Islanders' Brock Nelson: Taking off under Trotz

Nelson has become one of the better number two centers in the league under Barry Trotz, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports.

With Trotz at the helm, Nelson has put up back-to-back 53-and 54-point seasons and may have hit the 30-goal mark if last season wasn't truncated due to the pandemic. The Islanders are strong down the middle with Matthew Barzal (unsigned), Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Nelson. Sure there are teams with a stronger center or two, but as a group, this is one of the strongest positions on the team. Nelson will likely stay with Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier even if Barzal were to remain unsigned and miss the beginning of the season. It is expected that Pageau would be ticketed to move up to play with Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle if that situation were to arise. The Islanders would prefer to have as few disruptions as possible and don't want to fix what isn't broken, and the Nelson line may actually be their best.