PITTSBURGH — The idea behind signing Scott Mayfield to a seven-year deal this offseason was that the Islanders, paying out a lower average annual value than a shorter contract would have demanded, would get value early in the contract.
But Mayfield himself described this season as “frustrating” in a conversation with The Post on Tuesday morning before the Islanders faced the Penguins, thanks mostly to an ankle injury suffered on opening night that he said didn’t feel completely healed until a few weeks ago.
“Whenever you’re injured the first game of the season after having a good summer, it’s never a good thing,” Mayfield said. “It took me a long time with that injury — pretty much All-Star break, really — till I felt like I’m doing a lot better. It’s feeling pretty good now.
“Injuries are tough, and I’ve never gone through it in my career [coming back during a season]. … It was a different type of year for me.”
Mayfield missed 15 games this season with both the ankle and a second injury that occurred in early December. When he has played, he hasn’t looked quite the same as usual.
Skating on the third pair for much of the season, he’d taken 16 penalties entering Thursday — second on the team only to Anders Lee, who’d committed 17 while playing every game — including three in Sunday’s Stadium Series loss to the Rangers, one of which led to Mika Zibanejad’s game-tying goal.
“I try to play hard. I try to toe that line as much as I can,” Mayfield said. “You look at the ones last game, kind of some unlucky ones there. But that’s part of it, and I gotta be better. When you do take the penalties, gotta make sure you get the kills that you can. It’s on me taking those. Just gotta be better.”
Mayfield’s expected goals rate has fallen from a hair over 50 percent at five-on-five to 43.85 percent, per Natural Stat Trick, and his offensive production has fallen off a cliff after a career-best 24 points in 2022-23.
And the Isles’ penalty kill, on which Mayfield plays significant minutes, has been a disaster.
“I’m someone that’s always been [one to] play through anything and do what I can; I think that’s always the best mindset,” Mayfield said. “If I think I can help a team win, that’s my goal is to be in. It was interesting, it was a different situation. It’s something that I learned from, obviously, being my first time out of games, really. The other two times were both at the end of the season, not playoffs, I missed 20 games and I didn’t come back at all. It was just kind of, that’s the way it was, black and white.”
Mayfield didn’t say he would’ve handled things differently if given the chance, and injuries in general have been a problem for the Islanders all season on the blue line.
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But they are healthy now, or at least as healthy as any team can expect to be 55 games into the season.
“I like Scotty. He’s got a great mind,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “I know he got those three penalties the last game; I’m sure he understands that. He’s playing his role really well with Mike [Reilly], since they’ve been playing together they’ve been playing really good hockey for us. I’m pretty sure with what he brings to our team and the role that he plays.”
A month into Roy’s tenure behind the bench, the situation in the standings is getting close to dire for the Islanders, who need to make up points on the Devils, Flyers, Red Wings and Lightning to get back above the playoff cutline.
That is the focus for Mayfield, who can put a forgettable first four months of the season in the rearview over the next 28 games if he returns to form and helps the Isles get into the postseason.
“It’s all about this push we have to make now,” Mayfield said. “We have to win some games.”