Oilers Among The Teams To Check In On Zdeno Chara
- The Oilers are among the teams to check in on Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara, Chris Johnston reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 45-year-old is still averaging more than 18 minutes a night and with a base cap hit of just the league minimum of $750K, he’s someone that they should be able to afford with their limited cap space. Chara also has another $750K in undisclosed performance bonuses which an acquiring team may become responsible for absorbing although that can roll over to next year’s cap if necessary.
Greene, Clutterbuck Day To Day
- The New York Islanders announced prior to their game against the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon that forward Cal Clutterbuck and defenseman Andy Greene were day-to-day and are being held out of today’s game for maintenance purposes. While that certainly may be the reason, it is important to note that both players are pending UFAs who are candidates to be traded by the trade deadline tomorrow. Also worth mentioning is that the Islanders are a very tight-lipped organization and could be holding their cards close.
Zach Parise Hoping To Play For Islanders Next Season
- Islanders winger Zach Parise told reporters, including Newsday’s Andrew Gross, that he’s hoping to return to the team next season. The 37-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and with a base cap hit of just $750K, he’s someone that could be moved to a contender looking for extra forward depth. After a quiet start to the season, Parise has improved offensively in recent weeks, collecting a dozen points in 21 games since the start of February.
New York Islanders Claim Austin Czarnik
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both players on waivers today were claimed. Austin Czarnik, who was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the New York Islanders. After being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers yesterday, Olli Juolevi will be headed to the Detroit Red Wings, having been claimed as well.
For Czarnik, this will mark his second stint with the Islanders organization, having only departed after being claimed on waivers by the Kraken back on February 8th. In his time with Seattle, Czarnik played in just six games, recording two assists. Prior to being placed on waivers by the Islanders, Czarnik had a fairly impressive two goals and three assists in 11 games for the Islanders, to go along with 15 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders this season. Speaking of Bridgeport, the Islanders announced that Czarnik will be assigned to Bridgeport. The organization is able to assign Czarnik directly to the AHL without waivers, as they were the only team to put a claim in on the forward.
AHL Shuffle: 03/05/22
It is a busy Saturday across the NHL with 10 games on the docket over the course of 12+ hours. The St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders kick things off at 11:30am CT, followed by at least one game starting nearly every hour from 2:00pm CT until the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche square off in one of the most highly-anticipated match-ups of the season thus far at 9:00pm CT. If all of these teams aren’t too busy preparing and the other dozen not playing aren’t too busy themselves watching all the action, perhaps we will see some roster movement today.
Atlantic Division
Metropolitan Division
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have demoted defenseman Jake Christiansen, a player who has been up and down regularly this season. The team announced that Christiansen has been reassigned to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he has played in 39 games this year. While he has only suited up for four with the Blue Jackets, Christiansen has spent considerable time on the NHL roster.
- Kevin Hayes is back with the Philadelphia Flyers. The veteran center has been out since mid-January after undergoing surgery and his recovery exceeded the expected three-to-four week projection. However, he has finally been activated from the injured reserve. Philadelphia may not have many playoff hopes left this season, but will be glad to have a locker room leader back. The timing is poor for Wade Allison, who has also been activated from the IR but with Hayes taking the open NHL roster spot, Allison will head to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Allison suffered a knee injury in his season debut back in January and has been out ever since, but certainly hoped to return to the Flyers lineup after playing in 14 games as a rookie last season.
- The New York Islanders recalled two players in time for their game against the St. Louis Blues earlier today, a 2-1 win for New York. Forward Otto Koivula was recalled from Bridgeport and played in the game for the Islanders, who were without forwards Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee. This was just Kiovula’s fourth game of the season, last playing December 2nd for the Islanders. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was also recalled from Bridgeport, but was immediately sent back down after the game. Wotherspoon has yet to make his NHL debut, but has been a solid contributor for Bridgeport the past few seasons.
- The Carolina Hurricanes recalled goaltender Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on an emergency basis. The 29-year-old Lyon has only played in two games this year for Carolina, but has had an impressive 23 games in the AHL, carrying a 2.14 goals against average and .911 save percentage. Lyon’s emergency recall suggests that one of Antti Raanta or Frederik Andersen are unable to go for Carolina tomorrow night.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- The Edmonton Oilers recalled defenseman Philip Broberg from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Broberg was immediately inserted into the Oilers lineup as they square off against the Montreal Canadiens at home. The 20-year-old Broberg has just one point in 17 games this season for Edmonton, but has excelled in the AHL, tallying 19 points in 27 games.
Islanders Starting To Receive Interest In Zdeno Chara
The Islanders are starting to receive trade interest in veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara, Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment. While the 44-year-old is no longer the top pairing player he was for a lot of his time in Boston, some contending teams could use him as a shutdown and penalty kill player in a limited role. He carries a $750K AAV although there are bonuses of up to another $750K in the existing deal but those could roll over and be applied on next year’s cap with the bonus cushion. While Chara doesn’t have any trade protection, LeBrun adds that GM Lou Lamoriello will go to the veteran to see if he indeed wants to move. He has seven assists in 42 games this season while still averaging over 18 minutes a game.
Semyon Varlamov Activated Off COVID-19 List
Two of the four new names on Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff’s trade targets ranking are goaltenders, namely Braden Holtby of the Dallas Stars and Anton Forsberg of the Ottawa Senators. Holtby has had a nice bounce-back campaign in Dallas after being bought out by the Canucks last summer. In his 21 starts this season Holtby has a .912 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average, strong improvement from his .889/3.67 marks in Vancouver. But his future in Dallas is clouded by the emergence of 23-year-old first-round-pick Jake Oettinger. (As well as the looming presence of Anton Khudobin, the goalie who led the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, in the AHL.) In an interview with Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic, Stars General Manager Jim Nill noted that Oettinger has “settled in” with the Stars, and LeBrun also ponders the possibility of Dallas dealing a goaltender.
The Senators’ Forsberg joins Holtby on the list, in large part thanks to the resurgence of Matt Murray. As Murray has shined, Forsberg and his .916 save percentage in 21 starts for the club have become more expendable. Given the Senators’ status as a likely seller come the trade deadline, Seravalli calls Forsberg “perfect trade fodder” for GM Pierre Dorion. Like Holtby, Forsberg is also a pending unrestricted free agent.
- Adin Hill has not played since a late January tilt versus the Lightning, and his absence looks set to continue. The San Jose Sharks announced that Hill has been placed on injured reserve as he continues his recovery from a lower body injury. As the Sharks sit second-to-last in the Pacific Division standings, Hill’s lack of recovery and placement on IR have to be seen as an unfortunate setback to add to his underwhelming first season in San Jose.
- As the Sharks battle Hill’s continued absence, the Islanders get one of their absent netminders back into the fold. The team announced that Semyon Varlamov has been activated from the COVID-19 non-roster list. Varlamov has a .916 save percentage in his 13 starts this season and figures to give the Islanders a boost as they attempt to build momentum in their long-shot chase for a playoff spot.
Bailey To Return Sunday, Wahlstrom Listed As Day-To-Day
The Islanders will be without winger Oliver Wahlstrom for tomorrow’s game against Montreal due to an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). He was injured in Thursday’s victory over Boston and is listed as day-to-day. The good news for New York is that they’re expected to welcome winger Josh Bailey back after he missed Thursday’s contest. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov has returned to New York after testing positive for COVID while in Western Canada. He remains unavailable for the time being.
Trade Deadline Primer: New York Islanders
With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New York Islanders.
If you were looking for the hockey version of Murphy’s Law, perhaps it is the New York Islanders, because everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong. The team began with 13 straight games on the road as they waited for their new arena to be finished, and while they started okay, it finished with a tired group losing the last four. Just when home cooking was finally calling their name, captain Anders Lee kicked was placed in COVID protocol and the team eventually needed to pause their season. Seven straight losses followed that season-opening road trip, and in many eyes, the Islanders were already out of the race. Things haven’t really gotten back on track and even with games in hand, it will be a tough task to climb all the way back to a postseason position.
Record
17-20-6, 6th in the Metropolitan
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$12.67MM in projected deadline cap space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2022: NYI 1st, COL 2nd, NYI 3rd, NYI 5th, NYI 6th
2023: NYI 1st, NYI 2nd, NYI 4th, NYI 5th, NYI 6th, NYI 7th
Trade Chips
For a team that thought they would be contending for not just the playoffs but the Stanley Cup, it’s hard to know just how far the Islanders would go in terms of selling at the deadline. Cal Clutterbuck is the name most recently added to the rumor mill because of his expiring contract and his bottom-six experience. The 34-year-old has played over 900 games in the NHL and has been a key part of the team’s “Identity Line” for years, joining Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin as a bang-and-crash group that was trusted defensively.
But in terms of pure rentals, it doesn’t end with Clutterbuck. The Islanders also have Zach Parise, Zdeno Chara, and Andy Greene on expiring low-cost deals, with each bringing a ton of experience to the table for any playoff contender. While none of them represent much upside–for the acquiring team or the Islanders–the 35+ group could be shipped off to recoup some late-round picks, if they’re up for it.
Beyond that, there are some interesting names on the Islanders roster though. Scott Mayfield is an inexpensive right-handed defenseman with one more year on his deal. He could be among the most sought-after deadline targets for teams looking to improve their defense on a budget. Mayfield has averaged exactly 20 minutes per game this season, the most of his career, and brings a ton of size and physical play to the table.
Team Needs
1) Young NHL players: There’s no way the Islanders are going to pull the plug on this group and rebuild, so for next season they’re going to need some young talent to support their veteran core. Lee, Cizikas, Martin, Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Josh Bailey are all on the wrong side of 30 and signed for at least two more seasons, meaning someone is going to have to start providing some value on entry-level or bridge contracts if the Islanders want to get back to the top.
2) Draft picks: That of course can also be done with draft picks, but like Philadelphia yesterday, the Islanders also may need some assets this summer to add to their group or get rid of some bad contracts. With picks already sent out of town for 2022, getting a couple more bullets in the chamber could help Lamoriello in the offseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Islanders Likely Sellers; Clutterbuck Becomes Rental Option
The New York Islanders are starting to catch up in terms of games played but that doesn’t mean they’re any closer to a playoff spot, as they keep losing and now sit 17-20-6 on the season. With that, rumors of them as deadline sellers are starting to emerge, with James Nichols of The Fourth Period suggesting that long-time Islander Cal Clutterbuck could be on the move.