The New York Islanders were one of the most pleasant surprises of the 2013 NHL season, unexpectedly making the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a run for their money in the first round despite being the eight-seed.

Much of the Islanders’ success comes from the offense. John Tavares is one of the top forwards in all of hockey, and he is flanked by other talented forwards like Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson.

The goaltending continued to be somewhat of an issue. Evgeni Nabokov was average between the pipes on the Island and while he was not spectacular, he was still a decent keeper. He will look to improve on his performance from last year, as he returns as the starting netminder.

The 2013 offseason was a decent one for the Islanders, as they made smart but not flashy moves.

New York traded Nino Niederreiter to Minnesota in exchange for the heavy-hitting Cal Clutterbuck. The trade works to the advantage of the Islanders, as Niederreiter had been extremely disappointing so far in his young NHL career while Clutterbuck is always among the top of the NHL in hits.

The Islanders already had one of the league’s top hitters in Matt Martin, and it is definitely possible that Martin and Clutterbuck could finish as the top two in total hits this year.

The physicality of this year’s Islanders team could work wonders. It is a team mainly based off of its offense, but with the feared Martin and Clutterbuck, opponents won’t dare to touch the Islanders stars. This should lead to more open ice and even more scoring opportunities for this young and exciting team.

The only key loss of the offseason was captain Mark Streit, who took off for division rival Philadelphia. Losing the veteran defenseman could hurt, but it will end up saving the Islanders a good amount of money.

The defense is young and fairly inexperienced without Streit, but Travis Hamonic showed great signs of improvement last year and could wind up being a fairly productive top defenseman in the coming years.

Ryan Pulock was the first-round draft choice of the Islanders, and while he may not crack the roster this season, he should be a very reliable defenseman in the future.

The Islanders are still young and inexperienced, but they should be a playoff team despite playing in a tough division. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers will be the toughest foes to overcome, but the Islanders’ offensive attack and physicality should be enough to put them above Philadelphia, Columbus, and Washington.