Mayfield Out 4-6 Weeks, Clutterbuck to Miss Rest of Season

On Thursday, the New York Islanders announced that defenseman Scott Mayfield will be out for the next 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury, and forward Cal Clutterbuck will miss the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury, which will require surgery.

“Well, they’re very important.  I mean, you know, this is the National Hockey League. Guys are gonna go down and just, you know it’s got to be the next man up mentality, which is opportunities for other guys,” New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said.” But they’re both big pieces in our room, both big pieces, especially on the penalty kill and late-game situations, defensive situations. Those (two) are as good as we have.”

“So, you know, other guys are going to have to develop their game to be hopefully better in some of those areas and take on those minutes so it’s gonna be you know, some guys that haven’t got those minutes this is a real good opportunity for them.”

Scott Mayfield

The 29-year old defenseman Scott Mayfield was injured after he blocked a shot late in the third period against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

Scott Mayfield, after scoring the first goal of the contest, the eventual game-winner, blocked an Erik Brannstrom slap shot with 54.1 seconds to play in regulation with the Islanders up 2-0. The puck hit off of Mayfield, went to Brock Nelson, who dished the puck up to Zach Parise for the empty-net tally.

You can watch the block at the 33-second mark.

It was a 3️⃣ goal 3️⃣ rd to secure the shutout dub for Varly! pic.twitter.com/KvGoljNrlF

— Isles on MSG+ (@IslesMSGN) March 23, 2022

“I don’t think he knew until after the game. Obviously, when you block a shot, it can go either way. (He) scores a big goal for us. I think he felt good but the X-ray showed something different,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “It’s tough on the mind of the player, tough on teammates.”

“You never want to see a guy go down but we’re gonna hope for a quick recovery…”

In 61 games played this season, Mayfield recorded three goals and 15 assists, while averaging 19:47 minutes per game.

Although no one ever wants to see a player get injured, the New York Islanders can now use the remainder of the season to evaluate some of their defensive depth.

As of now, the Islanders have not made any roster moves and it seems like Trotz is not going to rely on anyone from the AHL right now to fill the holes. But there are options if that is the direction the Islanders eventually head.

Because Andy Greene can play the left and the right side, which helps in regards to a few minor leaguers.

23-year old Robin Salo is expected to make the roster in 2022-23 and could be a regular on the backend. When he was recalled and debut earlier in the season, Salo was the Islanders best skating defenseman. In 18 games up with New York, he had one goal and three assists.

In 31 games with Bridgeport, the left-side defenseman has three goals and 13 assists.

At 26, Grant Hutton’s time to prove his worth is running out. But when he was up with the Islanders, there were no complaints about his game. He was one of those defensemen that went unnoticed because he played his role to a tee. He was responsible in his own zone, always seemed to be in the right position.

In five games played up with the Islanders, Hutton did not collect a point but had seven shots in 15:16 ATOI.

With Bridgeport, the right-side defenseman has eight goals and nine assists in 44 games.The Islanders have used Sebastian Aho more times than not as the seventh defenseman this season. Despite looking more comfortable when he plays, the same mistakes are being made and this could be his last season in blue and orange as he is a pending unrestricted free agent.

In the 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Aho’s turnover led directly to a goal, and Trotz after the game called the turnover catastrophic.

Scott Mayfield was one of two Islanders (Zach Parise) to have not missed a game this season.

Cal Clutterbuck

New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck has not played since the 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars last Saturday, missing the last two games. Head coach Barry Trotz said that Clutterbuck was banged up.

And on Monday, the Islanders inked Cal Clutterbuck to a two-year extension.

There is no news on when Clutterbuck sustained his shoulder injury and in his absence once could expect Ross Johnston or Kieffer Bellows to slot into his spot on the fourth line.

This season, Clutterbuck has been the Islanders strongest fourth-line player. In 59 games, Clutterbuck has six goals and nine assists in 14:03 ATOI. He currently ranks fourth in the NHL with 229 hits.