The way the “Free Agent Line” of Ruslan Fedotenko, Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin started the season, the powerplay looked like it was going to be one of the only things the Islanders didn’t have to worry too much about. However, by the All-Star break, it was obvious that the powerplay needed serious help.

It didn’t help matters either that Radek Martinek wasn’t as promising an offensive threat as the team gave him credit for over the past few years, but inconsistency from the top unit and players like Miroslav Satan, Trent Hunter and Marc-Andre Bergeron, as well as injuries to players such as Chris Campoli and Mike Sillinger killed any chance the powerplay had at being successful. For most of the last half of the season, it seemed that teams could get away with committing penalties against the Isles because their powerplay was flaccid at best.

After a while, it seemed that players that should have been getting chances with the man advantage, guys like Sean Bergenheim and Blake Comeau, where getting stiffed in favor of players like Andy Hilbert and Richard Park. Nothing against Park and Hilbert [especially Park, who had his best season in the NHL this year], but guys like Bergenheim and Comeau are the future of this team and need to get as much of an opportunity as possible. While Park and Hilbert work hard on every shift, they aren’t going to develop with experience like the youngsters can. Next season, I expect to see those two players on the PP much more than before and imagine that other youngsters like Kyle Okposo and Jeff Tambellini will get a chance as well.

However, that doesn’t solve the problem of not having a powerplay quarterback. Bergeron was so bad defensively that he became a liability on the powerplay and even though Andy Sutton was used at times, he’s not the answer. Using Satan didn’t work at the point and Bryan Berard was never given a real shot to anchor a unit. With that being said, the Islanders will either be searching for a legitimate offensive defenseman or will ask youngsters like Campoli, Jack Hillen and Bruno Gervais [if he’s resigned] to produce. The Isles will also have an opportunity to draft a defenseman this year, which could potentially solve the problem.

Regardless of this though, players like Guerin and Comrie will have to establish themselves with the man advantage and set an example for the rest of the team to follow. If that doesn’t work, youngsters like Okposo, Comeau and Tambellini will be forced to progress much faster than expected.