The trade market for Vancouver Canucks winger Kiefer Sherwood is beginning to materialize and will likely continue growing leading up to the trade deadline. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have “kicked the tires” on Sherwood.
Islanders Rumors
New York Islanders Recall Marshall Warren
The New York Islanders have recalled defenseman Marshall Warren from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.
The move comes shortly after the Islanders reassigned blueliner Travis Mitchell to Bridgeport after a nine-game recall. Mitchell is one NHL game away from becoming eligible for waivers, so reassigning him yesterday kept New York from potentially needing to expose him to waivers down the line if he was reassigned at a different, later point.
Like Mitchell, Warren also made his NHL debut in 2025-26. Warren was first recalled on Oct. 25 and ended up playing in two games for the Islanders before he was sent down on Oct. 28. Warren made an instant impact in his NHL debut, registering two assists in the club’s shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He skated 12:56 in the team’s following game before he was returned to the AHL.
Warren was also recalled in November, but didn’t dress for any games, instead serving as a healthy scratch for three contests. A 2019 sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Wild, Warren had a four-year NCAA career at Boston College before spending his final season of college hockey at Michigan. He scored 17 points in 53 games last season, his first playing pro hockey, and has 12 points through 17 games in the AHL this season.
He’s playing out the final year of his entry-level contract, one that pays him a $775K base salary at the NHL level and a $75K salary at the AHL level, with a $50K signing bonus. He’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights in the summer unless he signs an extension before that point.
Mitchell played on the left side of the Islanders’ third pairing alongside veteran Scott Mayfield, so his reassignment yesterday opened a spot in head coach Patrick Roy’s lineup. But Newsday’s Andrew Gross reported today that Adam Boqvist skated alongside Mayfield during practice, signaling that Warren is likely to begin his recall as a healthy scratch, at least for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks. Boqvist, the 2018 No. 8 overall pick, has been a healthy scratch in nine of the Islanders’ last 10 games.
Islanders’ Maxim Tsyplakov Generating Trade Interest
Things haven’t gone according to plan so far in 2025-26 for second-year New York Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov, as the talented Russian winger has been a healthy scratch in four consecutive games, bringing his total number of healthy scratches to 14 across the Islanders’ 34 total games played.
Earlier this month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that “other teams are poking around” regarding Tsyplakov’s availability via a trade, but nothing more concrete has materialized yet.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has insisted repeatedly that Tsyplakov is routinely spending games in the press box not because he’s done anything wrong himself, but rather because the Islanders’ other forwards are simply playing too well to be left out of the lineup.
Tsyplakov addressed his situation yesterday, per The New York Post’s Ethan Sears, denying that any potential trade has been discussed with him and his agent. He told Sears, “It’s tough being the 14th forward, sometimes it’s not happy. Not enjoyable. I just want to play. Not under 10 minutes.”
When asked whether potential trades have been discussed with his agent, which is listed as Ryan Barnes of Quartexx per PuckPedia, Tsyplakov said “Not yet,” and “just see what they do. We’ll see.”
That Tsyplakov has reached this point in Long Island so quickly is something of a surprise given how successful his rookie campaign was. The Islanders beat out other contenders such as the Montreal Canadiens to sign Tsyplakov out of the KHL, and their faith in the player was instantly rewarded as he hit the ground running in the NHL, scoring 10 goals and 35 points as a 26-year-old rookie.
But so far this season, Tsyplakov hasn’t come close to the level of impact he reached as a rookie. He was New York’s No. 9 forward in terms of ice time last season, averaging nearly 15:00 time on ice per game with a minute and a half per game on the power play.
That usage has sharply declined this season, after the Islanders added another KHL free agent, Maxim Shabanov, over the summer. The addition of veteran Jonathan Drouin in free agency and breakout sophomore Emil Heineman via trade has also eaten into Tsyplakov’s role. As a result, the 27-year-old has seen his ice time decline sharply, and that’s when he’s not a healthy scratch.
So far in 2025-26, Tsyplakov is averaging just 9:29 time on ice per game, the fewest of any Islanders forward this season. He’s also only resumed his role on the power play in one game this season, his time on the man advantage almost completely evaporating year-over-year. Consequently, his production is nowhere close to what it was a year ago; he has just one goal and no assists through 20 games this year.
While it appears that the Islanders and Tsyplakov can continue in this situation into the near future, it’s fair to question whether keeping Tsyplakov in this kind of reserve role is sustainable over the long term.
Over the summer, the Islanders settled with Tsyplakov before arbitration, with the player signing a two-year, $2.25MM AAV deal to end his restricted free agency. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of that contract, and it’s unlikely that the Islanders pledged $2.25MM of cap space to Tsyplakov with the idea that he’d be spending much of the season as a healthy scratch.
With each passing game that Tsyplakov doesn’t play, the more likely it appears that he could be traded. Of course, just one injury or decision from Roy could change things, but at the moment, a trade could very well be the most suitable solution for both the Islanders and Tsyplakov.
Given the high level of interest in his services as a KHL free agent, his solid 35-point rookie campaign, and the fact that he remains under team control for another season at a reasonable cap hit, it’s unlikely that there would be any shortage of interest from rival teams in acquiring Tsyplakov.
The Islanders would be “selling low,” to an extent, but if they don’t plan on utilizing Tsyplakov beyond a very minor role this year, it could be best for both sides to work out a trade. If nothing else, Tsyplakov’s playing role in New York will be a key storyline to continue to monitor on Long Island moving forward.
Photos courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
New York Islanders Reassign Travis Mitchell
According to a team announcement, the New York Islanders have assigned defenseman Travis Mitchell to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. No corresponding roster move was made, so the Islanders will move forward with 22 players on the active roster for the time being.
The transaction was expected for a few reasons. Having played nine games, Mitchell was one contest away from being waiver-eligible. Additionally, if the Islanders want to recall Mitchell despite the prospect of exposing him through waivers, he will be eligible tomorrow, assuming he plays in Bridgeport’s game tonight.
Additionally, there’s some belief that the Islanders could turn to Isaiah George instead. George recently returned to the AHL Islanders after missing a month in concussion protocol. He’s scored one goal and five points in 16 AHL games this season with a +4 rating. He’s relatively accustomed to life in the NHL, too, having suited up in 33 games with New York last season.
Meanwhile, Mitchell’s only NHL minutes came this season. Across his nine games, he’s registered one goal while averaging 11:32 of ice time. He performed well on the defensive side of the puck in his limited usage, managing a 93.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
Regardless, the Islanders have some time before they need to make a decision. They don’t play again until Friday, and only have three games in the next 10 days. Even without Mitchell, they have six healthy defensemen on the active roster.
Horvat Expected To Miss One To Three Weeks
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.
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.