The last two Islanders coaches both ran short on patience with Oliver Wahlstrom. The current one appears to be reaching the same point.
Wahlstrom was taken off the power play amid the shake-up to both units ahead of Wednesday’s match against the Bruins, and coach Patrick Roy did not hold back his feelings about the 24-year-old, who has scored just one goal so far this season.
“I’ll say this: I look at the menu and there’s a lot of s- -t on it. It’s a beautiful menu, I’m still on my appetite,” Roy said. “He hasn’t given me something that makes me feel like — OK, last game on the power play, he had two turnovers at the blue line. At five-on-five, he’s doing a lot of good things, but everybody’s been telling me he’s a good finisher. I haven’t see that yet. So I want to see those things.
“I think Wally could offer us more than he’s been doing. That’s my opinion. And I think he’s a really good hockey player. But I want to feel full. I’d like to see a little more and I think he can do it.
“If I’m [out of] line, I’ll be [out of] line, but I do think Wally could offer a little bit more than what he’s been doing at five-on-five, and I’m sure that will bring a lot of confidence for him.”
For the time being, Wahlstrom is still in the Islanders lineup, but Roy said he expects Hudson Fasching to draw back in on Friday against the Capitals.
That would presumably be for either Wahlstrom or Matt Martin on the fourth line, which has frequently struggled.
Wahlstrom has apparently had nine lives in an Islanders uniform, with various points appearing to be his last chance and Lou Lamoriello saying on the draft floor last summer that the team was open to trading his rights as a restricted free agent.
But that never came to fruition. Instead, Wahlstrom re-signed for a one-year contract, had a strong training camp and made the Islanders.
Now, they appear to be right back where they started.
Once the Islanders are no longer in long-term injured reserve, it’s possible Wahlstrom will be a casualty of roster cuts that will become necessary for the team to be cap compliant.
But it’s not clear when that will be, given that Mathew Barzal has yet to begin skating while Anthony Duclair only recently started doing so on his own.
Until then, chances are he will stick around — and perhaps continue to be in the lineup — for lack of a better option.
