New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy was the subject of our latest season-in-review article.
This is a topic we’ve discussed ad nauseam, but you’ll have to stick with me one last time: Nick Leddy could be — emphasis on the could be — a star.
Leddy, 26, enjoyed a semi-resurgance despite starting off the season on the wrong note. As Bryan Saur writes, he had a torrid second-half and finished with impressive numbers across the board.
Most importantly, he showed flashes of greatness: he left us glimmers of hope that suggest that he could become the Isles’ best defenseman since… dang, it’s been a while… Kenny Jönsson.
It’s not just his peripherals that have left scouts impressed. Leddy boasts the puck-moving ability and skating prowess to become one of the game’s best defensemen.
With bounce-back campaigns expected from Travis Hamonic and Thomas Hickey (should they return), the pressure is on Leddy to anchor this group and elevate his game to a higher level.
NOTES
The league announced the twenty finalists for the “Greatest NHL Teams” poll it has been conducting as part of its centennial celebration, and three Isles squads from the mid-80s have made the list. The top 10 will be revealed during the Stanley Cup finals. One can vote until next Thursday over here:
On Thursday, the Isles confirmed the hiring of Luke Richardson as an assistant coach. The former Binghamton Senators head coach said that “it’s going to be really exciting with a good, young team.” We covered his hiring ad nauseam in yesterday’s ‘Daily Insight.’
Four of the five Isles at Worlds — Germany’s Thomas Greiss and Dennis Seidenberg and the United States’ Brock Nelson and Anders Lee — were eliminated, along with their teams, on Thursday night. Only Canadien defenseman Calvin de Haan remains.