Headlines

  • Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer
  • New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach
  • Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery
  • New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz
  • Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach
  • Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

July 10, 2021 at 6:08 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Islanders, similar to last season, face an extenuating salary cap crunch that could force some moves.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Anthony Beauvillier – It was a solid season for the 24-year-0ld winger, who’s continuing to progress into a legitimate depth option moving forward. Even with this year’s shortened season, Beauvillier’s now scored at least 15 goals for four straight years, including one of his most complete two-way years in 2020-21. Mostly relied upon for his scoring ability, he’s a good young piece for a team that struggles to have consistent offensive success. While the Islanders would love to commit long-term to Beauvillier, keeping costs down this offseason is paramount. Expect a bridge deal, likely no more than three seasons long, in the $3MM range. It allows Beauvillier to cash in at the end of the deal, and it gives the Isles some necessary breathing room.

D Adam Pelech – Underrated no more is Pelech, who even received a handful of Norris Trophy votes this season. Playing over 21 minutes a night for the second straight year, the low-event, shot-suppressing defenseman forms one of the formidable pairings in the league with Ryan Pulock. New York’s second-best defender, Pelech will need a sharp raise this offseason. Yet again, though, the salary cap will limit how long the Islanders can make an investment. Older than Beauvillier, any deal will carry Pelech into unrestricted free agency. The Isles will sign him to as much term as they can while keeping the cost as low as possible.

Other RFAs: F Michael Dal Colle, F Kieffer Bellows, F Dmytro Timashov, F Otto Koivula, F Anatoly Golyshev, F Bobo Carpenter, G Ilya Sorokin

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Kyle Palmieri – Despite probably the worst regular season of Palmieri’s career, he likely boosted his stock this offseason considerably with his playoff performance. He had nine points in 19 games with many coming at important moments. While there’s always the possibility of Palmieri taking a short-term deal on the cheap to try and win with the Islanders, it’s likely that he’ll receive enough more compensatory offers on the open market that he’ll be playing elsewhere next season. The Isles have younger, cheaper in-house options to replace his offense, including Oliver Wahlstrom and Kieffer Bellows.

F Casey Cizikas – The Isles’ longtime fourth-line center, this offseason could be one where Cizikas and New York part ways. Now 30 years old, Cizikas has played almost 600 NHL games and is an invaluable leader for the Isles. Yet the former 20-goal scorer remains stuck on the depth chart behind Jean-Gabriel Pageau. If Cizikas wants the opportunity to move elsewhere and play increased minutes, this may be his only shot. It’s also perfectly realistic to expect that Cizikas could take an extremely friendly deal to remain with the team. There’s always been an aspect of loyalty there, and that could come into play here.

Other UFAs: F Travis Zajac, F Cole Bardreau, F Joshua Ho-Sang, F Tanner Fritz, D Braydon Coburn, D Andy Greene, G Cory Schneider

Projected Cap Space

The Islanders are in tough this offseason with just $5.8MM to work with and important pieces to re-sign. While that number will surely increase once defenseman Johnny Boychuk’s contract is moved to LTIR, the Islanders still likely won’t have that much room to maneuver with. It’s entirely possible that we see general manager Lou Lamoriello make some unexpected trades in order to boost the team’s talent level without much added cap expense, but only time will tell.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Adam Pelech| Anthony Beauvillier| Casey Cizikas| Free Agency| Free Agent Focus| Kyle Palmieri| New York Islanders

Leafs Notes: Hyman, Bertuzzi, Assistant Coaches
Main
Snapshots: Canadiens, Granlund, Jones
View Comments (2)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Nha Trang

    10 months ago

    Yeah, you got to think that they’ll need every penny of Boychuk’s LTIR to pay off Pelech and Beauvillier and then some — I just don’t see Pelech taking less than Pulock already makes. And even with a bunch of league minimums to fill out the roster, well … Palmieri’s sure gone, and without them clearing out some salary, how they’re going to pay Sorokin I have no clue.

    About the only thing I can think of is a bit radical: leave Leddy unprotected. He’s still good enough for Seattle to bite, he’s only got one year left on his deal, and $5.5 freed up will at least be enough to pay Sorokin and Cisikas.

    Reply
  2. seaver41

    10 months ago

    Ledford or Eberle have to be left unprotected and selected by Seattle to give them relief. If that doesn’t work then a trade has to

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer

    New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach

    Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

    New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz

    Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach

    Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff

    Red Wings Will Not Bring Back Jeff Blashill Next Season

    Dustin Brown To Retire After 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs

    Buffalo Sabres Sign Owen Power

    Doug Wilson Steps Down From Role With San Jose Sharks

    Recent

    Philadelphia Flyers Sign Adam Ginning

    Maple Leafs Will Not Make Management, Coaching Changes

    Winnipeg Jets Interviewing Barry Trotz

    St. Louis Blues Sign Vadim Zherenko

    Penguins Notes: Malkin, Rust, Rakell

    2022 Selke Trophy Finalists Announced

    Jason Spezza Unsure Of Future; Will Only Play For Maple Leafs

    David Pastrnak Joins World Championship

    Snapshots: Blidh, Santini, Rubins

    New York Rangers Expected To Sign Gustav Rydahl

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version