Logan Stanley signed with the Islanders just over a week ago, missing all of training camp and the preseason, yet he’s already making an impact on and off the ice.
On a day off following the Islanders’ 6-0 win over the Devils, the 6-foot-7 defenseman explored Long Island’s North Shore and stopped into a local shop for coffee.
“I think it cost me like nine dollars,” Stanley said with a smile.
Aside from a 17-game stint in Buffalo after being acquired at last season’s trade deadline, Stanley has spent nearly his entire career in Canada, including six seasons in Winnipeg. Just last month, the former first-round pick was skating with his old junior team in Kitchener, Ontario, to stay in shape.
He’s currently living alone in a hotel while he waits for his pregnant wife and 3-year-old daughter to join him.
“I’m the new guy here, but I can already tell after getting traded last year, I got a version of it coming to a new group and I never really settled in in Buffalo,” Stanley said following Monday’s practice. “The guys were great there, but I never really felt like it was home or it was comfortable. This feels great. Everyone’s been super welcoming and I’ve enjoyed every day I’ve been here.”
“Being in the West my whole career, I didn’t know much about Long Island or the Islanders in general, but the way they’ve treated me and my family has been unbelievable. I really like it here. I took a drive [Sunday] and was checking out some neighborhoods and it’s beautiful,” he added.
His on-ice debut matched the warm welcome. In just his second game with the team — six days after his first practice — Stanley recorded two assists and three blocked shots while tying a team high with four hits in the win over the Devils at UBS Arena.
“I thought he was really good,” Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think he’s gotten better every time out. He’s a big man, he moves well, he’s got good puck skills, good teammate, not much not to like.”
Last season, Stanley posted career highs of nine goals and 17 assists in 76 games, a jump after averaging fewer than 41 games per season over his first five years in the league. He went unsigned all summer before the Islanders inked him to a one-year, $1.5 million deal, a move that came after the team sent defenseman Isaiah George to the minors.
Now paired with Tony DeAngelo, Stanley says the Islanders’ system isn’t as unfamiliar as his short runway might suggest.
“The system is not too unfamiliar,” Stanley said. “I played a version of it in Winnipeg last year. There’s a few changes that might take some time to burn into my brain, but for the most part it’s pretty simple and straightforward. They’re direct in what they want you to do. It’s good for us as a group because we know where everyone is gonna be on the ice. We’re all on the same page. There’s no second-guessing where the puck is supposed to go. It’s pretty black-and-white and I think that’ll help us get out of our end.”
“I missed training camp and a lot of these guys have been playing together for a while, but I’m starting to feel more comfortable now,” he said.
