East Notes: Varlamov, Duclair, Power

The New York Islanders plan to enter next season with veteran Semyon Varlamov as their backup netminder, Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters wrote today. Varlamov, 38, missed the entire 2025-26 season recovering from a knee injury, save for a two-game rehab stint in the AHL in the middle of April. With Varlamov sidelined by his injury, the Islanders turned to fellow veteran David Rittich as their backup goalie, signing him to a one-year contract.

Rosner reports that the Islanders held “preliminary contract negotiations” with Rittich’s camp, which is led by Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management, on a potential extension, but Rosner noted that those talks came before Varlamov’s rehab stint. Since it appears now that the 38-year-old will be healthy for training camp in the fall, and is slated to make $2.75MM against the cap, the Islanders don’t have room for Rittich, who has more than earned the right to stay in the NHL after playing in 64 games in the last two seasons. He went 14-10-3 with an .894 save percentage in 30 games for the Islanders this past season. In his most recent healthy campaign as Islanders backup, 2023-24, Varlamov went 14-8-4 with a .918 save percentage in 28 games played.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

• It “seems very likely” that veteran forward Anthony Duclair will be moved this summer, Rosner also wrote today. The 30-year-old scorer’s tenure on Long Island has been a poor fit for both player and team. Duclair signed a four-year, $3.5MM AAV contract with the Islanders in the summer of 2024, but only managed 11 points in 44 games played in 2024-25. By the end of that season, former head coach Patrick Roy was harshly critical of Duclair’s form. This past season was an improvement for the former All-Star, but not a substantial one. He scored 12 goals and 27 points in 62 games, a 16-goal, 36-point 82-game scoring pace. Duclair’s pedigree as a scorer should help him draw some league-wide interest if he is indeed shopped, although the term left on his deal (two years), combined with his uneven play will make finding a trade more of a challenge. Making things easier, though, is the fact that his contract will shift from a full no-trade clause to a 16-team no-trade list on July 1.
• Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power went into the boards awkwardly during the team’s game five loss last night, and although he returned to the ice later in the game, his health and status moving forward is something to monitor. Head coach Lindy Ruff was asked about Power in his media availability today, but was not able to provide much of an update. He said, per Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News, that Power is feeling “better than he thought he would” and received treatment today. At this time, it seems more likely than not that he’ll be able to play tomorrow night as the Sabres look to keep their season alive in Montreal, though his availability has not yet been confirmed.