- Another product of the University of Minnesota is looking to sign a contract extension with his current team. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports that the New York Islanders are working on an extension with defenseman Mike Reilly. After receiving little to no ice time with the Florida Panthers, Reilly was eventually claimed off waivers by the Islanders and gained the opportunity to make a significant impact. In 59 games after the waiver claim, Reilly scored six goals and 24 points in New York while also picking up some time on the powerplay. As the Islanders dealt with numerous injuries to their blue line last season, Reilly represents a capable depth option that can play in nearly any situation.
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Islanders Rumors
Islanders Sign Kyle MacLean To Three-Year Extension
4:39 PM: According to CapFriendly, MacLean is expected to make $775K at the NHL level for all three years of the deal. The Islanders will have approximately $5.8MM in cap space heading into the summer months.
10:16 AM: The Islanders have agreed to a three-year extension with pending RFA forward Kyle MacLean, per a team announcement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
After spending the first three seasons of his professional career on minor-league contracts with the Isles’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, the 25-year-old inked his first NHL contract last offseason. An undrafted free agent signing by Bridgeport out of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2020, MacLean earned his first NHL recall on Jan. 17 and remained on the roster for most of the rest of the campaign.
The son of Isles assistant coach John MacLean was serviceable in fourth-line minutes, posting four goals, nine points and a +5 rating in 32 regular-season games while averaging 10:05 per contest. By the time the playoffs rolled around, MacLean had worked his way into an everyday spot in the lineup, skating in all five postseason games in their first-round loss to the Hurricanes while playing nearly 12 minutes per night.
However, some advanced metrics yield cause for concern about his future effectiveness as an NHLer. MacLean struggled in the faceoff dot (42.5 FOW%), had an unsustainably high shooting percentage for a player without much of a goal-scoring history (15.4%), and controlled only 42.4% of shot attempts when on the ice at even strength despite seeing rather even defensive and offensive zone usage. He wasn’t tested on the penalty kill, either.
MacLean wasn’t afraid to lay the body, though, recording 60 hits, and was responsible with the puck when it was on his stick. He’s surely earned himself a spot on the opening night roster, as evidenced by today’s three-year commitment, but he’s likely better used as a 13th forward long-term than an everyday fourth-line center.
Head coach Patrick Roy will certainly have him in the mix for the spot entering training camp, though. A three-year deal puts him at 28 years old upon expiry in 2027, walking him to unrestricted free agency.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Islanders Could Be A Fit For Anthony Duclair
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson saw a change in his contract on June 15th, 2024, as his full no-trade clause became a modified 12-team no-trade clause (as per CapFriendly). Manson is entering the third year of his four-year $18MM contract and can now be traded to 19 NHL teams. The change in contract status doesn’t mean that the Avalanche are interested in trading the 32-year-old, but it does give the team options as they try to navigate multiple complex contract situations, while simultaneously trying to extend Jonathan Drouin and potentially address deficiencies in their roster.
Manson enjoyed a bounce-back season last year after an injury-riddled 2022-23 season, he posted eight goals and 17 assists in 76 games and continued to provide sound work in the defensive zone. He remained a good penalty killer with his long reach and mobility.
In other evening notes:
- Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeted that the Philadelphia Flyers remain in conversation with pending free-agent defenseman Erik Johnson. Kurz believes that the former first-overall pick intends to keep playing next season and is interested in signing with the Flyers. At 36 years of age, Johnson is not the defenseman he once was, but he can still provide physical play and take care of the defensive zone. He won’t score much, but for a team in need of a veteran in the room, re-signing Johnson might make sense for the Flyers.
- Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News believes that pending free agent forward Anthony Duclair would be a great fit with the New York Islanders. Rosner doesn’t cite any direct sources from the Islanders organization to link them to Duclair but believes the 28-year-old’s ability to play up and down the lineup would be a huge asset for the Islanders and his previous relationship with Islanders head coach Patrick Roy could factor into the equation. Roy coached Duclair for two years in his junior hockey days and Duclair speaks glowingly of him, calling Roy a mentor. Duclair posted 24 goals and 18 assists last season in 73 games and should have a lot of interest in free agency given his skillset.
Robin Salo Signs With SHL’s Malmo Redhawks
June 14: The Redhawks made Salo’s signing official today, confirming the two-year term.
June 6: Islanders pending Group VI free agent defenseman Robin Salo is heading overseas. He’s set to sign a two-year deal with the Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League, per Expressen’s Johan Svensson.
The Isles picked up Salo in the second round of the 2017 draft. The Finnish blue liner remained overseas for four seasons before coming to North America in 2021.
Now 25, Salo challenged for a major-league role out of camp the following season, and he put up a goal and four assists through his first 21 NHL games in bottom-pairing minutes. But he didn’t stick full-time, and he ended up spending most of the season on assignment to AHL Bridgeport, where he had a strong campaign with 20 points and a +1 rating in 40 games.
It’s been all downhill for the Finnish-born defender since, though. He appeared in only 11 games for the Isles in 2022-23 and saw decreased offensive output in Bridgeport, logging no goals and 14 assists in 38 games.
Salo was then placed on waivers to begin this season and never saw a call-up until serving as one of New York’s Black Aces during their first-round loss to the Hurricanes. He was still a regular on the farm with Bridgeport, though, logging five goals and 24 points in 68 games with a -19 rating.
Without much of a path to NHL time, though, it’s not surprising to see Salo return to Europe. He qualified for unrestricted free agency before his 27th birthday because he’s accumulated three North American professional seasons while playing fewer than 80 NHL games.
The left-shot defender has suited up in Sweden before, logging 36 points in 63 games with Örebro HK in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons before joining the Isles. He has a history of playing heavy minutes overseas and could very well serve in a top pairing role with the Redhawks, who also have Blackhawks prospect Jakub Galvas and Senators 2019 first-round pick Lassi Thomson on their blue line next season.
A strong two-year run in Malmö could very well earn Salo some consideration on the international free agent market in 2026. The Isles won’t hold his exclusive signing rights if he opts to return to North America, though.
Islanders Sign Jesse Nurmi To Entry-Level Deal
The Islanders signed left winger Jesse Nurmi to a three-year, entry-level contract earlier this week, per PuckPedia. His deal carries an $870K cap hit and breaks down into an NHL salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a games played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season.
The Isles picked up Nurmi’s signing rights in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. The 19-year-old has played in parts of three major-league seasons overseas, all with KooKoo of the Finnish Liiga. Since his 20th birthday doesn’t fall until next year, his deal will be eligible for an entry-level slide. His contract won’t go into effect until 2025-26 if he plays less than 10 NHL games next season.
Nurmi is still looking for his first professional goal, but he has three assists in 29 Liiga games, including a career-high 19 appearances this season. The checking winger has good speed and good offensive instincts, as evidenced by his 21 goals and 50 points in 41 junior games last season. However, despite a 6’0″ frame, he weighs only 172 lbs, so adding muscle will likely be a priority before he has a shot at making his NHL debut.
And with so little professional experience in his home country to date, Nurmi isn’t close to competing for an NHL roster spot. While he’ll collect a signing bonus from the Isles next season, he’ll likely spend the campaign on loan back to KooKoo, where he’ll have the chance to solidify himself as an everyday contributor in the pros. That will kick in his aforementioned slide and extend the expiry of his ELC to 2028.
Nurmi becomes the first member of the Isles’ most recent draft class to sign. The team’s first pick, second-round selection Danny Nelson, is coming off his freshman campaign at the University of Notre Dame and won’t sign his deal until he’s ready to turn pro.
Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders
Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Islanders.
Key Restricted Free Agents
RW Simon Holmstrom – Holmstrom had a breakthrough season in 2023-24 notching 15 goals and 10 assists in 75 games while providing terrific penalty killing. However, a deeper dive into his numbers reveals that the 23-year-old had a 20.8% shooting percentage that inflated his goal total and is likely to drop significantly next season. Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has historically been a tough negotiator with younger players which will likely keep Holmstrom’s AAV down on his next deal. A bridge deal in the range of $1.25MM – $1.5MM per season seems likely for Holmstrom, who will be looking to build off a solid season.
F Kyle MacLean – MacLean will come into the 2024-25 season as one of the favorites to take over the Islanders’ fourth-line center role. The 25-year-old emerged this season from Bridgeport and proved to be a strong forechecker that forced defensemen to move the puck quickly and also provided excellent backchecking in the Islanders’ defensive zone. MacLean won’t score much, but he is strong defensively and can get around the ice to cause disruption. He seems destined to get a two or three-year bridge deal in the range of $900K – $1MM.
RW Oliver Wahlstrom – Wahlstrom had a couple of decent seasons to start his NHL career but has fallen on hard times the last two years totalling just nine goals and 13 assists in 67 games. A knee injury in 2022 has certainly played a role in him losing some of his momentum but on the ice Wahlstrom looks like a player that has lost his confidence. A change of scenery trade would greatly benefit the 23-year-old and give the Islanders an asset for a player who seems to have played his way out of favor with the franchise. The native of Portland, Maine is a former 11th overall pick, and would likely still have some value left, but the best the Islanders might get is a swap for another former first-round pick that has struggled to begin their career.
Other RFAs: D Dennis Cholowski, C Ruslan Iskhakov, F Kyle MacLean, C Reece Newkirk, RW Tyce Thompson,
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Sebastian Aho – Aho is a skilled defenseman and a good passer who has posted some good numbers in the American Hockey League. However, in the NHL Aho’s size has made it difficult for him to use that skill to his advantage as he is frequently forced into giveaways. Aho is a smart player and can chip in on a power play, however, his skill set is best suited for a bottom pairing, preferably one where his partner has some size. Aho should get a short multi-year deal with an average annual value in the range of $1.5MM to $2MM.
RW Cal Clutterbuck – Clutterbuck’s play fell off considerably last season as the Islanders were hammered in the possession department when the 36-year-old took to the ice. While he was never an analytics darling, Clutterbuck’s 37.6% CF% at even strength (as per Hockey Reference) represented a career-low and the Islanders were under attack whenever his line was deployed. Clutterbuck’s pace remains okay, and he is still a physical force, however, at this late stage of his career, he is a below-average fourth-line player. Clutterbuck will still find work this summer, but it will likely be on a one-year deal around $1MM.
F Matt Martin – Much like Clutterbuck, Martin’s play last year fell off as did his ice time. Martin’s average ice time per game dropped almost a full two minutes and when he was on the ice the results weren’t great. Martin had just four goals and four assists in 57 games and his physicality trailed off as he appeared to wear down as the season went on. It was surprising to see his play drop off so dramatically as Martin had a career year in 2022-23, but one might wonder if Father Time finally caught up with the 35-year-old. Martin is another candidate for a one-year deal in the range of $1MM.
Other UFAs: G Ken Appleby, D Robert Bortuzzo, RW Karson Kuhlman, F Otto Koivula, D Paul LaDue, F Brian Pinho, D Mike Reilly, D Robin Salo
Projected Cap Space
The Islanders are extremely limited this offseason as they have just over $6.5MM in cap space and 5-6 roster spots left to fill. The team does have several veterans they could try to move this summer to open up cap room but would likely need to retain some salary in order to facilitate a move. New York is in a tough spot that is similar to their divisional counterpart the Pittsburgh Penguins in that they are firmly committed to an expensive and aging roster. However, unlike the Penguins, there isn’t a lot of indication that the Islanders are looking to get younger and faster. The Islanders are a team that could be aggressive this summer as general manager Lamoriello tries to squeeze one more deep playoff run out of this group of veterans.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Islanders Lose NHL Rights To Matias Rajanimei
The New York Rangers will reportedly begin contract extension talks with superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin when their window to do so opens on July 1st (as per David Pagnotta). The 28-year-old has one season remaining on the four-year $22,666,667 he signed in August 2021 and will likely top Carey Price’s $10.5MM AAV to become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Price’s contract remains active on Montreal’s books and is followed by Sergei Bobrovsky’s $10MM AAV and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s $9.5MM AAV.
The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner saw his regular season numbers fall off as he posted a 36-17-2 record with a .912 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average. His biggest drop off was his goals saved above expected where he dropped by 16 goals saved down to 12.1. As pedestrian as his regular season numbers were (by his standards), Shesterkin found his game in the playoffs and was dominant in helping the Rangers to the Conference Finals. He currently sits in second place in goals saved above expected with 13.1 goals saved in just 16 games and posted a .926 save percentage.
In other Eastern Conference notes:
- Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that the New York Islanders have lost the NHL rights to 2020 sixth-round draft pick Matias Rajaniemi, however, the defenseman had previously signed an AHL deal to play with the Islanders affiliate in Bridgeport. Rajaniemi signed the AHL deal back in March and is free to sign with any NHL team, however, as Rosner points out that doesn’t happen very often. The 21-year-old has yet to suit up in North America but does have good size at 6’4” and 203 pounds.
- Max Bultman of The Athletic tweeted that the Detroit Red Wings lost the NHL rights to goaltender Jan Bednar, however, the 21-year-old quickly signed an AHL deal with the Red Wings affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. The one-year deal will keep the former fourth-round pick in the Red Wings organization after he spent last season in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. Bednar is a good size at 6’4” and 200 pounds and is very gifted athletically. By signing Bednar to an AHL deal, Detroit and Grand Rapids have an opportunity to evaluate the netminder for another season before deciding their next course of action.
Offseason Checklist: New York Islanders
The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Islanders.
For most of the season, the Islanders were teetering on the edge of the postseason and eventually, GM Lou Lamoriello opted to make a change, hiring Patrick Roy to take over behind the bench. New York got on a bit of a hot streak toward the end of the year to get into the playoffs but they were quickly eliminated by Carolina. Now, the Isles need to try to add to their group in the hopes of grabbing a firmer hold of a playoff spot next season. Here’s what they should be looking to accomplish in the coming months.
Create Cap Space
Let’s run the numbers first. Per CapFriendly, New York has a little over $6MM in cap room for next season and a handful of roster spots to fill. If they did nothing, they could ice a cap-compliant lineup but it wouldn’t necessarily be any better than the one that struggled for most of the regular season and went out quickly in the playoffs. If they want to make an impactful addition, they need to find a way to get the money to make that happen.
Anders Lee had a tough year, seeing his output dip to 37 points which isn’t a great return on a $7MM price tag through the 2025-26 campaign. While it would be hard to see Lamoriello move his captain, it’s worth noting his full no-trade protection drops to a 15-team one on July 1st. Jean-Gabriel Pageau has two years left at $5MM and is more of a third liner at this point. Meanwhile, Kyle Palmieri is entering the final year of his deal at a $5MM price tag. That said, he’s also coming off a 30-goal campaign so while moving him would open more flexibility, it’d also create a bigger gap to try to fill offensively.
The good news for a possible Palmieri move is that his value has gone up to the point where they could move him without retaining or needing to incentivize a team to take him on. The bad news is that this likely can’t be said for Pageau or Lee. This is where adding the extra second-round pick in a rare May swap of draft picks with Chicago is notable. While it’s possible that it was done to give them a chip to dangle to add someone, it’s also possible that they wind up using it as the incentive for a team to take on a player, similar to what they did to move Josh Bailey last summer.
Regardless of how they get it done though, if Lamoriello wants to add to his team, he needs to find a way to add some cap space first.
Extension Talks
Lamoriello is known to like to use the leverage when he has it which resulted in both Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov signing below-market contracts back in 2022. They’ve benefited from that the last two seasons and will again in 2024-25 but they’ll have to pay the piper after that as both players will be restricted free agents with arbitration eligibility next summer. With the way both have progressed, it might make sense for the Isles to look into potentially extending one or both players this summer.
Dobson’s is the more prominent case. After narrowly missing out on the 50-point mark for the second straight year in 2022-23, the 24-year-old blew past that and then some, putting up 70 points in 79 games. Perhaps more importantly, he grabbed hold of the number one spot on the depth chart and ran with it, logging over 24 minutes a night. He has established himself as a legitimate top-pairing defender at a minimum and with another year or two like this one, he could become a true number one blueliner.
These are the types of players that are extremely hard to come by, particularly right-shot defenders. Accordingly, messing around and trying to low-ball in negotiations probably won’t fly so expect New York to put their best foot forward pretty quickly. His current salary and AAV is $4MM and it’s safe to say that his next deal will at least double that and likely more. If they wait on doing this now and Dobson has another big year, it’s possible that he could surpass Mathew Barzal’s $9.15MM AAV to become the most expensive player on the team.
Romanov won’t be getting anywhere near that level but he has become an important part of their top four after being acquired at the 2022 draft from Montreal. He doesn’t have the offense to command top dollar like Dobson will but as someone who logs around 20 minutes a night, kills penalties, and brings a physical edge to the table, he’ll still be well-positioned for a fair-sized raise on his current $2.5MM AAV and should be in the $4MM range on his next contract. This is a case where there isn’t as much risk in waiting as there might be with Dobson but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Lamoriello try to get this one done early as well.
Add Scoring Help
Scoring goals has been an issue for the Islanders in recent years. The last time they were better than 20th in goals was back in 2017-18 and their roster as currently constructed doesn’t have a lot of firepower outside their top six. (And if Palmieri ends up being the cap casualty, they’ll lose another scoring threat.) Finding a way to add to that will be critical.
They’re hoping that Maxim Tsyplakov will help somewhat on that front after a 31-goal breakout year in the KHL that saw him get interest from at least a dozen teams before signing with New York. But asking him to step in and play in the top six right away would be putting a lot of pressure on him. Playing in the bottom six and ideally shoring up the offensive potential of that group would certainly help, however.
But that’s probably a small improvement at most. A legitimate top-six option is needed to give this group enough firepower to have a chance to stay in the playoff mix next season. If they’re confident they can extend Brock Nelson (who’s also extension-eligible this summer) which would allow them to keep Barzal on the wing, they wouldn’t necessarily have to look at options down the middle which is ideal since the depth on the wing in this free agent class is better than the center group.
But again, with barely $6MM in cap space, that can easily be spent on one impactful player on the open market without doing anything about filling out the rest of their roster. Accordingly, they’ll have to get creative to add the scoring depth they need.
Shore Up Defensive Depth
This was a tough year for the Islanders from an injury perspective, especially when it came to their back end. Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield (three of their top five blueliners) all missed at least 24 games due to injuries which put their defensive depth to the test. After some early struggles, Lamoriello added veterans Robert Bortuzzo and Mike Reilly to try to stabilize things, moves that worked out relatively well considering the low acquisition price.
However, their depth is about to get thinned out. Both Bortuzzo and Reilly are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer as are Sebastian Aho and Robin Salo (who has seen NHL action in two of the last three years).
It’s possible that Reilly returns if he’s willing to sign for around the $1MM he made this season. Aho has earned a raise from the $825K he made for the past two years which could price his way out of what the Isles can afford to pay a seventh defender. In the minors, Salo joins Paul LaDue as veterans on expiring deals so work needs to be done there as well.
Lamoriello might need to sign three or four blueliners in the coming weeks to ensure he has sufficient depth in case injuries strike once again. As a result, expect to see several blueliners added early in free agency or on the trade front in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Afternoon Notes: Lisowsky, Islanders, Carle
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expected to sign 2022 seventh-round pick Brandon Lisowsky to his entry-level contract, shares Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Lisowsky is one of 47 prospects with rights set to expire this Saturday unless their NHL club signs them to an entry-level deal.
Lisowsky recently ended his OHL career, after spending the last four seasons with the Saskatoon Blades. He recorded 226 points across his 227 games with the club, ranking him sixth in team scoring since 2000. That includes the career-high 42 goals and 80 points he managed in 68 games this season. He was helped along a tremendous Saskatoon offense that also led undrafted free agent Trevor Wong to a 101-point season and Anaheim Ducks prospect Yegor Sidorov to an 88-point year in as many games. Lisowsky was also joined by fellow Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten, who managed 38 points in 36 games of his own.
Lisowsky joined Wong as the ace up Saskatoon’s sleeve all season long. Both players have blazing speed and an ability to make slick puck moves at top seed. But they each struggled with physicality throughout their juniors career, each standing at a lean 5-foot-9. That kept many scouts skeptical, even despite their highly creative and productive offense. The pair will now enter free agency together, looking to market teams on their ability to outpace competition.
Other notes from around the league:
- The New York Islanders have hired Sergei Naumovs as the goalie coach for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Previous Bridgeport goalie coach Chris Terreri has joined the NHL staff as ‘Director of Goaltending Development and Scouting’, while Piero Greco will remain the NHL goalie coach, shares Andrew Gross of The Athletic (Twitter link). This shakeup in the Islanders goaltending room follows Mitch Korn’s – the team’s previous ’Director of Goaltending’ – departure for the Nashville Predators. Naumovs has served as the goalie coach of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow since 2018, coaching Ilya Sorokin before his move to the NHL. He most recently coached Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, who posted a .914 save percentage in 44 KHL games last season. He’ll rejoin his previous star goalie in the Islanders organization – likely overseeing Henrik Tikkanen as Bridgeport’s starter next season.
- Acclaimed Denver University head coach David Carle shared with Meghan Angley of The DNVR that he did formally talk to one NHL team about a coaching role, though it wasn’t the New Jersey Devils (Twitter link). Carle took over Denver’s head coaching role in 2018 and has since crafted a collegiate legend, winning the league championship in two of the last three seasons, while posting a combined 94-28-4 record over that span. Carle most notably crafted a dominant defense, featuring Colorado Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens, Detroit Red Wings prospect Shai Buium, and top 2024 NHL Draft defender Zeev Buium. He’s been speculated for many NHL coaching roles, including interest from the Devils. But Carle is set on returning to Denver next season, where he’ll look to make another strong push, following multiple notable transfers this off-season.
Islanders Goaltending Coach To Remain With Team
- Earlier today, John Hoven of Mayors Manor looked at five candidates most suitable for the vacant assistant coach position with the Los Angeles Kings. Of the five, Lane Lambert appears to be the most qualified, as he recently held the position of head coach of the New York Islanders for nearly two years. Before his time with the Islanders, Lambert spent over a decade as an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals.
- After losing Mitch Korn to the Predators organization earlier today, the Islanders will still have some stability in their goaltending development. Beat writer Stefen Rosner reported today that though Korn has decided to leave the organization, goaltending coach Piero Greco is expected to continue in his current role. Greco has held the position since the 2018-19 NHL position and has helped with the play of goaltenders such as Robin Lehner, Ilya Sorokin, and Semyon Varlamov throughout his tenure.
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