The New York Islanders have signed Adam Pelech to a four-year deal worth a total of $6.4MM. The 22-year old will earn an average salary of $1.6MM, and be expected to take on a bigger role for the Islanders this season. GM Garth Snow released a statement about the signing:
Adam has proven at a very young age that he’s capable of playing an important defensive role on our team. He will be an important piece of our defensive core moving forward and I’m excited to watch him continue to develop at the NHL level.
Pelech took a step forward this year and spent most of the season in the NHL, suiting up for 44 games. Though he registered just ten points and had many point out the obvious flaws in his game, he is still just 22 and a few years removed from putting up some huge totals in the OHL. Not much of that offensive upside has shown itself at the professional level, but he could still improve on that side of the ice once he feels more comfortable at the NHL level.
The Islanders still have Calvin de Haan to sign, but after working out a deal with him (or being given a decision from an arbitrator) they’ll have seven defensemen on NHL contracts even after the trade of Travis Hamonic. Ryan Pulock, another 22-year old on an entry-level contract is also expected to battle for a full-time role in the NHL, giving the team plenty of options on who to put on the ice each night.
At $1.6MM, Pelech actually jumps up to the fourth-highest paid defenseman on the team until de Haan signs. Though there are some solid options there, relying on Pelech to be much more than a bottom-pairing player this year would be a tough position for the young defender. The team will need to get big performances out of Thomas Hickey and Dennis Seidenberg, two players who have shown their limitations when placed in tough matchups.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the deal, while Arthur Staple of Newsday gives us the financial breakdown.