When the Islanders acquired Bo Holbert ahead of the 2023 All-Star Game, it was clear that he and Mathew Barzal would make up two-thirds of the top line for the foreseeable future.
Who would make up the remaining third was less clear, but the answer stumped both Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy.
In the 86 games that Holbert and Barzal played together, seven different players — Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom, Pierre Engvall, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas — tried out alongside Holbert and Barzal, with Barzal moving from right wing to left wing as needed.
With Anthony Duclair joining the team, the Islanders can hope that will solve that problem.
The 28-year-old Duclair, who signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Islanders on July 1, is a proven 5-on-5 scorer with the ability to keep up with a player like Barzal, whose speed has posed a unique challenge for previous linemates.
“I feel like my job is to bring speed and offensive power,” Duclair said over Zoom after signing. “I don’t know who I’ll be playing with, but just looking at the roster, I think we have a lot of good players up front and a lot of skill. I’m looking forward to strengthening that forward group and doing my best every night.”
Whether or not that was explicitly communicated during the negotiation process with Duclair, it would be a big surprise to see him start training camp anywhere other than on the top line unless coach Lou Lamoriello makes a different move.
When healthy, Duclair has regularly scored 20-plus goals despite not always being part of the top power play unit.
Duclair is also expected to feature on the Islanders’ second power play unit, at least at the start of this season, but the performance of the first unit late last season leaves room for change and sets the stage for that dynamic to continue.
When Duclair was dealt to the Lightning at last March’s trade deadline, Tampa coach Jon Cooper immediately deployed him on the left side of the line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. The trio posted a combined expected goals percentage of 57.16% in 15 regular-season games, according to Evolving Hockey.
Duclair has played for eight different teams in 10 seasons, beginning with the Rangers in 2014-15, usually finishing in the top six.
With the Panthers, he often skated alongside Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe and Jonathan Huberdew.
Prior to that with the Senators, Duclair played on the same line as Brady Tkachuk and Jean-Gabriel Paget.
“Pager is a great guy and we’ve kept in touch since we left Ottawa,” Duclair said. “He’s my best friend and I’m really looking forward to being with him again.”
Throughout Duclair’s career, most of his offensive impact has come from around the net and the low slot: 14 of his goals came from those areas last season, ranking in the 85th percentile league-wide, according to NHL Edge.
This should suit the Barzal-Holbert duo well, who have had their greatest success paired with players like Cizikas and Lee, who are adept at getting to the dirt and can make an impact up front.
The added element of Duclair’s speed — he was in the 93rd percentile in maximum skating speed last season and 95th percentile in bursts above 22 mph, per NHL Edge — could be the missing piece with two consistently quick players on the ice.
“Obviously, I’ve been bouncing around a lot over the last few years and I guess I just wanted a little bit more stability at this stage of my career and life,” Duclair said. “I’ve been trying to find my place for a little while and I’m glad Lou had the confidence in me and I’m excited to get back to New York and start again.”
