We’ve often read that, on paper, the New York Islanders don’t have the best lineup. On August 7th, The Athletics Alison Lukan (subscription required) had the Islanders total WAR at 16.74, ranked very near the bottom of the league at 20th in the NHL. That 16.74 WAR would return the Isles a projected 82 points in the standings.
Only a two Metropolitan Division teams, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, ranked lower with a 15.04 (79 points) and 13.21 (75 points) WAR, respectively.
So what if we played around with the lines, what combination of current Islanders players would return the highest WAR rank and thus point projection for the upcoming season?