Islanders Rumors

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Islanders

Current Cap Hit: $84,906,199 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Simon Holmstrom (one year, $863K)

After a quiet rookie year, Holmstrom has become a shorthanded scoring specialist this season, being among the league leaders in that department.  Even so, he is primarily deployed in a bottom-six role which will limit his earnings upside.  A bridge deal seems quite likely although he could push his way toward the $1.5MM mark if he can keep up his current pace.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

D Sebastian Aho ($825K, UFA)
D Robert Bortuzzo ($950K, UFA)
F Cal Clutterbuck ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Matt Martin ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($1MM, UFA)

After an injury-riddled 2022-23 campaign, Clutterbuck has managed to stay healthy this season and play a bigger role than many expected.  Still, he’s 36 with a lot of physical games under his belt.  In theory, he should be looking at a dip in pay but GM Lou Lamoriello has gone to painstaking lengths to keep his fourth line together so it’s hard to rule out the possibility of another deal like this one.  Martin’s injury issues should limit his mark but again, a lower-cost extension heading into his age-35 year is likely an option at least being considered.

Reilly has fared pretty well since coming over on a waiver claim from Florida.  Given his limited NHL time the last couple of seasons though, it’s hard to foresee a big raise coming his way.  Perhaps something closer to $1.5MM if he keeps up his current production in the second half but for him, securing a multi-year agreement might be more of a priority.  Bortuzzo was brought in to cover some minutes in the wake of the injuries on the back end but is likely looking at something near the minimum if he wants to play a 14th NHL season.  Aho has established himself as a regular over the last couple of seasons and showed a bit of offensive upside last year.  That should push him into the $1.5MM range on a multi-year deal; he should have a few suitors on the open market.

Signed Through 2024-25

D Noah Dobson ($4MM, RFA)
F Hudson Fasching ($775K, UFA)
F Julien Gauthier ($787.5K, UFA)
F Brock Nelson ($6MM, UFA)
F Kyle Palmieri ($5MM, UFA)
D Alexander Romanov ($2.5MM, RFA)

Nelson has had somewhat of a career resurgence in recent years, putting up his best two years in the last two seasons and is hovering near a 70-point pace again this season.  That makes him a bit of a bargain, a thought that didn’t seem as likely when this contract was first signed.  If he can hold this pace over the next year and a half, another small jump could be doable on a shorter-term agreement.

Adding Palmieri made sense to try to add to New York’s offense in 2021 but it’s fair to say that he has underwhelmed on that front since being acquired.  He’s getting paid more at the level of a 45-point player and injuries have stopped him from getting more than 33 in a single season yet.  It’s not a crippling overpayment but he’s going to need to do more if he wants to get this much on the open market in 2025.  Gauthier and Fasching are end-of-roster players that, at this point, appear likely to remain around the minimum salary moving forward.

When the Islanders opted to use their leverage to get Dobson to take a bridge deal, it was one that it looked like he’d outperform fairly quickly.  It’s safe to say that has happened and then some.  After putting up 100 points over the last two seasons, the 24-year-old is now around the point-per-game mark, making him one of the top-scoring blueliners in the NHL.  We know point producers get paid but add his strong two-way play to his output and New York has a player primed for a hefty increase in salary.  At this point, with Dobson having arbitration rights, it’s looking like the question won’t be if he’ll double his current AAV but rather by how much more it’ll go up beyond that.

Romanov was another player who was more or less forced into a bridge contract with their cap situation at the time.  The 24-year-old has been a consistent presence on the second pairing over the last few years but doesn’t have the offensive numbers to push him into the higher-paid tier of defenders.  Still, a long-term agreement that buys out some UFA eligibility should go past the $4MM mark.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5MM, UFA)
F Anders Lee ($7MM, UFA)

Lee has been an impactful power forward for most of his time with the Isles but is starting to show signs of slowing down.  He’ll be 36 when this deal is up and his next contract, if there is one, will likely be half of this one or less.  Pageau, meanwhile, has been a steady middle-six center over the past several years although his production has dipped this season as well.  If he’s trending toward being more of a true third liner at this point, this deal will become an overpayment fairly quickly.  He’ll be 34 when this contract is up and he’ll likely be heading for a fair-sized dip in pay as well.

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