −7 | .579 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 10 | Florida Panthers | 69 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 30 | 231 | 228 | +3 | .565 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 11 | New York Rangers | 70 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 31 | 234 | 222 | +12 | .564 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 12 | Montreal Canadiens | 71 | 31 | 31 | 9 | 19 | 212 | 221 | −9 | .500 | Advance to 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round |
| 13 | Buffalo Sabres | 69 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 22 | 195 | 217 | −22 | .493 | |
| 14 | New Jersey Devils | 69 | 28 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 189 | 230 | −41 | .493 | |
| 15 | Ottawa Senators | 71 | 25 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 191 | 243 | −52 | .437 | |
| 16 | Detroit Red Wings | 71 | 17 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 145 | 267 | −122 | .275 | |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 18, 2019.

### Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on June 25, 2019. On September 23, the Islanders revised their schedule and moved seven games from Barclays Center to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
2019–20 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
Notes:
$^a$ Game was scheduled to be played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
$^b$ Game was scheduled to be played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. :

### Playoffs

The Islanders faced the Florida Panthers in the qualifying round, defeating them in four games.
The Islanders faced the Washington Capitals in the first round, defeating them in five games.
The Islanders faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, defeating them in seven games, and advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 1993.
The Islanders faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference finals, where they lost in six games.
2020 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics

As of September 17, 2020

### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Mathew Barzal | 68 | 19 | 41 | 60 | +5 | 44 |
| Brock Nelson | 68 | 26 | 28 | 54 | +6 | 32 |
| Anders Lee | 68 | 20 | 23 | 43 | +8 | 47 |
| Josh Bailey | 68 | 14 | 29 | 43 | –12 | 10 |
| Jordan Eberle | 58 | 16 | 24 | 40 | +1 | 12 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 68 | 18 | 21 | 39 | –11 | 15 |
| Ryan Pulock | 68 | 10 | 25 | 35 | +8 | 14 |
| Derick Brassard | 66 | 10 | 22 | 32 | –2 | 16 |
| Devon Toews | 68 | 6 | 22 | 28 | +1 | 16 |
| Nick Leddy | 60 | 3 | 18 | 21 | –1 | 14 |
| Casey Cizikas | 48 | 10 | 4 | 14 | +12 | 41 |
| Leo Komarov | 48 | 4 | 10 | 14 | +2 | 10 |
| Scott Mayfield | 67 | 5 | 8 | 13 | +8 | 53 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 64 | 2 | 9 | 11 | –11 | 14 |
| Michael Dal Colle | 53 | 4 | 6 | 10 | –8 | 12 |
| Adam Pelech | 38 | 1 | 8 | 9 | +4 | 20 |
| Matt Martin | 55 | 5 | 3 | 8 | –1 | 40 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 37 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +6 | 22 |
| Noah Dobson | 34 | 1 | 6 | 7 | –1 | 8 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 |
| Ross Johnston | 32 | 3 | 1 | 4 | +1 | 78 |
| Kieffer Bellows | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +3 | 2 |
| Andy Greene$^†$ | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau$^†$ | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | –6 | 17 |
| Cole Bardreau | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | –2 | 6 |
| Andrew Ladd | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| Oliver Wahlstrom | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 4 |
| Otto Koivula | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Josh Bailey | 22 | 2 | 18 | 20 | +8 | 0 |
| Brock Nelson | 22 | 9 | 9 | 18 | +4 | 12 |
| Mathew Barzal | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 | +2 | 10 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 22 | 9 | 5 | 14 | +6 | 10 |
| Jordan Eberle | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 | +2 | 10 |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | +10 | 21 |
| Anders Lee | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | +4 | 15 |
| Ryan Pulock | 22 | 2 | 8 | 10 | –1 | 6 |
| Devon Toews | 22 | 2 | 8 | 10 | +3 | 6 |
| Derick Brassard | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +1 | 6 |
| Nick Leddy | 22 | 3 | 4 | 7 | +7 | 0 |
| Matt Martin | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 28 |
| Adam Pelech | 21 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +6 | 8 |
| Scott Mayfield | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +12 | 12 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 21 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +5 | 18 |
| Andy Greene | 21 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +2 | 12 |
| Leo Komarov | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Casey Cizikas | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 |
| Ross Johnston | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 12 |
| Andrew Ladd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Michael Dal Colle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noah Dobson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Semyon Varlamov | 45 | 39 | 2,517:19 | 19 | 14 | 6 | 110 | 2.62 | 1,278 | .914 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Greiss | 31 | 29 | 1,595:56 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 73 | 2.74 | 838 | .913 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Semyon Varlamov | 20 | 19 | 1,232:44 | 11 | 7 | 44 | 2.14 | 559 | .921 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Thomas Greiss | 4 | 3 | 178:07 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2.02 | 84 | .929 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Islanders. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
* $^‡$ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Islanders only.
* Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Awards and honors
### Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Date |
| Lou Lamoriello | Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award | September 12, 2020 |

## Transactions

The Islanders have been involved in the following transactions during the 2019–20 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| February 16, 2020 (2020-02-16) | To New Jersey DevilsDavid Quenneville 2nd-round pick in 2021 | To New York IslandersAndy Greene |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | To Ottawa SenatorsConditional 1st-round pick in 2020 2nd-round pick in 2020 Conditional 3rd-round pick in 2022 | To New York IslandersJean-Gabriel Pageau |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | To Toronto Maple LeafsMatt Lorito | To New York IslandersJordan Schmaltz |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Valtteri Filppula | to Detroit Red Wings | 2-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Robin Lehner | to Chicago Blackhawks | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Semyon Varlamov | from Colorado Avalanche | 4-year |
| July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02) | Cole Bardreau | from Philadelphia Flyers | 2-year |
| July 10, 2019 (2019-07-10) | Jared Coreau | from St. Louis Blues | 1-year |
| July 11, 2019 (2019-07-11) | Steve Bernier | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year |
| July 11, 2019 (2019-07-11) | John Stevens | to Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) | 1-year |
| August 21, 2019 (2019-08-21) | Derick Brassard | from Colorado Avalanche | 1-year |
| October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22) | Luca Sbisa | to Anaheim Ducks | 1-year |
| July 31, 2020 (2020-07-31) | Linus Soderstrom | to Ässät (Liiga) | 1-year |

### Retirement

| Date | Player | Ref |
| August 1, 2019 (2019-08-01) | Stephen Gionta | |
| October 23, 2019 (2019-10-23) | Dennis Seidenberg | |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Tom Kuhnhackl | 1-year |
| July 1, 2019 (2019-07-01) | Anders Lee | 7-year |
| July 15, 2019 (2019-07-15) | Simon Holmstrom | 3-year |
| August 19, 2019 (2019-08-19) | Michael Dal Colle | 2-year |
| August 19, 2019 (2019-08-19) | Josh Ho-Sang | 1-year |
| August 28, 2019 (2019-08-28) | Anthony Beauvillier | 2-year |
| February 24, 2020 (2020-02-24) | Jean-Gabriel Pageau | 6-year |
| April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30) | Samuel Bolduc | 3-year |
| May 28, 2020 (2020-05-28) | Felix Bibeau | 3-year |
| May 28, 2020 (2020-05-28) | Cole Coskey | 3-year |
| May 28, 2020 (2020-05-28) | Blade Jenkins | 3-year |
| July 14, 2020 (2020-07-14) | Ilya Sorokin | 1-year |

## Draft picks

Below are the New York Islanders' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 23 | Simon Holmstrom | RW | Sweden | HV71 J20 (J20 SuperElit) |
| 2 | 57$^1$ | Samuel Bolduc | D | Canada | Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 147 | Reece Newkirk | C | Canada | Portland Winterhawks (WHL) |
| 6 | 178 | Felix Bibeau | C | Canada | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 209 | Cole Coskey | RW | United States | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
* The Calgary Flames' second-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 24, 2017, that sent Travis Hamonic and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019 to Calgary in exchange for a first and second-round pick in 2018 and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade).