- Islanders center Casey Cizikas did not participate in practice today due to a non-COVID illness, mentions Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). New York isn’t back in action until Monday so it’s quite possible that the 30-year-old doesn’t wind up missing any game action.
Islanders Rumors
Leo Komarov Expected To Be Placed On Unconditional Waivers
In something of a surprise move, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports that veteran forward Leo Komarov is expected to be on unconditional waivers tomorrow. The move would be to terminate Komarov’s contract, allowing him to return to the KHL where he would join SKA St. Petersburg. Komarov never did report to Bridgeport after being assigned to the AHL, but by terminating his deal it would mean forfeiting the remainder of his $2MM salary for this season.
Importantly, it would also clear Komarov’s entire $3MM cap hit off the books for the Islanders. Assigning him to the AHL only cleared $1.125MM, meaning New York and GM Lou Lamoriello would gain some extra cap space should this termination go through. After trading away Johnny Boychuk’s deal a few days ago, the Islanders are already under the cap and accruing cap space every day. Moving on from Komarov would give them even more cap space and help to accommodate a midseason acquisition.
The simple fact is that Komarov is no longer effective enough to be a full-time option at the NHL level. The 34-year-old forward recorded just 11 points in 52 games last season (regular season and playoffs combined), with only a single goal. While he’s always been a good defensive player and a physical presence, willing to hit just about anything that moves, his time as a realistic NHL option is over. A return to the KHL makes sense at this point, especially if he can recoup at least most of his remaining NHL salary.
Depending on what he signs in the KHL he may be an unrestricted free agent again next summer, but it seems unlikely that we’ll ever see Komarov as a regular in the NHL again. If that’s true, he leaves with 491 career regular season games, 63 goals, 170 points and 1,160 hits.
Leo Komarov Dealing With Injury, Hasn't Reported To AHL Since Assignment
- Islanders winger Leo Komarov has yet to report to Bridgeport despite clearing waivers and being assigned more than two weeks ago, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. However, GM Lou Lamoriello indicated that the veteran is rehabbing a minor injury and will report soon once that has cleared. Players generally aren’t permitted to be waived when they’re injured although since Komarov is still collecting his full salary (without escrow now that he has been sent down), it shouldn’t be much of a concern for him.
Buffalo Sabres Acquire Johnny Boychuk
Even with acquiring Alex Tuch in the Jack Eichel deal, the Buffalo Sabres were going to be under the cap floor. There were various ways they could avoid that, but instead of dealing with those details all season long, they’ve just acquired Johnny Boychuk’s contract from the New York Islanders. The deal is for future considerations and Boychuk is not expected to play again.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams explained:
This move is important because it gives us flexibility throughout the season from a roster perspective. There are different conversations that we’ve had with many teams. The key for us was to give us flexibility without compromising where our current roster stands.
Remember, despite Boychuk being essentially retired due to an eye injury, he is still under contract for the 2021-22 season. He carries a $6MM cap hit, but the base salary is only $1.25MM. Even that amount is likely covered at least in part by insurance, meaning the Sabres won’t be paying out much (if any) actual salary in order to stay cap compliant. (CapFriendly shares the specific details, reporting that 60% of Boychuk’s salary is insured, meaning the Sabres are on the hook for less than $500K)
While he was on long-term injured reserve for the Islanders, Boychuk will likely be moved to normal IR for the Sabres, which keeps that $6MM hit on their cap. After the Eichel trade the team was only barely cap compliant, and wouldn’t have been once players like Tuch returned and pushed others off the roster. This move will allow them to freely bounce players up and down as needed without worrying about the lower limit.
For the Islanders, this is actually quite a significant move. With him they were operating in long-term injured reserve relief, meaning they couldn’t accrue cap space throughout the year. By moving him out, they’re now below the $81.5MM cap ceiling and can once again accrue space for a midseason addition. This is really just a case of two teams helping each other out cap-wise, while not exchanging any real assets.
Aatu Raty Changes Liiga Teams
A few years ago, Aatu Raty was on track to challenge for the first overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. That seems insane now, given how far he fell this fall, but it’s true–the young Finnish forward was a hugely touted minor and junior prospect, who made his Liiga debut in 2019-20 and starred at the World Junior Championship despite being the youngest player in the tournament. Unfortunately, the years since haven’t been nearly as successful, stuck at the bottom of the lineup for Karpat and left off last year’s WJC team altogether. Raty ended up going 52nd overall to the New York Islanders, nearly dropping all the way to the third round.
Now, after another brutal start to his Liiga season, with just one point and barely any playing time in six games, Raty is getting a new opportunity. Karpat has officially announced a move that will send Raty (along with Veli-Matti Tiuraniemi) to Jukurit in exchange for Axel Rindell, a Toronto Maple Leafs sixth-round pick.
To be clear, this isn’t a move to a contender for Raty. In fact, Karpat is one of the most consistently powerful teams in Liiga, while Jukurit certainly doesn’t stand in that category. This season, the former is near the top of the table once again, while the latter is struggling to reach a .500 winning percentage. That’s exactly the point though, as Raty should be given a much bigger role in the Jukurit lineup and hopefully will be able to get his development back on track.
The Islanders signed Raty to a three-year entry-level deal in August, but loaned him back overseas after a few preseason appearances. They likely had at least some sort of influence on the move, hoping to get their young forward more playing time. They could technically recall him and put him in the AHL if they felt it was a better option, though current success at that level seems unlikely for the 18-year-old.
Ross Johnston Signs Four-Year Extension
The New York Islanders have locked up a key depth player, signing Ross Johnston to a four-year contract extension. The 27-year-old forward was set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, the final year of his previous four-year deal. Chris Johnston of TSN reports that the deal will carry an average annual value of $1.1MM.
Johnston certainly may not be a household name, but he is extremely well-liked in the Islanders organization and obviously a player they value. The 6’5″ 232-lbs bruiser has only played in 87 regular season NHL games to this point but gets into a handful every year for the team whenever they need to add some size to the lineup. In those games, he has recorded seven goals and 15 points, while racking up 202 penalty minutes.
His current deal carries an average annual value of $1MM, making him an easy player to bury in the minor leagues if necessary. The length of this new deal, just like his old one, would likely also scare off any teams from claiming him on waivers should he end up there. For most, a player like Johnston would be difficult to justify, but the Islanders have built a four-line system that incorporates very specific skillsets in specific situations that they believe allow them to carry part-time players like this that offer no offensive upside.
It’s not often that you see a player with this kind of profile land a four-year contract, but Johnston has now done it twice.
Two Players Clear Waivers
Oct 26: Both players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the AHL.
Oct 25: While Alexander Volkov is on unconditional waivers today, two other players have been placed on regular waivers. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Kyle Criscuolo of the Detroit Red Wings and Cory Schneider of the New York Islanders are available for claim.
In Criscuolo’s case, this would have likely been done at some point during training camp had he not been dealing with an injury. The 29-year-old forward was never really a candidate for the NHL roster, given he hasn’t even played a game at that level since the 2017-18 season. He is however a strong minor league option, who had 11 goals and 19 points in 29 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins last season. It’s very unlikely that Criscuolo will be claimed, meaning he’s headed back to Grand Rapids to make his season debut in the coming days.
For Schneider, his placement on waivers likely indicates that Semyon Varlamov is ready to return to the active roster. The veteran goaltender is nothing more than the third option for the Islanders, and hasn’t even actually played yet this season. Signed to a two-way deal, he too is very unlikely to be claimed unless a team believes he can be an upgrade while they deal with their own goaltending injuries.
Schneider is an organizational piece for the Islanders and is tied for the highest AHL salary this season at $500K. Even for the Bridgeport Islanders he is not expected to be the starter, instead just helping insulate young netminder Jakub Skarek–who has a .933 save percentage through his first four games–and provide the Islanders with an experienced professional to call up whenever necessary.
Semyon Varlamov Won't Return This Weekend
- The undisclosed injury that held Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov out of training camp will sideline him for at least the next two games, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Ilya Sorokin is off to a tough start to his second season having allowed 14 goals in his first four appearances but will be counted on as the starter for a little while longer at least.
Minor Transactions: 10/19/21
While a long list of NHL games caps off this Tuesday night, there was a lot of movement at lower levels of the North American hockey depth chart today. As NHL teams deal with a trend of injuries across the league, it carries a ripple effect across both the AHL and ECHL, forcing roster moves. Here are today’s minor transactions:
- The AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, affiliate of New York, have recalled forward Erik Brown from the ECHL’s Worcester Railers, per the Connecticut Post’s Michael Fornabaio. Brown has been a fringe AHL player since ending his collegiate career with the Rochester Institute of Technology, but the 26-year-old logged his first AHL point, an assist, in 13 games last year with Bridgeport. It was his first full professional season after missing the entirety of 2019-20.
- The Chicago Wolves assigned goalie Beck Warm to the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals today. Warm, who’s on a two-way NHL deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, will make his ECHL debut if he stays but already has one full professional season under his belt. An undrafted free agent, Warm impressed in 14 AHL games with Chicago last year, posting an 8-4-1 record and .914 save percentage. He’s been forced down the depth chart with the addition of NHL-experienced Alex Lyon into the organization as the team’s third goalie, however, and he could take a starting role in Norfolk.
- The St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, assigned forward Shawn Cameron to the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, per the ECHL’s transaction page for October 19. Cameron split last season between Greenville and the AHL’s Utica Comets, where he scored three points (including his first AHL goal) in 11 games. He fared much better in Greenville, notching 10 points in 23 games.
Leo Komarov Assigned To AHL
It’s been quite some time since Leo Komarov suited up for an AHL match, but that’s exactly what may have to happen if he wants to continue to play professional hockey. The New York Islanders have assigned Komarov to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after he cleared waivers earlier today, activating Matt Martin from injured reserve to take his place on the roster.
Komarov, 34, hasn’t played an AHL game since the 2012-13 season, his first year in North America after finally signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the KHL. The 2006 draft choice spent years overseas before ever joining the Maple Leafs and actually returned for the 2013-14 season, but has been in the NHL ever since. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that Komarov was lining up beside Mathew Barzal on the Islanders’ top unit–even though that became a point of amusement among many hockey fans as he clearly didn’t earn that spot on his offensive merit.
Waivers wasn’t an entirely new experience for Komarov, as he cleared three times last season. But he was never sent to the minor leagues because of the existence of the taxi squad, something that isn’t around this season. It will be interesting to see if he will actually report to Bridgeport and play in the minors, or something else will come of the veteran forward’s future. At the very least, the Islanders will receive $1.125MM in cap space by assigning him there, the maximum allowed to be buried. Komarov normally carries a $3.0MM cap hit on the final season of his four-year, $12MM deal.
It’s been years since he was effective at the opponent’s end of the rink, with just one goal and eight points in 33 games last season, but Komarov was actually once selected to an NHL All-Star Game because of his offensive contributions. In 2015-16 he recorded 19 goals in 67 games, a number that came very close to leading the rebuilding Maple Leafs. In his career, he has just 63 total tallies in 491 regular season games.