Scott Mayfield last played in a game in February.
But when was the last time he played at full strength?
That was last October, opening night 2023.
The season began and ended following a win over the Sabres when Mayfield broke his ankle while blocking a shot, leading to the decision to have surgery after the defenseman tried and failed to return to his usual form over 41 games.
All of this led to a frustrating first season of a seven-year contract.
Mayfield has had injuries before, but none of them have required surgery or been season-ending like they were this season.
Even his optimistic prediction on the day of the break-up, that summer training would not be affected beyond the first few weeks, turned out to be entirely incorrect.
“It definitely took a while,” Mayfield said. “I got on the ice in the middle of the summer. Up until about a month, month and a half ago, it was a struggle. It was a long rehab.”
Mayfield said his ankle is feeling better as a result.
He is ready to leave.
And the Islanders, who lost backup defenseman Robert Bortuzzo in free agency, are desperately hoping that self-diagnosis turns out to be correct.
As it stands, Mayfield will likely slot into the third pairing on the blue line, but if all six starters are healthy, he'll be able to compete with anyone.
On paper, that's a strength.
However, the Islanders don't have a lot of depth outside of the expected top six teams.
Left-hander Samuel Bolduc struggled under head coach Lane Lambert last season and has struggled to break into the lineup since Patrick Roy took over as head coach, forcing him to undergo an adjustment period in Bridgeport.
Bortuzzo is gone.
If there is an injury on the right wing, the Islanders could go with… Grant Hutton, Aidan Fulp or Buehler?
Asking all six defensemen to play 82 games is about as unrealistic as asking Santa Claus for a yacht.
But it would be nice to avoid another injury-ridden first half like last season, and it would be nice to see Mayfield's durability return.
“I like where my body is,” Mayfield said. “It's all about me being in those tight situations. I need to get more used to it. That physicality in those tight situations is hard to replicate in the summer. With long strides on the bag, it's easier to replicate that in the summer.”
“It's about practicing every day and getting to know Patty. I only played nine or 10 games under him. [and] A lot of the games I was worried about other things than learning the system and stuff like that. It's a big camp for me.”
Anders Lee knows that feeling well, having worked hard to return from a torn ACL in time for the start of the 2021-22 season.
“I've missed enough over the last six months that I'm itching to play,” Lee told The Post. “And it's the same for Scottie. He's just itching to get back to 100 percent. He's going to go through the process and play great and be successful in everything he does, but he'll get to a point soon where he's not even thinking about playing.”
Not only was Mayfield only able to play in a handful of games under Coach Roy;
He played just 16 games paired with Mike Reilly, but Reilly is likely to be his partner early in the year.
And all of this happened while he was worried about his ankle.
Roy said he expects Mayfield to match up against the top line at times and play a role on the penalty kill, whether on the third pairing or not.
No matter what the roster says, it would be surprising to see Mayfield play less than 18-20 minutes a night.
That's no small matter.
“It took me all summer. The more I did the more I felt good,” Mayfield said. “It was a big reset. Last year I only played half the games and only one game where I felt good. It took a long time, but like I said, I'm happy with where my body is and I'm happy with the time I put in this summer. It's a big camp for me. I'm just going to be ready for opening day.”
