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Loading…Matthew Schaefer is one of the NHL's elite defensemen: his 98.2 overall ranks 2nd of 327 rated defensemen on BluelineMetrics. That makes him the 2nd-highest-rated player on the New York Islanders roster.
The standout tool is play driving (98), backed by offensive creation (96); penalty killing (5) is the part of his game that grades lowest.
His card history has one rated season so far: 98.9 in 2025-26.
At $986K through 2027-28 before restricted free agency, the model rates the deal Underpaid: his expected value is $13.5M, so the New York Islanders save roughly $12.6M a season against his production.
His cap hit is the 16th-largest on the New York Islanders NHL roster and uses 0.9% of the $104M ceiling; the club currently has $999K in cap space.
| Component | Rating (0-100) |
|---|---|
| Offense | 96 |
| Defense | 80 |
| Play driving | 98 |
| Finishing | 76 |
| Power play | 64 |
| Penalty kill | 5 |
| Season | Team | GP | Overall | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | NYI | 82 | 98.9 | 1.1 |
Other NYI defensemen by rating: Ben Hutton (69.2), Tony DeAngelo (62.3), Marshall Warren (62), Logan Stanley (55). See the full New York Islanders cap sheet.
How we rate players: each skater's overall is a percentile (0-100) built from offense, defense, play driving, finishing, power-play and penalty-kill impact against players at the same position; goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. Contract value compares the cap hit with the salary the model expects for that level of production, age and position. Figures are updated as new games and signings arrive.