- The Islanders could be getting a pair of important blue-liners back tonight against the Maple Leafs as both Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will be game-time decisions, head coach Patrick Roy told Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Pelech missed the final game before the All-Star break with an upper-body injury after he was on the receiving end of an elbow to the head from Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher on Jan. 25 that earned him a five-game suspension. Pulock, meanwhile, was activated from injured reserve over the weekend and missed nearly two months with a lower-body injury sustained Dec. 7 against the Blue Jackets. The Islanders’ longtime number-one pairing has been downgraded in minutes this season thanks to the two-way emergence of both Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov, who are both averaging over 22 minutes per game and have quietly been one of the league’s better pairings.
Islanders Rumors
Islanders Move Casey Cizikas, Robert Bortuzzo To LTIR, Activate Ryan Pulock, Recall Two
The New York Islanders are facing a multitude of injuries and a tight cap. Because of that, they’ve moved forward Casey Cizikas (lower-body) and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (lower-body) to long-term injured reserve. Both players have been out of action since early January, already missing the required time with injury. That means both can be activated again whenever they are ready to return, though it’s uncertain what their exact timeline is. These moves were necessary for the team to create enough cap space to activate defenseman Ryan Pulock off of injured reserve. Pulock has been out of action since December 7th, missing the team’s last 24 games with a lower-body injury.
With Pulock activated, the Islanders also had enough cap space to recall minor-league forwards Simon Holmstrom and Kyle MacLean. Holmstrom has been a frequent member of the Islanders lineup this season, appearing in 48 games and scoring 12 goals and 18 points, while MacLean has gone without a point in five NHL games this season.
New York could have instead placed Adam Pelech on LTIR, rather than Bortuzzo or Cizikas. But unlike the latter two, Pelech has only been out since January 25th, meaning he would have to miss at least nine more games before being eligible to be activated. Team reporter Stefen Rosner shares that Pelech may be dealing with a concussion, making his return trickier to gauge than other injuries – though the team is hopeful he’ll be able to return within the next nine games.
These moves bring a beat-up Islanders lineup a bit closer to normal. Holmstrom will slot in for Julien Gauthier, who recently cleared waivers and was assigned to the AHL. MacLean will serve as the understudy to Hudson Fasching, who is facing a lower-body injury with an unknown timeline. And Pulock will likely return to his top role with the club. He’s averaged nearly 23 minutes per game through 25 games this season, scoring six points and recording a -6. The Islanders have provided more minutes to Alexander Romanov and Scott Mayfield in Pulock’s absence.
Julien Gauthier Clears Waivers
Saturday: Gauthier has cleared waivers, Friedman reports; he has been assigned to Bridgeport.
Friday: The Islanders have placed winger Julien Gauthier on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Bridgeport, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Friday.
Gauthier, 26, is without a point in his last six games. He was a healthy scratch in the Islanders’ last game before the All-Star break, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers on Saturday.
The 2016 first-round pick signed a two-year, $1.575MM deal with the Islanders last July after reaching unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. After ending last season in a Senators jersey as a result of a February 2023 trade from the Rangers, Gauthier did not receive a qualifying offer after scoring three goals and adding two assists in 17 games with Ottawa.
A bottom-six power winger with good size at 6-foot-4 and over 220 pounds, Gauthier made the Islanders’ roster out of camp after failing to do so with the Rangers last season. He’s been a healthy scratch on multiple occasions this season, including three times since the beginning of January.
In 27 games on the season, he’s posted five goals and nine points while averaging 10:10 per game. His possession metrics have been the worst on the team in his limited role, posting a 36% Corsi share at even strength. Given he’s under contract until 2025 and is not on an expiring deal, and his $800K salary next season is higher than his $787.5K cap hit, the likelihood of a waiver claim appears low.
Islanders Hire Benoit Desrosiers As Assistant
The Islanders have officially added Benoit Desrosiers as an assistant coach, GM Lou Lamoriello announced Friday.
Desrosiers, 35, fills out the Islanders’ new-look coaching staff led by head coach Patrick Roy. Doug Houda and John MacLean remain in their current assistant roles, which they’ve each held since last season.
Roy and Desrosiers had worked together from 2018 to 2023 with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts. With Roy as GM and head coach and Desrosiers as an assistant, the Remparts were crowned QMJHL champions and won the Memorial Cup last season.
Both departed the Remparts last summer to pursue higher-ranking opportunities. Roy eventually found his footing as an NHL head coach once again with the Islanders, while Desrosiers accepted a head coaching role with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. He departs Gatineau after compiling a 16-27-6 record with a -68 goal differential through 49 games.
Stephane Leroux of RDS first reported Desrosiers was departing Gatineau to join Roy’s staff on Jan. 22. The Islanders issued a statement later that day that Desrosiers was not a member of the organization yet, although there were plans for him to interview with Lamoriello “in the future.”
Desrosiers fills a vacancy on the coaching staff not filled since the team fired Barry Trotz and two assistants after the 2021-22 season. Then-associate coach Lane Lambert was promoted to the head coaching role in Trotz’s place, but the team only hired two assistants, Houda and MacLean, to fill out the bench.
As a player, Desrosiers never reached the major junior level, but he did begin his coaching career as one of the youngest assistants in the QMJHL. His first season behind the bench was with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in 2012-13, when he was 23 years old at the beginning of the season. He moved on to the Sherbrooke Phoenix for the 2013-14 campaign, where he remained before heading to Québec in 2017, one year before Roy took over the bench.
Islanders Assign Kyle MacLean To AHL
- The Islanders assigned left wing Kyle MacLean to AHL Bridgeport on Sunday night, per CapFriendly. New York summoned the 24-year-old earlier this month to fill in on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas injured, giving MacLean his first five NHL games in the process. An undrafted free agent signing by the team last May, MacLean went pointless in his five appearances but recorded decent possession metrics in limited usage (only 8:22 per game). He struggled to sub in for Cizikas in the faceoff circle, winning 12 out of 36 draws. The pending RFA returns to Bridgeport over the All-Star break, where he has six goals and 19 points in 36 games.
New York Islanders Considering Adding To Coaching Staff
The New York Islanders are considering hiring a third assistant coach for new head coach Patrick Roy’s staff, though Roy noted that the decision will be up to general manager Lou Lamoriello, not Roy’s, per team reporter Ethan Sears with the New York Post.
The Islanders are 1-2-0 after a week under their new head coach, with the team seeing a small drop in average goals for and against compared to the 45 games they played under Lane Lambert this season. They’ve also seen a substantial boost in their powerplay in the short sample of games, raising their powerplay percentage from 22.8 to 27 percent. Roy’s last coaching stint in the NHL came between 2013 and 2016 when he served as head coach for the Colorado Avalanche. The legendary goaltender set a combined 130-92-24 record with the Avalanche, making the playoffs once.
Pelech, Fasching Listed As Day-To-Day
- Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). He took an elbow to the head from Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher on Thursday, a hit that landed Gallagher a five-game suspension. Injuries have limited the 29-year-old to just 29 of 48 games this season, where he has four assists and 42 blocked shots while logging over 19 minutes a night. Gross adds that winger Hudson Fasching is also listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old also left Thursday’s game early after less than three minutes of ice time. After collecting 19 points in 49 games last season, Fasching hasn’t been able to put up similar numbers so far, notching just three goals and five helpers in 35 games.
Brendan Gallagher To Have Player Safety Hearing
Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Friday for an illegal check to the head of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, the department said in a statement. The hearing will take place over the phone, not in person, limiting a suspension to five games or less.
The incident occurred at 11:52 of the third period in Thursday’s 4-3 win for Montreal. Immediately after Pelech exited the New York zone with the puck and made an outlet pass through the neutral zone, Gallagher cut across the ice and raised his elbow to hit Pelech in the head, making no discernable attempt to lay a body check. Officials assessed Gallagher a five-minute major for a check to the head and a match penalty for intent to injure on the play.
Pelech skated off the ice under his own power and entered concussion protocol. He did not return to the game, which the Islanders tied on the ensuing five-minute power play after being down 3-1 but conceded a late tiebreaker from Sean Monahan at even strength.
Given the severity of the hit, many expected an in-person hearing for Gallagher today with the possibility of a six-plus-game ban.
The 31-year-old is in the third season of a six-year, $6.5MM contract, during which he’s produced only 54 points in 141 games. He’s slipped to a bottom-six role, skating third-line minutes alongside Jake Evans and Tanner Pearson in last night’s win, and his -21 rating is the worst on the team. His 48.9% Corsi share at even strength still ranks near the top of the team, though, and a horribly unlucky on-ice shooting percentage of 5.7 has likely had a decent effect on his point production this season.
In 48 games this year, Gallagher has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points while averaging 14:11 per game, the lowest since his rookie season.
Pierre Engvall Practicing With Full Contact
Zach Werenski and Patrik Laine are expected to return on the five-game road trip the Columbus Blue Jackets begin on Tuesday. Laine has missed the team’s last 14 games with a broken collarbone, while Werenski has missed 10 games with an ankle injury.
The Blue Jackets went 3-4-3 without their pair of top talents, averaging just 2.7 goals-for and 4.1 goals-against. Werenski’s return will mark the most notable impact, as the 26-year-old defenseman still ranks third on the team in scoring – with one goal and 25 points in 34 games – despite missing 11 games on the season. Laine hasn’t been as productive, boasting six goals and nine points in 18 games, though he was on a hot streak before his injury – netting five points in his last six games. The duo have become pivotal to Columbus’ success, and frequent absentees from the lineup. Laine posted 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games last season, while Werenski was only able to appear in 13 games – and score eight points – as he missed most of the season with a torn labrum and separated shoulder. The Blue Jackets will hope both players can find a newfound bout of health upon their return, as they work to improve on a season that currently has them ranked in the league’s bottom five.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Colorado Avalanche have activated defenseman Bowen Byram off on injured reserve. The 22-year-old defenseman has appeared in 39 of Colorado’s 47 games this season, netting 12 points split evenly. He’s managed the scoring while serving in a top-end role, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time – though it’s a step down from the nearly 22 minutes of ice time Byram averaged in 42 games last season. Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski will likely step out of the lineup to make space for Byram, though one of the two could still see ice time as the Avalanche have opted for seven defensemen recently.
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Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall is feeling better and has returned to full contact at Islanders practice. The 27-year-old has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not suited up for New York since a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on January 15th. Engvall’s style of play should be well suited for new head coach Patrick Roy’s system as puck possession remains a strong suit for the former seventh-round pick. Engvall’s numbers are down a bit this season as has just five goals and nine assists in 41 games this season. His shooting percentage has plummeted to just 7.5% down from a career-high 13% last season. There is no timetable yet for Engvall to return to the Islanders lineup.
Islanders Have Note Hired Benoit Desrosiers
Jay Zawaski of CHGO Sports is reporting that Chicago Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard is still expected to miss at least six weeks as he recovers from a fractured jaw that he suffered on January 5th. Bedard started skating last week in a full-face shield but is unable to exert himself as he tries to allow his jawbone to heal from the surgery he had.
The six-week timeline was given to the media by Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, who was referring to the original timeline for Bedard’s return. Richardson added that Bedard will need to go through imaging and a medical clearance before he can ramp up his skating and return to action.
The 18-year-old leads all NHL rookies with 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games. He was named to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game a few weeks ago but is unlikely to attend given that the game will be held on February 3rd.
In other evening notes:
- Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has shared that he is close to returning, and nearly played in the team’s Saturday loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Skinner has been out of the lineup since January 9th with an upper-body injury, missing five games. He’s remained one of Buffalo’s leading scorers despite the absences, though, sitting third on the team with 33 points through 38 games. Skinner also leads the team with 17 goals.
- The New York Islanders refuted an earlier report from RDS’ Stephane Leroux that the team was hiring Benoit Desrosiers as an assistant coach under new bench boss Patrick Roy. The statement added that Islanders General Manager and President Lou Lamoriello does plan to meet with Desrosiers in the future, but he has not been hired at this time. Desrosiers spent five seasons as Roy’s assistant with the Remparts and won the Memorial Cup in 2023. He was hired as the head coach of the Gatineau Olympiques for this season but has had a rough start as the team currently sits seventh in the Western Conference of the QMJHL with a record of 15-26-4.