On Wednesday, the New York Islanders announced that defenseman Johnny Boychuk’s career is over. The decision was a result of an eye injury that Boychuk suffered last season.
While he wasn’t able to take on the same role that he did years ago, Boychuk was still a reliable member of the defense group. He was a key member of the team’s penalty kill, where he averaged over two minutes per game. Boychuk also ranked first on the Islanders and ninth in the league in blocked shots per 60 minutes (minimum 15 games played).
When it comes to next season, it’s likely that we see Noah Dobson take over Boychuk’s duties on the bottom pairing, while Andy Greene will probably return to play alongside him. Greene has similar qualities to Boychuk, in veteran leadership and a strong presence defensively and he should be able to help Dobson adjust to taking a full-time role in the lineup. Dobson got a taste of NHL action by playing in 34 games last season, however, he’ll likely take a sheltered full-time spot this coming season.
One factor to consider with the Boychuk news is also his contract. He had two years remaining on his deal at $6 million per year and given the Islanders’ current cap situation, it’ll provide the team with much more breathing room. They’ll now have nearly $10 million to re-sign Mathew Barzal, likely along with Andy Greene, then potentially Derick Brassard, Matt Martin and others. I’d imagine that within the next couple weeks, we’ll see some moves made by the Islanders, now that they have the cap space to do so.
Regardless, Boychuk was still a quality member of the team’s defense group and his loss will probably be felt on the Islanders' back end. It’s unfortunate that his career is ending this way but he’s certainly left his mark with the Islanders in his six seasons with the team.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Islanders Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Islanders for updates on articles, Islanders news, etc.***
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
With Johnny Boychuk's career over, do you think Andy Greene will return to the Islanders?
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»