Add The New York Post on Google Matthew Schaefer’s getting a shake-up.
Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer plans to expand the defenseman’s defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s versatility in his sophomore season by moving the young phenom around the blue line.
“I think Schaefer is an option on the right side,” DeBoer said of the lefty-shooting Calder Memorial Trophy winner.
Schaefer played predominantly on the left side during his rookie campaign, with the exception of three late-season games when Ryan Pulock was out of the lineup.
“I think in our system everybody’s interchangeable … where we’re interchangeable, that allows us to put pressure on the puck,” the coach added.
DeBoer, who replaced Patrick Roy at the helm with four games left in the team’s late-season 2025 spiral out of playoff contention, added that he’s looking at offensive weapon Mat Barzal to play center this upcoming season.
“I think Barzy wants to play center,” DeBoer said. “I think he’s excited about it. He’s embracing it, and I think that makes us a better team if he’s there.”
Matthew Schaeffer will have an expanded role this season, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer says. Robert Sabo for New York Post “I like that speed down the middle,” the coach added, DeBoer said, likening the fast-lane approach to what brought success to the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes, as well as to their finals opponent, the Vegas Golden Knights.
The start of free agency made DeBoer’s settling into his first offseason with the Islanders new club an even greater challenge. Longtime captain Anders Lee left the team Islanders Wednesday for a three-year, $16.2 million deal with the Mammoth.
“I don’t think I remember a time — the Islanders without Anders Lee in the lineup,” DeBoer said of the forward who debuted with the team Isles in 2012 and was named captain in 2018.
“My wish is that Anders goes on and has career years in Utah, and helps them. I’m sure he will,” he added of Lee, who helped carry the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference conference finals in 2020 and 2021.
Islanders defenseman Isaiah George flat-out told The Post that “it sucks to see him go” and that the beloved and community-oriented Lee was “just a great guy.”
Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer. Heather Khalifa for New York Post “You can ask anyone, just a super thoughtful, great man in terms of getting everyone involved, making it feel like a true team,” said George.
“Then obviously on the ice, I think his play speaks for itself. He was a leader by example of how hard he played, how hard he worked,” added George, who’s been splitting his time between the Islanders and UBS Arena and Bridgeport of the AHL since 2024.
DeBoer isn’t rushing into naming a replacement captain.
“I was hoping we wouldn’t be at this spot, so it’s kind of one of those things where you don’t think about it until you have to,” he said.
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The coach new hire is still getting to know his roster and said he recently had face time “just talking hockey” with Barzal and Long Island native Kyle Palmieri, a forward the Islanders lost to an ACL injury last November.
DeBoer said his goal is to “give everyone a fair opportunity as much as we can, without costing us hockey games,” but still cited called out expectations for Anthony Duclair, the forward who had 27 points in 62 games last season.
“I’ve seen the best of Duclair when he’s in Florida, putting up almost 60 points,” DeBoer said of the athlete who had a contentious relationship with Roy at the end of 2024.
“I’ve also seen the other seasons where he hasn’t. So he’s got to come with that — with his best game and bring it to the rink every day.”
