Why: Eventually this team is going to take a step forward and it’s probably going to come out of nowhere to surprise everyone. That’s the general feeling around this team and though a few THN staffers feel the Isles are on the cusp of moving on up, it always comes back to the fact they’re stuck in the difficult Atlantic Division. The Islanders will be hard-pressed to move out of the No. 5 spot in that grouping, which immediately puts them at a disadvantage. Goaltending is still a concern with or, more likely, without Rick DiPietro, though John Tavares is on track to superstardom.