This is always the time of the year when things are looking up for the Islanders. Yet, for the first time in a long time, they spent the previous months not just hoping to get better, but doing something about it.

If the playoffs are a legitimate goal – and they are, in the final season at Nassau Coliseum before the team leaves for Barclays Center in Brooklyn – then the most important new cog in the wheel is goalie Jaroslav Halak, coupled with capable backup Chad Johnson. Superstar center John Tavares is still the heart of the team, and still one of the five best players in the league, but even he recently admitted this is the first time in his career the goaltending situation has been solidified going into camp.

With some added talent to surround Tavares up front, the real questions remain on defense, where hope in young players developing quickly is still the resounding sentiment.

Who’s new: F Mikhail Grabovski, F Nikolai Kulemin, F Cory Conacher, G Jaroslav Halak, G Chad Johnson, D T.J. Brennan.

Who’s gone: F Thomas Vanek, D Andrew MacDonald, F Pierre-Marc Bouchard, F Matt Moulson (all left team during last season)

What coach wants to see: Not just development and improvement from young defensemen, but actual reliability – which is a tall order at the game’s highest level. It’s likely some combination of under-21-year-olds Griffin Reinhart, Scott Mayfield, Andrey Pedan and Ryan Pulock will make the team and will be asked to make an impact. It would also help a lot to see a revitalized chemistry between former Maple Leafs linemates Grabovski and Kulemin.

What coach doesn’t want to see: Complacency. Jack Capuano is going to ask a lot of players to play bigger roles than they have in the past – none more than Halak – and needs them to rise to the occasion. Injuries to key positions would also be devastating, as there is little depth anywhere on the roster.