Islanders Have Chance To Bring Sorokin To U.S. Next Season
It was initially reported in December that goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin was unlikely to join the New York Islanders next season due to the fact that the 23-year-old goaltender still has one more year on his contract with CSKA Moscow and the rumor was that the KHL wasn’t interested in letting him go. However, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that bringing Sorokin over next season isn’t impossible.
In fact, it’s possible that Sorokin could initiate a buyout of his contract at the end of his KHL season, assuming that Sorokin pays that buyout by himself with no help from the Islanders. Staple writes that two North American sources say that while there is no specific buyout window in the KHL, players can initiate buyouts at the end of the year and with one year left on his deal in the KHL, a buyout would not be prohibitive. Sorokin’s North American agent, Paul Theofanous, was seen at the Islanders’ practice facility this week and presumably met with general manager Lou Lamoriello.
However, the scribe also adds that if Sorokin does come to North America next season, it would be on a one-year entry-level deal and would be waiver-exempt, meaning the Islanders would have to commit to the 23-year-old as a full-time NHL goaltender, which might be a big commitment for Lamoriello, despite his success in the KHL. Of course, former Islander Mikko Koskinen signed a similar one-year deal with Edmonton this past offseason at $2.5MM and one can expect that Sorokin could command quite a bit more.
Despite the team’s tandem of success of Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss, the Islanders expect to shake up their goaltending situation this summer. Lehner will be an unrestricted free agent, while the team could consider moving Greiss, who would have just one year remaining on the three-year, $10MM deal he signed back in 2017. With Lamoriello’s history of having a dominant goaltender on his teams, many felt that the GM would go after a big-name netminder with many talking about New York making a run for Columbus Blue Jackets’ disgruntled netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. However, Lehner’s impressive play this season also gives the team another option in net as well as the 27-year-old has enjoyed a bounce-back season with the Islanders, posting a 2.11 GAA and a .928 save percentage in 25 appearances so far this year, which should only complicate matters when it comes to Sorokin.
Sorokin has been one of the KHL’s best goaltenders for the past four seasons as he has posted a .929 save percentage or better in each of those seasons, which includes a .953 save percentage in the 2015-16 season and a current .942 save percentage this year in 32 appearances so far.
Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Sorokin, Rangers Injuries
While the expectation in Philadelphia is for them to push for the playoffs this season, TSN’s Bob McKenzie notes in the latest TSN Insider Trading (video link) that their plan isn’t to start trading away high draft picks or top prospects to get the short-term help to put them over the hump. Instead, he reports that the two items on new Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher’s list are to look for an upgrade between the pipes and evaluate head coach Dave Hakstol to see if he should have a long-term future with the team still.
Goaltending has been an issue for Philly all season long and for quite a few years before this one. Brian Elliott has been passable but has had injury troubles while veteran backup Michal Neuvirth has battled numerous injuries. Veteran Calvin Pickard struggled and is now gone after being waived so Anthony Stolarz is currently up in a number two role. None of these players project to be long-term starters for the team so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flyers target someone who can serve as a reliable starter for a couple of years and serve as a bridge to top prospect Carter Hart.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While the Islanders would like to bring top goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin to North America as soon as possible, it doesn’t appear that his KHL team is open to letting him go. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express (Twitter link) spoke with Sorokin’s agent who indicated that CSKA Moscow has no intention of letting him go until the expiration of his current contract in 2020. The 23-year-old is once again one of the top goalies in the KHL, posting a stellar 1.19 GAA with a .941 SV% through 22 games but it appears he’ll have to wait a while yet to join the Islanders, even if he’d like to come over after this season as Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported (subscription required) earlier today.
- The Rangers appear to be set to get some help up front in time for Saturday’s game against Florida. Newsday’s Colin Stephenson reports that wingers Pavel Buchnevich, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Mats Zuccarello could all play in that game. Buchnevich has missed the better part of a month due to a broken thumb, Namestnikov has missed three straight with a concussion, while Zuccarello has played just twice in the last month due to recurring groin issues.
Trade Rumors: Faulk, Bobrovsky, Ritchie, Wood
When TSN released their off-season Trade Bait List in early July, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk was ranked #4, among the most likely players to be dealt. A little more than two months later, all three players ranked ahead of him – Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and former teammate Jeff Skinner – have changed teams, while Faulk remains in Raleigh. But for how much longer? Appearing on TSN Radio 1050 recently, insider Pierre LeBrun revealed that Faulk was a target of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer and speculated that the team could still move to acquire him this season. LeBrun opines that Faulk, a right-handed shot signed to an extremely reasonable $4.83MM cap hit over two more years, would be a perfect fit for the Leafs. Toronto has long been searching for a top pair defenseman to complement lefty Morgan Rielly and Faulk fits the bill. LeBrun speculates that the Hurricanes are likely asking for a major package in exchange for Faulk, but meeting those demands may not be an impossible task for Toronto. Several Maple Leafs players and prospects could fill gaps in Carolina, such as veteran center Nazem Kadri, promising wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, and young goalies Garret Sparks and Joseph Woll, as well as a full cabinet of draft picks. There have also been some inclinations that the Hurricanes are preparing to move on from Faulk as well, such as acquiring a new top pair righty in Dougie Hamilton and passing over Faulk, a career ‘Cane, for their captaincy. The team is under no pressure to deal their long-time stud defenseman, but if GM Don Waddell receives a strong enough offer, he seems likely to pull the trigger.
- Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been clear that he does not want to trade either Artemi Panarin or Sergei Bobrovsky, but as both remain unsigned and approaching free agency and trade calls continue to come in for Panarin, there has been rampant speculation as to where the star winger may land. After recent comments from Bobrovsky that could be read as implying that his time in Columbus could soon be over, many have begun to predict where he may land as well. In a recent segment for TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa, Darren Dreger stated his belief that the New York Islanders would be the front runners in a Bobrovsky trade scenario. Dreger adds that there will be more than a few suitors should the two-time Vezina winner hit the trade market or, better yet, the open market. However, Dreger feels that the Islanders and new GM Lou Lamoriello feel more pressure to add a true No. 1 goaltender in their hopes of soon returning to contender status. The Isles currently roster unpredictable Robin Lehner, on a one-year deal, and failed starter Thomas Greiss, as well as two prospects overseas in Ilya Sorokin and Jakub Skarek. Lehner and Greiss do not instill much hope and Sorokin may never make the jump to North America. The Islanders are without a solution in net in the immediate future and could target Bobrovsky at any cost to solve that problem.
- How long will the Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils wait on contract resolutions with Nick Ritchie and Miles Wood respectively? The restricted free agents continue to hold out for better contracts and miss valuable time in training camp, despite underwhelming numbers through their first three seasons to support their absence. At this time last year, Columbus Blue Jackets RFA forward Josh Anderson – a similar power forward-style player – remained unsigned and was the subject of numerous trade rumors. Yet, Anderson had just 34 points through 96 games in his first three seasons, whereas Ritchie and Wood have more experience and production through the same amount of time. Ritchie, a first round pick in 2014, has 59 points in 186 games. Wood, one of the Devils’ top scorers last season, has 49 points through 137 games. One would think that either team could drum up interest if they began actively shopping their respective RFA, but it hasn’t happened to this point. Wood is not without flaws to his game, but has exceeded expectations and played a major role for New Jersey last season and with more play time has the potential to be even better. In contract, Ritchie has his strengths, but has not lived up to his first-round billing. Between the two, it would be less of a surprise to see Anaheim part with Ritchie.
Sergey Tolchinsky Signs With KHL’s CSKA Moscow
Sergey Tolchinsky is an enigma, but one commonly found among Russian players. The young forward has loads of talent and ability, but for some reason struggled to put it all together at the pro level in North America. Likely frustrated by the disconnect between his skill and his production over three years with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, Tolchinsky signed a try-out deal back in June with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, the parent club of his former junior team. Today, the league announced that Tolchinsky has earned a roster spot, signing a one-year contract with CSKA.
Tolchinsky, 23, may not be entirely done with the NHL, but at the very least he won’t be suiting up in 2018-19. However, a comeback can never be ruled out for player with so much natural talent who has previously shown a commitment to the North American game. Although undersized at 5’8″ and 170 pounds, Tolchinsky has proven to be a very capable scorer, albeit streaky in the AHL. Tolchinsky made the trek across the Atlantic early in his development, joining the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2012-13 after being selected 12th overall in the CHL Import Draft. In his first North American junior season, the then-17-year-old notched 51 points in 62 games, outscoring teammates like Jared McCann, Darnell Nurse, and Tyler Gaudet. Yet, Tolchinsky went undrafted in 2013. The Hurricanes were quick to jump on the free agent, inking him to an entry-level deal, although he played two more years for the Greyhounds. Tolchinsky led Soo in scoring in each of those seasons, amassing 186 points in 127 games. He entered the pro ranks with high expectations, but struggled to score at the same rate, finishing his first campaign with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers with 36 points in 72 games and a -16 rating. With point totals and games played totals even lower than that in each of the past two seasons since, Tolchinsky simply couldn’t replicate his success in the AHL. Although he managed to contribute a pair of assists in four games with the Hurricanes, his inconsistency in Charlotte prevented any full-time promotion and the disgruntled Russian did not see any NHL action in 2017-18.
Now, Tolchinsky looks re-establish himself back home in Russia. There has never been a question of how skilled the young winger is, but rather can he put it all together. Skating for a CSKA squad that has been almost dynastic in its success this decade, he stands a good chance of producing plentiful points and boosting his image. Tolchinsky will be re-united with Hurricanes teammate Klas Dahlbeck and will also call the likes of Mikhail Grigorenko, Linden Vey, Jannik Hansen, Sergey Kalinin, Anton Slepyshev, Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Nesterov, Alexey Marchenko, and Ilya Sorokin his teammates. Moscow looks to be dominant again this season and Tolchinsky will be one of many members of the team keeping an eye out for NHL offers next off-season. The Hurricanes chose not to qualify Tolchinsky, a restricted free agent, after he chose to sign with CSKA, meaning he is free to sign with any NHL team when his new contract in the KHL expires.
Offseason Keys: New York Islanders
While the playoffs are ongoing, many teams have already started their offseason planning. What storylines lie ahead around the league? Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the New York Islanders.
While the season for the Islanders started on a high note, especially on offense, the New York Islanders came back to earth in the second half as the Islanders limped to the finish line knowing they had no chance to compete for a playoff spot. Injuries to the defense as well as goaltending troubles haunted them for much of the year.
Sign John Tavares
Perhaps when the team was winning early on and the offense was one of the best in the NHL or when the team won their bid on the Belmont properties and started plans to build a new stadium there, the Islanders might have felt confident about re-signing star center John Tavares. However, after one stretch in which the team won just 17 of 55 games, the star may be ready to move on to a team that has a better shot at being making the playoffs on a more continuous basis.
Regardless, the Islanders didn’t even consider the idea of trading Tavares at the trade deadline to a point that there were few to no rumors flying around at that time. Do they have an idea that he has always intended to sign? Or is the team just hoping he will return to the franchise?
While most experts are starting to believe that Tavares is likely to move on, it also wouldn’t be that surprising if he opted to sign a long-term, maximum deal and stay on Long Island for the rest of his career. Regardless of his decision, the Islanders will either move forward with him or without him, then placing Mathew Barzal at the forefront of the franchise.
Upgrade their defense
The Islanders had few positives when it came to their defense. Looking like geniuses when they traded veteran Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames for a boatload of draft picks, the Islanders defense then faltered when Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan went down with injuries for large chunks of the season. Instead, the Islanders found themselves with few top-four defensemen for much of the season and struggled giving up goals.
While some of the goaltending play can be blamed as well, the defense is what struggled and with a number of their blueliners hitting unrestricted free agency, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey, the team has a few decisions to make as well as have to figure out how to upgrade it. Boychuk, when healthy is a solid top-four defender, but at age 34 and four years remaining on his contract at $6MM AAV, how much can they count on him? The team needs to either move some of its picks in trades for top veterans or sign some key free agents to fill some of those gaps.
Find their goaltender
While the Islanders are finally free of starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak‘s long deal and are unlikely to bring him back, the next question is where do they go to find a new starting goaltender. While they do have two talented prospects in Ilya Sorokin and Linus Soderstrom, neither is an answer for this upcoming season. Sorokin has already said he doesn’t intend to sign with the Islanders under entry-level contract conditions, while Soderstrom is coming off season-ending surgery at the beginning of 2018. Neither would likely have been ready to jump into the NHL anyway.
That will force the team to either trade for a goalie, such as Washington’s Philipp Grubauer, or more likely find a stopgap solution on the free agent market, although the free agent goalie market is quite weak this offseason. Players such as Carter Hutton or Robin Lehner aren’t sure things. The team had some success with AHL goalie Christopher Gibson, but he eventually struggled as well. The team does still have Thomas Greiss under contract for two more years, but that isn’t a better option.
Metropolitan Notes: Maroon, Sorokin, Burakovsky
Following a strong stretch after being acquired at the trade deadline, the Devils are interested in re-signing pending unrestricted free agent winger Patrick Maroon, reports Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, it’s already out there that New Jersey is also looking to make a bigger splash either in free agency or the trade market which could play a role in whether or not they can keep him around.
Maroon, a St. Louis native, was brought in from Edmonton just prior to the deadline and he certainly made an impact with the Devils, posting 13 points (3-10-13) in 17 regular season games while adding a goal in five postseason contests. Add in his 30 points with the Oilers and he has positioned himself to be a highly sought after free agent and should land considerably more than the $1.5MM cap hit that he played under this season on his next contract.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While Washington locked up their top goalie prospect earlier today, it doesn’t appear that the Islanders will be doing the same with their netminder of the future in Ilya Sorokin any time soon. Arthur Staple of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) notes that Sorokin does not want to be subject to the entry-level restrictions on his salary; he would be forced to sign a two-year, entry-level deal given that he’s 22 years old. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express adds (via Twitter) that Sorokin is the highest-paid player with CSKA Moscow so he’d undoubtedly be taking a pay cut to sign at this time. Because there is no player transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia, the Isles can continue to hold his rights indefinitely.
- Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky skated for the first time on Friday since undergoing surgery to repair an upper-body injury back in the first round, notes Roman Stubbs of the Washington Post. However, he is not expected to play at all in the remainder of their series against the Penguins and the team is still listing him as out week-to-week.
Russia Announces Olympic Roster
Even though they’ll have to compete under a neutral flag and call themselves Olympic Athletes from Russia, the RIHF didn’t shy away from their branding on the release of the 25-man roster. Team Russia is the likely favorite for the tournament, loaded with talent from the KHL including quite a few former NHL stars
The full roster is as follows:
G Igor Shestyorkin
G Ilya Sorokin
G Vasily Koshechkin
D Artyom Zub
D Dinar Khafizullin
D Vladislav Gavrikov
D Slava Voynov
D Andrei Zubarev
D Alexey Marchenko
D Bogdan Kiselevich
D Nikita Nesterov
F Ivan Telegin
F Sergei Mozyakin
F Sergei Andronov
F Pavel Datsyuk
F Sergey Kalinin
F Mikhail Grigorenko
F Ilya Kablukov
F Kirill Kaprizov
F Sergei Shirokov
F Ilya Kovalchuk
F Nikolai Prokhorkin
F Vadim Shipachyov
F Alexander Barabanov
F Nikita Gusev
Five Russian Players Not Invited To Participate At Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has extended invitations to 42 of the 47 players submitted by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) for consideration for the upcoming Games. Interestingly though, the IOC did not invite the following players to participate:
D Anton Belov
D Alexei Bereglazov
D Mikhail Naumenkov
F Valeri Nichushkin
F Sergei Plotnikov
The RIHF released a statement following the decision, stating that the five players have not been banned from international competitions and are not guilty of any doping violations. Still, the reasons for the snub have not been given and the RIHF has reached out for some clarity.
These would seem to be fairly important omissions for Russia, especially on defense where the club is relatively thin. By looking at the remaining names that did receive invitations one can start to see how the team will be made up. 25 names that make up the roster will will be released on Thursday.
F Sergei Andronov
F Alexander Barabanov
F Anton Burdasov
D Vyacheslav Voynov
D Vladislav Gavrikov
F Nikita Gusev
F Mikhail Grigorenko
F Pavel Datsyuk
G Vasily Demchenko
D Artyom Zub
D Andrei Zubarev
F Sergey Kalinin
F Kirill Kaprizov
D Bogdan Kiselevich
F Ilya Kovalchuk
G Vasily Koshechkin
F Ilya Kablukov
F Evgeny Ketov
F Pavel Kraskovsky
F Yegor Korshkov
F Roman Lyubimov
D Ilya Lyubushkin
D Alexey Marchenko
F Sergei Mozyakin
D Nikita Nesterov
F Nikolai Prokhorkin
D Yegor Rykov
G Ilya Samsonov
F Andrei Svetlakov
G Ilya Sorokin
F Viktor Tikhonov
F Ivan Telegin
F Vladimir Tkachyov (unclear which one)
D Nikita Tryamkin
F Maxim Shalunov
G Alexander Sharychenkov
F Sergei Shirokov
F Vadim Shipachyov
F Sergei Shumakov
G Igor Shestyorkin
F Dinar Khafizullin
D Yegor Yakovlev
Conspicuously missing is Andrei Markov, who has had a very successful season for Ak-Bars in the KHL after leaving the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 28 points in 52 games. Why he was left off the preliminary list is unclear, though perhaps they wanted to go in a younger direction on defense.
Islanders Sign Goalie Kristers Gudlevskis
A move that fell way under the radar during the July 1st free agent frenzy was the New York Islanders acquisition of young goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis from the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Isles traded a young player of their own, forward Carter Verhaeghe, to secure the restricted free agent rights to the Latvian keeper. Now, New York has taken the next step toward bringing Gudlevskis in, by coming to terms on a new contract. The team announced a one-year, two-way deal with their new goalie, which is expected to be worth the $650K minimum at the NHL level.
While Gudlevskis has NHL upside, the contract does make sense for both sides. The Islanders still have both Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak under contract for next season and the last thing they want is to have to juggle three goalie like they did in the past with J-F Berube. Gudlevskis is still only 24 as well, and they want him facing shots regularly with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he will likely get the majority of starts over Christopher Gibson, Stephon Williams, or Eamon McAdam.
However, Gudlevskis could have a much greater role than AHL depth as soon as this season. The Islanders have not been shy about the fact that Halak is available in a trade and, should another team lose their starter and be on the lookout for a stopgap, Halak would be a popular choice. This could vault Gudlevskis into the backup role in 2017-18. Even if that doesn’t happen, Halak is in the final year of his deal and will almost surely walk in free agency. Unless the Isles are unhappy with Greiss and are looking to replace him as starter or bring in a “1B”-type backup, Gudlevskis could move into the backup role next year. No one knows exactly when top goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin will cross the Atlantic, so Gudlevskis could be in line for a long-term NHL job. In his three NHL regular season appearances, the young keeper has been phenomenal, posting a .959 save percentage and 1.37 GAA. It’s a small sample size, but Islanders fans hope to see more of the same when Gudlevskis is called upon in the near future.
Islanders Replace Goalie Coach Mike Dunham With Fred Brathwaite
In a headline that could have occurred ten years ago, the New York Islanders have replaced Mike Dunham with Fred Brathwaite. Dunham, a journeyman goalie who played ten seasons in the NHL, finished his career with the Islanders in 2006-07 and then took over as the team’s goalie coach. Brathwaite had left the NHL just three years earlier after a ten-year career of his own, and has been working as the goalie coach for Canada’s World Junior teams in recent years. Today, the Islanders announced a trade, as they have decided not to bring back Dunham and to instead hire Brathwaite as the team’s new goalie coach.
Last season, the Islanders missed the playoffs and finished 23rd in the NHL in goals against, likely leading to their new change in direction at goalie coach, moving on from Dunham, who had been there for ten years. In Brathwaite, New York adds a goalie coach with similar experience and succes to Dunham, but who also played in the KHL and in Germany. Brathwaite should be a good fit with the Isles, who boast two goalie that are more familiar with being backups than starters in Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak, and have goalie-of-the-future Ilya Sorokin currently playing in the KHL and waiting in the wings to make the jump to the NHL in the near future. Brathwaite also has a connection to head coach Doug Weight, whom he played with in Edmonton in the 1990’s.
For Dunham, this could be the end of the line in his hockey career. He thanked the organization for the opportunity to play and coach and expressed his excitement with spending more time with his family.