Islanders veteran defenseman shut down for remainder of season

The New York Islanders have announced that defenseman Scott Mayfield had successful surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season. They didn’t make any official announcements regarding the nature of the procedure but said that the 31-year-old is expected to make a full recovery and shouldn’t have any issues completing his summer training regimen.

Mayfield hasn’t played for over a month and has been dealing with the lingering effects of an ankle injury he suffered at the beginning of the season. He was initially placed on the LTIR and was expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks. Many speculated at that time that his season could be done and with today’s announcement, the team has made it official.

After a career year last season, Mayfield struggled to play this season with the injury and had also increased expectations after signing a new seven-year contract extension last summer. While he’s never offered much offensively, his underlying numbers fell off a cliff as he has struggled to get around the ice. Mayfield had just five assists in 41 games this season after posting a career-high six goals and 18 assists in 82 games last season.

With six years left on his contract, his recovery will be an important factor for the Islanders next season if they want to contend for a playoff position in the Eastern Conference again.