The equilibrium at which the Islanders have operated over the past six weeks is going to change at some point soon.
Exactly when is not clear, but the day is coming soon when Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair and Adam Pelech will be back in the lineup (Mike Reilly, recovering from heart surgery, is presumed to be a longer-term question). Decisions — with the salary cap and with the lineup — will have to be made to accommodate those returns, and there is going to be a temptation to send Isaiah George back to AHL Bridgeport for more seasoning when the moment arrives.
The Islanders should not succumb to that temptation.
The last time they had a defense prospect of George’s caliber, there was not an option to send him down. Noah Dobson was subject to the CHL/NHL agreement and thus unable to play in the AHL during his age-20 rookie season. Knowing he was too good for juniors, the Islanders kept him on the roster as the seventh defenseman, and Dobson ended up playing 34 games in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
