Unfortunately the Islanders aren't an average team, there what I like to refer to as a "nice team".
They'll win their share of games, beat good teams, lose to bad team, borderline playoff team. They might sneak in, based on the play of other teams around them, they might just miss the playoffs. The problem with "nice teams" is that, although they're competitive and they give fans some fun moments, they end up drafting somewhere around 12-16 every year, so they never really become a real serious top tier team.
IMO, the Islanders really need to be sellers this year at the trade deadline. They have the worst prospect pool in the NHL and they're not getting any younger. The Isles need to have a few drafts where they have early 1st round picks. The current team past their expiration date last year, arguably the year before.
The Isles need a rebuild. There's no question in my mind. This is a stale team.
I have to be mindful of the adjectives I use for this team
. They are an average team, but semantics. A few factors. They don't have enough talent, nor depth to offset injuries. Losing Pelech, their best D man, can be a death sentence to this kind of team. Nor do they have enough talent to take 'nights off.' Talented teams can get away with playing at 75%, this team cannot. As a result, they need to play at 100% every night (just using the catch phrase b/c it's easier). That's not realistic, and it wears a team down. Furthermore, their system does not accentuate the kind of team they have; Trotz' system maximized limited talent.
I've had this conversation with other posters. With Sorokin, Barzal, Pelech all in their primes, I'm not sure a rebuild is the best route. You have a franchise goalie, rare as they come, you maximize that opportunity. To sell Sorokin off would be a mistake, IMHO. Then you have to find another franchise goalie that may not be as good. He's a rare breed. Is he willing to resign with a rebuilding club, at what, 29?
Yes, they are in perpetual mediocrity, as currently constructed. There's a lot of restructuring to be done from now until the offseason. I suppose if they can't find a way to bring in better talented players who will help now and down the road, then perhaps a quick rebuild around Sorokin is the way to go. I just wouldn't want to lose him. A franchise goalie is the hardest to find, and he's Vezina material.
My last point about rebuilds is that they aren't fail safe, whatsoever. Yeah, they can draft in the top-5 a few years consecutively, but those picks could develop into Reinharts, MDCs, Stromes, Daigles, Lafs etc. Many variables have to come together for a rebuild to be truly successful. In actuality, the best teams draft well with lottery picks and late rounders (see the Pens and Tampa). So that means the right drafting/development team needs to be in place. Does NYI currently have that? I think not.
To your last point. Speaking of adjectives, yes, this is a very stale team. I love this team through thick and thin, they have brought out emotions since the early 90's, but man, they look stale. Now, if they looked stale and were winning, I'll take that.