"He looked hurt all year" - NHL fans react as Islanders' Scott Mayfield undergoes season-ending surgery

New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has undergone season-ending surgery on Tuesday.

The Islanders announced that Mayfield dealt with a lingering lower-body injury this season and has not played since Feb. 22 against the St. Louis Blues. New York also announced that he is expected to make a full recovery without delaying a summer training regiment.

Following the news of Mayfield undergoing surgery, several fans thought the defenseman had been injured all season long.

"This was needed from game 1. He looked hurt all year after he blocked that shot," a fan posted on X.

"Good news. I railed on Mayfield for most of the season…encouraging that his performance was due to injury," another fan wrote.

"ok so that's good to hear, there's hope for him yet. my question is, WHO THE HELL MADE THE DECISION TO KEEP HIM IN DESPITE THE ANKLE INJURY?! I know our d had some really bad injury luck this year, but game 1?! the injuries didnt start piling up till like game 20 right?"

"And now the anger will fall to whoever made the decision to let him play that long on it."

Several fans pointed out that they feel like Mayfield has been dealing with this injury since October. The defenseman was able to play in 41 games, recording zero goals and five assists.

The 31-year-old was in the first year of his seven-year deal that pays him $3.5 million per season.

Islanders likely to miss the playoffs

The New York Islanders were expected to be a playoff team this season, but that won't be the case.

New York is four points back of a playoff spot with 11 games to go, but the Islanders are 3-6-1 in their last 10 outings, diminishing their playoff chances. In that stretch, New York was shut out 4-0 at home to the New Jersey Devils, who are also trying to chase down a playoff spot, which was disappointing for Patrick Roy.

“We're in our building. We need to play better than this,” coach Patrick Roy said, via NHL. “We all know that. Our guys are smart, they know that. I mean, it's our fans. Our fans deserve better than what we've been showing.”

New York will return to the ice on Thursday as it hosts the Florida Panthers.