This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Adam Pelech.
Pelech was once again New York’s most reliable defender this season. He averaged the second-most ice time of any skater on the team, playing over 21 minutes per game, which is two and a half minutes more than he averaged last season. He was vital to the Islanders' penalty kill, where he spent more time per game than any other player on the team. He had just nine points in 38 games but his role isn’t to provide offense. He’s a great top-four shutdown defenseman and once he got injured, it became even more apparent as to how valuable he is, leaving the Islanders with a huge hole in the lineup.
Next season for Pelech is a contract year. He’ll be back to the top-pairing with Ryan Pulock, which remains New York’s best all-around duo on the back end. Assuming nothing changes, he’ll likely prove that he’s worthy of a big raise. Lucky for Islanders, the fact is, quality defensive defensemen get paid less than defenders who can put up numbers and add offense. I’d expect the Islanders to give him a somewhat long-term deal, probably in the range of five years. That said, ice time is taken into consideration in contracts for defensemen and if I’m going to guess right now, the AAV on a new deal for him is probably somewhere in the $4-5 million range.
It’s exciting to think about Pelech and Pulock playing in front of Ilya Sorokin next season, which is likely to make scoring for the opposition a pretty difficult task. Pelech is hugely underrated around the league and remains an integral part of New York’s defense.
Here's todays poll (results and discussion will be posted Saturday):
What is your early prediction of the AAV for Adam Pelech's next contract (on a five-year deal)?
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»