It appears that the Islanders have avoided the worst-case scenario when it comes to injured center Bo Horvat. Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News reports that the initial indication is that the veteran will miss one to three weeks with a lower-body injury but that there was no structural damage. The injury occurred in the second period of Thursday’s game against Anaheim; he left the game and did not return. Horvat is in the middle of a strong showing this season, potting 19 goals and 12 assists through 32 games. Only three players have more goals than he does but that list will certainly be longer by the time he returns.
Islanders Rumors
Jonathan Drouin Participates In Morning Skate
- The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner reported today that New York Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin was on the ice for the team’s morning skate. Per Rosner, this is Drouin’s first time skating back with the team since he took warmups before the team’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 4. Drouin has been out with a back injury since that point, and has so far missed four games. The veteran forward has three goals and 15 points in 26 games so far this season and is playing out the first year of the two-year, $4MM AAV free agent pact that brought him to Long Island.
Islanders Release Andrej Sustr From AHL Tryout
Veteran defender Andrej Šustr has been released from his professional tryout agreement with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, the team announced. For now, his attempted return to North America is over.
Šustr landed with the Isles’ farm team on a PTO after inking one with the crosstown Rangers to participate in their NHL camp. He lasted over a week in camp but was released from that deal on Sep. 29, and he wasn’t offered an AHL deal to stay with them, either. A few days later, Bridgeport picked him up for added veteran depth.
The former penalty-killing fixture with the Lightning wasn’t able to carve out much of a role, though. He’d been an increasingly frequent scratch, playing only five times since the start of November and not since Nov. 15. In 11 appearances, the 6’7″ righty posted one assist, a -6 rating, and 21 penalty minutes.
Šustr has 361 NHL games to his name but none since 2021-22, a season he split between the Lightning and the Ducks – his second stint with each team. The Czech rearguard was a relatively successful pickup by Tampa as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2013. He became a regular on their right side and one of their most frequent shorthanded options, posting a 10-53–63 scoring line with a -3 rating in 318 games across six seasons across his first stint. He became a free agent in 2018 and inked a one-year deal with the Ducks, but he played just five games for Anaheim and spent most of the season in the minors.
He spent the following two seasons in China with Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League, going without a goal in 99 games, before returning to Tampa in 2021. He split the year between the Lightning and AHL Syracuse before being claimed off waivers by the Ducks in February, finishing the year there. He signed with the Wild for 2022-23 but never suited up for them after clearing waivers at the beginning of the year. Anaheim acquired him for a third time for minor-league depth at the deadline in the John Klingberg deal, but he again didn’t see a recall. Šustr became a UFA and had spent the last two seasons in three separate European leagues – Germany’s DEL with Kölner Haie, Czechia’s Extraliga with HC Dynamo Pardubice, and Finland’s Liiga with Tappara, before landing his tryout with the Rangers to attempt an NHL return.
Now 35, Šustr has almost definitely played his final NHL game. Considering his underwhelming showing with Bridgeport, his last pro game in North America might be in the rearview as well.
Drouin Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
- Prior to tonight’s game against Colorado, the Islanders announced (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Drouin is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 30-year-old is in his first season in New York after coming over from the Avs in free agency and while he hasn’t been scoring much (he has just three goals), he has picked up a dozen assists through his first 26 games; his 15 points are good for sixth in team scoring.
New York Islanders Recall Marc Gatcomb
The New York Islanders announced today that forward Marc Gatcomb has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders. This recall comes in the aftermath of an injury suffered by veteran winger Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri is expected to miss six to eight months with a torn ACL.
The team also announced that Palmieri has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to his injury date of Nov. 11. The IR placement created the necessary room on the team’s NHL roster to allow for the addition of Gatcomb.
This recall of Gatcomb allows the Islanders to further reinforce their forward group, a group that has been left depleted due to Palmieri’s injury, as well as an injury to center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Pageau is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Gatcomb is, of course, not a one-to-one replacement for either injured veteran. Palmieri had scored 18 points in 25 games before his injury, while Pageau had 12 points in 22 games and led all Islanders players in short-handed time on ice per game. Gatcomb, 26, has just nine points in 40 career NHL games, and has not been an overwhelming scorer at the AHL level either. It’s extremely unlikely the Islanders will be able to replace the production they’ve lost with this recall, but it’s also extremely unlikely that the Islanders made this recall in order to get Gatcomb’s offensive production.
Instead, it’s far more likely the Islanders are looking for a call-up player with competitiveness, a strong work rate, positional versatility, and the ability to occupy a specific depth role while they elevate other players to fill the larger roles left open due to these injuries. Rookie Maxim Shabanov is likely to be elevated to the top-six to fill Palmieri’s role, and after scoring 67 points in 65 KHL games last season, he’s a more obvious fit for a scoring line than Gatcomb.
Gatcomb is likely to slot into the Islanders’ bottom-six, and at 26 years old, it’s likely that if he is to become a full-time NHLer, that’s the kind of role he’d occupy. This recall is a significant opportunity for the former UConn Husky, who went undrafted and originally signed with the Canucks organization coming out of college. He’s a pending RFA (with arbitration rights) playing out a one-year, one-way $900K contract.
Gatcomb’s 40 NHL games without a doubt helped Gatcomb earn a one-way contract for 2025-26, and this recall now gives him a pretty extensive runway to get into some NHL games and carve out a more regular spot on the Islanders’ NHL roster. While there’s no direct financial difference in his salary between the NHL and AHL, the more NHL games he gets into, and plays well in, the better his contract options are likely to be this summer. And while it’s unlikely his upcoming restricted free agency reaches that point, getting into NHL games would also aid his case in a future arbitration battle.
Kyle Palmieri Out For Six To Eight Months
Earlier today, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported (Twitter link) that the Islanders were fearing the worst-case scenario when it came to winger Kyle Palmieri. That is indeed the case as the team announced that the veteran will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. The recovery timeline for this procedure is six to eight months, meaning he is out for the remainder of the regular season and multiple playoff rounds (should they get that far) at a minimum.
The veteran was injured in the second period of yesterday’s game against the Flyers. While trying to get back to the bench, he wound up intercepting the puck and made a quick pass that eventually led to an assist. Unfortunately for Palmieri and the Isles, it will be his final point of the season, capping his 2025-26 totals at six goals and 12 assists in 25 games. It will also put an end to his team ironman streak which had lasted 223 consecutive games.
The injury is certainly a big blow to a New York attack that sits in the middle of the pack heading into today’s action. Palmieri had notched 54 goals over the last two seasons combined which had earned the 34-year-old a two-year, $9.5MM deal back in the spring. At first glance, either rookie Max Shabanov or veteran Anthony Duclair seem likely to get the first chance to take Palmieri’s spot in their top six forward group. They should also get center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body) back before the holiday break.
This is the second major long-term injury for the Isles within the last seven days. Back on Sunday, it was revealed that defenseman Alexander Romanov would miss five to six months due to shoulder surgery, taking a key veteran off their back end.
The Islanders are carrying a roster that narrowly operates outside LTIR at the moment, checking in with a projection of $32K in cap space, per PuckPedia. It’s likely that will be changing in the near future if they elect to call someone up from AHL Bridgeport to take Palmieri’s place. Pierre Engvall, who is out for the season with an ankle injury, is already on LTIR. With them knowing that his season is over already and Romanov at least eligible for regular LTIR (carrying $3.82MM in potential added flexibility instead of the full contract value), New York shouldn’t get to a point where they need to make a decision on putting Palmieri on season-ending LTIR which would make him ineligible to return late in the playoffs.
But operating in LTIR for the foreseeable future – if not the rest of the season – will have consequences down the road. Matthew Schaefer and Shabanov have significant performance bonuses in their respective deals ($7MM combined) so any of those will likely now be charged against their 2026-27 books as a team that finishes up the year in LTIR has to take any bonuses earned as a carryover penalty.
Kyle Palmieri Exits Due To Injury
The New York Islanders announced mid-game that forward Kyle Palmieri will not return, due to a lower body injury. Early in the second period, the veteran hit Jamie Drysdale in the corner along the boards, and as Drysdale went down, he tripped Palmieri, who immediately favored his leg in pain after going down awkwardly.
In a remarkable effort, despite it looking serious and potentially warranting a stoppage of play, Palmieri picked up his stick and limped to the bench, sneaking up behind Emil Andrae, and catching him completely off guard, stripping the puck and setting up an Emil Heineman goal, where Palmieri rightfully earned an assist. Making it a 3-1 game, the gutsy play sparked a comeback from the Islanders, who managed to tie the game and force overtime.
At 34, Palmieri remains from a previous era for New York, but as an assistant captain, his presence in the lineup is undeniable. So far this season he has 17 points in 24 games, continuing to produce in a top line role, and currently averaging a career high in ice time, showing the trust Patrick Roy has in the local native.
Noteworthy is Palmieri’s current consecutive games played streak, 223, good for 19th-best among active players, which is now in jeopardy. With New York having a strong start to the season, they’re already missing Alexander Romanov for several months, and J.G. Pageau is week-to-week. Therefore, updates on Palmieri will be closely watched in the next 24 hours. The Islanders are back in action on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Capitals.
Pageau Should Be Back Before Holiday Break
- Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury but it appears that it should be too extended of an absence for him. The team announced Wednesday (Twitter link) that the veteran should return before the holiday break next month. Pageau has a dozen points in 22 games so far while winning nearly 60% of his faceoffs; if the Isles wind up selling by the deadline, Pageau and his expiring contract should be one of their better trade chips.
Islanders Recall Travis Mitchell
The Islanders announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled defenseman Travis Mitchell from AHL Bridgeport. Barring a surprise, he’ll serve as a healthy extra for tonight’s tilt against the Bruins. They had an open roster spot and thus don’t need to make a corresponding move.
This is the second time Mitchell has been summoned this month. He was added to the roster for two days from Nov. 13-15 while Scott Mayfield took a brief paternity leave. Mitchell was recalled in a similar manner last season, but despite this being his third stint on the Isles’ roster, he’s yet to make his NHL debut.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Cornell in 2023, the 6’4″ lefty has never profiled as anything more than minor-league depth. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Now in his third full season in the organization, he has five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 119 career games for Bridgeport with 181 penalty minutes and a -33 rating. He was more of a puck-mover in juniors and in college, but has settled in more as a physical stay-at-home piece in the pros.
That makes him an ideal candidate to roster as a seventh defenseman when the Islanders don’t anticipate using their healthy extra for a lengthy stretch. While he’ll need waivers to return to Bridgeport if he stays up for longer than 30 nonconsecutive days, that’s not much of a concern, as he’s not likely to drum up much consideration for a claim.
The 26-year-old could be in for a more extended stint in the Isles’ press box this time around. With Alexander Romanov’s right shoulder surgery likely costing him the remainder of the regular season, New York will lean further into its organizational depth on the blue line. They’re not keen on recalling more promising blueliners like Isaiah George or Marshall Warren unless it means getting them into the NHL lineup. Unless their defense corps suffers another injury or they’re looking to scratch someone from their current group, Mitchell could stick around as the No. 7 for the foreseeable future.
Breaking Down The Early Free-Agent Victories
At the quarter mark of the NHL regular season, there are some early wins for teams that took a chance on the free agency market. While some of the higher-priced free agent signings, like Mitch Marner of the Golden Knights and Mikael Granlund of the Ducks, might be obvious choices for this piece, we will focus on some of the more under-the-radar signings that have delivered fantastic results so far.
Avalanche forward Victor Olofsson was a late addition to the team’s roster, signing a one-year deal on Aug. 20 for $1.575MM. For most of his career, Olofsson was a fairly one-dimensional perimeter scorer who primarily shot the puck well. That all changed last season, when he made a solid defensive impact with the Golden Knights and contributed decent depth scoring with 15 goals and 14 assists in 56 games. He still dealt with injuries, which have been an issue in his career, but his performance was enough for AFP Analytics to project that the 30-year-old would sign for three years at a cap hit of $3.41MM.
However, Olofsson’s injury history and inconsistent play likely kept his market soft. This was great news for Colorado, which signed him up. He’s been excellent to start the year with six goals and nine assists in 22 games. As good as Olofsson has been at five-on-five, he has done a lot of damage with the man advantage, registering six points thus far, which is quite a number given that he had just eight points on the power play last year.
Olofsson was effectively signed to replace a departing Jonathan Drouin, whose salary could no longer fit within the Avalanche’s cap structure, as Drouin was able to secure a two-year, $8MM contract with the Islanders. Colorado had Drouin on a discount for the previous two seasons, and the Ste-Agathe, Quebec native impressed for the Avalanche, recording 30 goals and 63 assists in 122 games over those two seasons. Drouin kept his game simple with Colorado and used his skill set to be as effective as possible.
His free-agent market was limited because fit was an essential part of the equation, but he seems to have found a good fit with the Islanders, recording 14 points in 22 games. What makes Drouin’s start really promising is that he hasn’t scored much on the power play, with just three assists in 80 minutes of time on the man advantage. Last season, he had 12 points in 132 power-play minutes for the whole season, and if he can get back to that level of production at five-on-four, his numbers will look great at the end of the year.
It’s now been six years since the Ducks bought out Corey Perry, and many wondered what his career prospects were as he approached his mid-30s. Perry reinvented himself, shifting from a scoring power forward to more of a net-front presence and pest. Since the buyout, Perry has played for six different teams and reached the Stanley Cup Finals—and lost—five times. The 40-year-old signed this summer with the Kings, agreeing to a one-year deal for $2MM plus an additional $2MM in potential performance bonuses. To start the season, Perry has been on a hot streak, scoring seven goals and adding five assists in 14 games while playing nearly 15 minutes a night. His ice time is the highest it’s been since 2018-19, though it’s likely unsustainable for the entire season, as is his current production. However, even if he slows down in the later stages of the year, he should still net at least 30 points, which is excellent value for the contract he signed. Ultimately, the Kings signed Perry for his playoff impact; however, his start to the regular season has been a bonus so far.
Jack Roslovic has faced challenges navigating unrestricted free agency, settling for one-year deals below market value in consecutive summers. This year, he waited until Oct. 8 to secure a new contract, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.5MM with the Edmonton Oilers. Roslovic has responded by starting the season strongly, with seven goals and eight assists in his first 21 games. His fit in Edmonton seems natural so far, which makes sense given his speed and skill. Roslovic was an unusual fit with Carolina last season but made the most of it, recording 22 goals and 17 assists in 81 games. Suppose he can maintain his current pace until season’s end. In that case, it’s unlikely he’ll need to sign another one-year deal, especially since he has worked on and improved other parts of his game, notably his faceoff ability, which was questionable early in his career. Roslovic is making the league sit up and take notice of him, and he’s likely hopeful they will consider him in free agency next summer.
Shifting back to the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins made a couple of under-the-radar signings on July 1 that have paid off big time early in this season. Justin Brazeau signed a two-year, $3MM deal in free agency this past summer. Very little attention was paid to the move, which isn’t surprising given that Brazeau didn’t break into the NHL until he was 25 and had just 95 career NHL games across two seasons. However, the New Liskeard, Ontario native showed enough in his short career for the Penguins to take a chance on him, and so far, the returns have been excellent—he has six goals and six assists in 12 games. Now, an unfortunate upper-body injury has slowed Brazeau’s season, just as he was gaining traction on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha. Brazeau will likely miss a couple more weeks, but if he continues to trend in the right direction, the Penguins will have a bargain forward on their hands for another season and a half.
Parker Wotherspoon was another shrewd signing on July 1 by Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. The 28-year-old played well last season in a bottom-pairing role and signed with Pittsburgh, likely sensing that there was an opportunity for a bigger role on the left side of the team’s defense. The Penguins entered the summer with arguably the worst left side in the NHL and made some depth moves to create competition and improve the position. So far, it has worked, as Wotherspoon has secured a spot alongside Erik Karlsson and has become the team’s top pairing. Wotherspoon is signed for another season after this one as part of his two-year $2MM deal, and like Brazeau, could provide Pittsburgh with a major contributor at a bargain basement price for one more season. He’s approaching a career high in points and has been part of rejuvenating Karlsson’s game, providing him with a reliable defensive partner for the first time since his days in Ottawa.
There is always an inherent risk when signing players in free agency. Olofsson, Drouin, and Perry have all proven to be reliable veterans earlier in their careers and weren’t considered high-risk signings. Still, it’s not surprising to see them contributing as they are, given their past performance and their strong showings last season with their previous teams. For Brazeau and Wotherspoon, signing them was essentially a no-risk decision for Pittsburgh, and they have worked out exceptionally well. Dubas did well to sign them for an additional season, a low-risk gamble that could pay off significantly if the rest of the season unfolds well. Neither man has contributed at this level before, and it will be interesting to see if they can maintain this pace throughout the entire season.