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Injury Notes: Pageau, Tinordi, Faber

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The New York Islanders are without one of their best depth pieces tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is out for tonight’s game against his former team with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, per the team.

Pageau sustained the injury at practice yesterday, says Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now. Reportedly, Pageau was “clipped” during a drill and was slow to get up, yet stayed on the ice for the remainder of practice. The 30-year-old center has 10 goals and 29 points in 56 games this season. This is his first absence of the 2022-23 campaign.

  • Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi is out for the remainder of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an undisclosed injury, the team said. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope notes that Tinordi had fallen awkwardly on a shift in the first period. Tinordi, 30, was claimed on waivers by the Blackhawks at the beginning of the season and has suited up in 26 games, recording five points.
  • One of the best prospects in hockey on one of the best teams in college hockey is out long-term. The Athletic’s Michael Russo agreed with reports today that Minnesota Wild defense prospect and University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Kevin Fiala trade, Faber has 20 points in 30 games with Minnesota this year after representing the United States at the Olympics and World Junior Championships last season.

Valtteri Pulli Drawing NHL Interest

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Most of the news right now revolves around the NHL trade deadline, as media members try to find out where everyone will be playing when the dust settles. But yesterday, Jeff Marek squished in another interesting nugget during the 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet.

Valtteri Pulli, an undrafted Finnish defenseman, is drawing interest from several NHL clubs.

A number of teams that have shown interest but at varying degrees. I’ve heard of a couple different teams that are really hot on him, and a couple that just will kick tires. I’m having a hard time trying to figure out who is really aggressive and who is just curious.

It sounds like the teams with interest (and again to varying degrees) are the San Jose Sharks…the Winnipeg Jets, the Boston Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks, the Nashville Predators, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Islanders. 

Pulli, 21, is a 6’6″ left-shot defenseman who is in his first full season for TPS in the Finnish Liiga, and has three goals and 14 points in 47 games. While those numbers don’t sound too impressive, he has shown flashes of high offensive potential, as he learns to use his massive frame to protect the puck and get it to dangerous areas.

Of course, flashes of potential don’t get you NHL minutes, and Pulli is by no means a finished product. He’ll turn 22 next month, though, meaning teams will have lots of time to try and develop him into an impact player.

Since he turns 22 next month, Pulli will be limited to a two-year entry-level contract when he does sign.

New York Islanders Allowed To Trade 2024 First-Round Pick

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  • The New York Islanders have a distinct pattern of trading away first-round picks, and they did so again by dealing their top-12-protected 2023 pick to Vancouver in the Bo Horvat trade. It’s such a distinct pattern that Islanders fans have been wondering if the team can still trade their 2024 first-round pick, despite its potential transfer to the Canucks if New York ends up with a top-12 pick this season. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports clarification from the NHL that says yes, they can. If their 2024 first-round pick is transferred to the Canucks after being traded in a second deal, though, the pick in the second trade would automatically slide to 2025. It’s something other general managers will keep in mind at this deadline if the Islanders deal their 2024 pick in an attempt to load up even more.

New York Islanders Activate Hudson Fasching

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The New York Islanders have announced that forward Hudson Fasching has been activated off of the team’s injured reserve list in advance of tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The move leaves the team with a full 23-man roster.

Fasching has been out since a January 18th contest against the Boston Bruins due to a lower-body injury. He will in all likelihood resume his role on the Islanders’ fourth line, filling the role now-injured Cal Clutterbuck has long occupied next to Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin.

The 27-year-old has been a nice find for the Islanders this season and has set a new career-high in NHL games played with 19. While he hasn’t scored much (he has just three goals and five points) he’s provided head coach Lane Lambert with the kind of physicality and energy the organization has long valued in its bottom sixers.

Fasching arrived in the Islanders organization over the summer, signing a one-year, two-way contract. The prior season, Fasching had served as the captain of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners for the Arizona Coyotes organization and scored 37 points in 51 AHL games.

Instead of serving as a leader and valuable power forward for the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, Fasching has firmly placed himself in the NHL mix as a depth forward and has likely earned himself another NHL deal in the process.

For players on the NHL-AHL bubble, life can sometimes lack stability as teams generally view these players as expendable. While Fasching’s play hasn’t changed that overall reality, it has so far changed his reality as he’s proved he could have more value to an NHL team than many might have believed a year ago.

New York Islanders Sign Bo Horvat To Eight-Year Contract Extension

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The New York Islanders have agreed to an eight-year contract extension with recent trade acquisition Bo Horvat. The terms of the contract have not been officially disclosed at this time, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the extension carries an $8.5MM average annual value. The deal will keep him under contract until he is 36 years old.

As reported by NYI Hockey Now’s Stefen Rosner, Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello had the following to say regarding this newly-signed extension: “It’s too long and it’s too much money.”

Lamoriello also noted that the contract was finalized as the first order of business this morning. When the Islanders initially acquired Horvat, the team had not yet discussed the framework for a contract extension.

The contract extension comes after the Islanders made a surprising trade to acquire the former Vancouver Canucks captain. The Islanders, who are already paying contracts with term attached to four centers, were not one of the teams most expected to be in the mix for Horvat’s services.

Given what the Islanders gave up to acquire Horvat, though, (a first-round pick Anthony Beauvillier, and prospect Aatu Raty) it makes sense that the team would be interested in retaining Horvat beyond this season.

The presence of Mathew Barzal ($9.15MM through 2031, kicking in next season), Brock Nelson ($6MM through 2025), Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5MM through 2026) and Casey Cizikas ($2.5MM through 2027) didn’t stop Lamoriello from taking out his checkbook to pay for another pivot. With Horvat locked into the team’s forward core for the rest of the decade, it seems one of those Islanders will at least in the short term switch to the wing.

Horvat earns this max-term contract extension on the heels of the best offensive season of his career. Horvat’s career high in points is 61, and with 54 in 49 games this season he looks on pace to fly past that mark.

He already has 31 goals this year, which matches his previous high that he set last season. A two-time All-Star, Horvat is respected across the NHL for his leadership and two-way ability. Horvat has served as the Canucks’ captain for the past four years.

In his one taste of playoff action, he scored 12 points in 17 games, leading the Canucks to an upset victory over the St. Louis Blues in the first round and then through a seven-game dogfight where they nearly knocked off the first-seeded Vegas Golden Knights.

The playoffs are exactly where the Islanders are hoping to end up with Horvat, and despite long odds for this season this extension seems to be the franchise doubling down on their short-term competitive goals. It was only a short time ago that the Islanders looked like the second-best team in the NHL, losing back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the latter series going all seven games.

At the moment, the Islanders sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 25-22-5 record and 55 points. While they’re technically just two points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final Wild Card spot, the Penguins have three games in hand, and the Buffalo Sabres (who are above the Islanders with 56 points) have two games in hand.

Even if the Islanders fail to make the playoffs this season, it’s true that this extension will improve their team’s odds of getting there in subsequent seasons. Horvat is an unquestionably talented player and someone who can be a great second-line pivot on a contending team. The Islanders have Barzal as their incumbent first-line center, though it’s possible that this signing shifts Barzal to Horvat’s wing.

Horvat is one of the league’s better players at the faceoff dot, and has won 56% of his draws this season. In contrast, Barzal has won just 35.9% of his draws. Should head coach Lane Lambert prefer a better face-off man as his first-line center, Barzal could very well end up on the wing moving forward.

The Islanders have quite a few pricey contracts for veteran forwards on their books, and this deal only adds to it. Barzal, Nelson, Pageau, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, and Adam Pelech are all under contract beyond this season at above a $5MM cap hit. Horvat adds an $8.5MM hit on top of that and leaves the Islanders in a relatively precarious salary cap position.

With so much of their core locked into contracts, the team has been left with precious little wiggle room to make changes and upgrades to their roster. A rise in the salary cap would benefit them enormously, especially as Ilya Sorokin is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024.

This is an Islanders team that has severely underperformed relative to what their veteran players have been capable of producing in the past. If Lambert and his coaching staff can get a few of these underperforming veterans to pick things up, then this can be a very competitive team in the near future.

But that’s far from a given, and many of their players have been trending downward for multiple seasons. Such a trajectory might cause some franchises to consider pivoting toward younger players and building toward another competitive window. Other franchises, like the Islanders here with this extension, choose to acquire more veteran talent to supplement the players they already have.

There’s no exact right answer to the question of what to do with an underperforming team. There are major risks to trading quality players for draft picks and prospects, and the allure of a low-pressure rebuild can shroud the very real possibility that the prospects acquired don’t pan out and the draft picks selected don’t meet expectations.

Building a competitive NHL team is hard. It’s a steep challenge, and while Lamoriello himself stated that the price tag attached to this deal is a bit high, it’s also unavoidable. Giving talented players contracts that might be somewhat unsavory is simply the cost of doing business in the NHL. if a team wants to get better, this is usually the area of the market they need to shop in.

Is this extension risky? Absolutely. The Islanders could continue their downward trend and be locked into another pricey contract for an aging veteran. The deal would absolutely be a setback. But looking at things more generously, Horvat could be exactly the kind of player the Islanders need to spark a team-wide resurgence.

Although those long-term question marks linger, the Islanders have unquestionably improved with Horvat’s acquisition. With this Horvat extension, they have ensured the source of that improvement doesn’t end up leaving for another team in just a few months, which is a bit of business that’s difficult to complain about.

New York Islanders Recall Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc

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02/05/23: The Islanders have brought Holmstrom and Bolduc back to their active roster today, per a team announcement. Raty, of course, is no longer eligible for the Islanders to recall because he was shipped to the Vancouver Canucks as part of the Bo Horvat trade.

Holmstrom played one game during his stint in Bridgeport during the break, registering two shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears. Bolduc also registered two shots in that contest, and now both find themselves back up on Long Island.

01/29/23: Expect a lot of teams to send their fringe roster players down to the minors today, with most having wrapped up their schedules before the All-Star break this weekend. The New York Islanders continue that trend, as the team announced Sunday they’ve loaned forwards Aatu Raty, Simon Holmstrom, and defenseman Samuel Bolduc to the Bridgeport Islanders.

The move is especially necessary for Bolduc, who is slated to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic, as Newsday’s Andrew Gross notes. After a rough 2021-22 season, the 2019 second-round pick has rebounded nicely with 26 points in 40 AHL games this year.

Called up last weekend as Noah Dobson went down with a lower-body injury, Bolduc played four consecutive games, his first in the NHL. He didn’t look entirely out of place, recording a +2 rating, four shots on goal, and an average ice time of 14:32 per night. If Dobson is ready to go by the time the break ends, though, expect Bolduc, who is waivers exempt, to stay in the minors.

Holmstrom and Raty, both just 21 and 20, respectively, haven’t produced much in their NHL stints this season, but that’s to be expected given their limited opportunities in the Islanders lineup.

The 20-year-old Raty fell to 52nd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft after once being viewed as a potential first-overall contender. Still, he’s done well in his first professional season in North America. He’s scored twice in 12 appearances with the Isles and has 15 points in 27 games down in Bridgeport.

Holmstrom also made his NHL debut this season, and he’s played 24 games in New York compared to just 15 in Bridgeport. The team’s 2019 first-round pick has three points (two of them goals) in those NHL appearances but has played less than 12 minutes a night in limited offensive roles.

Holmstrom and Raty could be recalled back to New York after the break concludes if injuries to Hudson Fasching, Cal Clutterbuck, and Oliver Wahlstrom persist.

Bo Horvat Reportedly “Open” To Extension With Islanders

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The New York Islanders made perhaps the biggest and most confusing splash of trade season yesterday, acquiring star sniper Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks.

Critics of the trade question the Islanders’ gamble on a pending unrestricted free agent, notably with the team out of the playoff picture at the All-Star break. A contract extension between the two parties would ensure that New York’s concessions in the trade weren’t for naught.

The day after the trade, though, Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading that Horvat is “open” to contract extension talks with the Islanders. While not a certainty, it seems like the door is open for a long-term union between the two parties, even if New York can’t claw back into the playoff picture this season.

“[The contract talks] will commence in short order, is what I’m being told,” LeBrun said. He also noted that the Islanders would’ve been on Horvat’s list of teams to speak to had he gone to market on July 1, which is something to keep in mind as talks progress.

Only Oliver Wahlstrom is on the Islanders’ list of notable restricted free agents to lock up next offseason. His value is limited, considering his offensive inconsistency and the likelihood that he’s out of the lineup for the remainder of 2022-23 with an injury. He played just 35 games.

With that being said, the Islanders have slightly north of $16MM in cap space to play with for 2023-24, per CapFriendly. Semyon Varlamov and Scott Mayfield are also pending UFAs whose roles on the roster need to be replaced, but could likely be done for cheaper than their current combined cap hits of $6.45MM.

If the two sides can agree on an extension, the Islanders have the space to give Horvat a deal with a cap hit north of $8MM, the likely benchmark for his caliber of talent. The merits of such a contract, considering his sky-high 21.7 shooting percentage this season signals some regression ahead, can be debated.

Oliver Wahlstrom Could Miss Rest Of Season

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No matter which side you came down on regarding the Vancouver Canucks-New York Islanders trade from last night, it was still something of a surprise. Many felt that the Islanders made a mistake by using futures in a season where they are struggling, while others believed the Canucks could have landed more for Bo Horvat. If you’re in the latter group, you probably won’t like hearing Kevin Weekes’ latest report for ESPN.

Weekes tweets that another club involved in the Horvat dealings told him the Canucks didn’t shop the offer around, seeing if anyone could beat it. Instead, they “locked in” on the package that the Islanders were putting on the table, which included Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a first-round pick.

  • Another thing to consider for the Islanders might have been the status of Oliver Wahlstrom, who according to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, may not return this season. The 22-year-old Wahlstrom doesn’t play the same position as Horvat, but was one of the team’s more offensively-driven players, and has been out since December. Wahlstrom had seven goals and 16 points in 35 games this year.

No Extension Talks Were Done Prior To The Bo Horvat Trade

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  • Speaking with reporters including Harman Dayal of The Athletic (Twitter link) following today’s trade, Islanders center Bo Horvat indicated that there weren’t any discussions regarding a possible extension before the move was made. The 27-year-old is set to earn a significant raise on his current $5.5MM AAV and is well on his way to a career year as he already has 31 goals and 23 assists so far this season.  New York has a little over $67MM in commitments next season per CapFriendly and a new deal for Horvat would take up more than half of the space of what’s projected to be an $83.5MM cap for 2023-24.

New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat

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The New York Islanders have acquired center Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick. The trade was announced officially by both teams Monday afternoon.  Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press notes that Vancouver is retaining 25% of Horvat’s $5.5MM AAV as part of the deal.

New York will retain their 2023 first-round pick if it’s among the top 12 selections, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Assumedly, if the pick does land in the top 12, the Islanders would send Vancouver their 2024 first-round selection.

The trade call ends months of speculation about a Horvat trade, which really began as soon as the Canucks fell flat out of the gate to start the season. With the team’s poor defense and goaltending rendering them entirely out of the playoff picture, Horvat’s status as a pending unrestricted free agent made him a spectacular trade candidate.

Vancouver’s now-former captain had always been perceived as a strong top-six center with good two-way skills and was especially appreciated for his strong marks in the faceoff circle (56.6% over the past two seasons). Horvat’s goal-scoring exploded this season, though, and his 31 goals rank eighth in the NHL.

Those 31 goals and Horvat’s 54 points instantly make him the Islanders’ leader in both categories this season. If utilized on a line with Mathew Barzal, whose main weakness is faceoffs (just 35.9% this season), the Islanders suddenly have one of the most potent playmaking/scoring duos in the league now.

Some may argue, and they’d be valid to do so, that the value in this trade swings the way of the Islanders and general manager Lou Lamoriello. At first glance, the price doesn’t seem quite as astronomically high as previously rumored.

Yet there’s no report of an extension for Horvat, and with Lamoriello’s low success rate of signing unrestricted free agents, there’s no guarantee Horvat is more than a rental. The team’s roster isn’t terribly well set up with Horvat, either. There’s certainly a scenario 18 months from now where the Islanders end up with no Horvat, no top prospect in Raty, and without a high-end pick in the 2024 draft.

With the Islanders still out of a playoff spot and a month before the Trade Deadline, Horvat may not even finish the season on Long Island. If the team fails to gain much ground in the playoff race or in extension talks with Horvat, he could be flipped to a contending team at the deadline if the Islanders can garner a similar (or better) return on the trade market.

While Vancouver won’t be adding to their Connor Bedard odds as the pick is top-12 protected, they still get a second dip from a 2023 first round stocked with talented prospects. Add in Raty, who’s looking much more like the first-round talent he was expected to be after falling to 52nd overall in the 2021 draft, and Vancouver’s future outlook suddenly looks much brighter.

The Canucks also gain a solid top-nine winger in Beauvillier, although his $4.15MM cap hit through 2024 is a tad steep. He’s still a solid bet to net between 30 and 40 points per season and could be solid trade bait for the Canucks at next year’s trade deadline as well. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 20 points in 49 games this year.

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