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Kyle Palmieri

Kyle Palmieri Placed On Injured Reserve

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The New York Islanders are down a pair of important forwards, placing Kyle Palmieri on injured reserve and ruling out Cal Clutterbuck with an upper-body injury. Clutterbuck is listed as day-to-day while Palmieri’s IR stint has been made retroactive to November 21, meaning he can come off whenever healthy.

In their place, Cole Bardreau and Hudson Fasching have been recalled from the minor leagues. The former hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2019-20 season and has just ten under his belt. This season with the Bridgeport Islanders, Bardreau has five goals and nine points. One of the players ahead of him in scoring is Fasching, another minor league veteran who has little NHL experience.

The 27-year-old forward played 11 games for the Arizona Coyotes last season and has 38 in his career, but scored his one and only goal back in 2015-16. Fasching adds a lot of sizes, but not a ton of physicality, and doesn’t look like a long-term replacement.

New York will have to hope Palmieri and Clutterbuck return rather soon, as while Bardreau and Fasching are capable minor league players, neither one is challenging for a full-time NHL role.

New York Islanders Recall Simon Holmstrom

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The New York Islanders have announced that forward prospect Simon Holmstrom has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.

This move comes due to the fact that veteran winger Kyle Palmieri is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

This recall puts Holmstrom, the team’s 2019 first-round pick, in a position to make his NHL debut. The 21-year-old Swede is a big, speedy forward who has been developing at the AHL level since he was drafted by the Islanders.

In his rookie campaign in North America, handling the AHL seemed too tall a task for Holmstrom. He scored just 15 points in 46 games and struggled to make a consistent nightly impact.

Those scoring woes persisted through the pandemic-interrupted 2020-21 campaign, but last year Holmstrom seemed to find his groove. In 68 games he scored a healthy 12 goals and 43 points, putting him in a position to earn a call-up for the first time in his career.

That call-up didn’t come last year, but tonight it’s finally come after he’s spent fifteen additional games in the AHL. He has five points in 15 games so far this year and will look to impress Islanders brass and hope to earn consideration for a more lasting role on the team beyond being an injury fill-in.

The loss of Palmieri, 31, is not an insignificant one. The veteran winger is a trusted secondary scorer for coach Lane Lambert, and while his six goals and nine points don’t jump off the page, they place him just outside the team’s top-five scorers.

While the team will undoubtedly appreciate getting a look at Holmstrom next to franchise pivot Mat Barzal, the Islanders are likely hoping that Palmieri’s absence is a brief one.

Kyle Palmieri Removed From Injured Reserve

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The New York Islanders tweeted Thursday night that the team removed forward right wing Kyle Palmieri from injured reserve, replacing him with center Austin Czarnik, who lands on the list with an upper-body injury retroactive to January 22nd.

Palmieri’s last game was over a month ago, leaving December 16th’s game against the Boston Bruins with a lower-body injury after 12 shifts and 9:12 of ice time. The team originally classified Palmieri as day-to-day with a lower-body injury but ended up spending nearly a month on injured reserve after landing there on December 30th.

Despite continuing to receive top-six minutes this season, Palmieri’s having the worst statistical season of his career since becoming a full-time NHL player. While still serviceable defensively, Palmieri’s totals plummeted to just one goal and six assists for seven points in 25 games.

Bad luck is definitely a factor in this non-ideal 2021-22 season for the Islanders and Palmieri, though. He’s shooting at a rate of just 1.8%, unsustainably low compared to his career average of 12.1%. Since joining the Islanders at last season’s trade deadline, he’s now shot at just 3.4% during the regular season.

In his return to the lineup, Palmieri will continue to get a chance in the team’s top-six, playing with Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson on the second line, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross.

The severity and timeline of Czarnik’s injury are unknown. He could come off injured reserve as soon as February 1st. Czarnik has proved valuable to the Islanders in a depth role this year, producing well with five points in 11 games. His +5 rating leads Islanders forwards.

East Notes: Toffoli, Sourdif, Palmieri, Arniel

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The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Toffoli will return to the lineup tonight, signifying that he has been activated from injured reserve.  He has missed the past six weeks due to a hand injury but despite that, he only slipped to third in team scoring as he has 17 points in 26 games.  Montreal doesn’t need to make a corresponding roster move to bring him off IR with the placements of Cole Caufield and Joel Armia in COVID protocol earlier today.  Defenseman Kale Clague was also activated from COVID protocol into the second roster spot.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Panthers prospect Justin Sourdif was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings from Vancouver at yesterday’s WHL trade deadline. A third-round pick in 2020, the winger has 32 points in 24 games this season and now goes to an Edmonton squad that is gearing up for a long playoff run.  Florida has already signed Sourdif to an entry-level contract, one that will slide this season and begin in 2022-23.
  • Islanders winger Kyle Palmieri hasn’t suffered a setback but head coach Barry Trotz told reporters including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that his lower-body injury hasn’t been recovering as anticipated. He pegs the veteran’s health around 80-85% so it would appear Palmieri will be out for a little while longer.  The 30-year-old has struggled considerably this season with just one goal and six assists in 25 games.
  • Capitals assistant coach Scott Arniel has been placed in COVID protocol, reports Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be away from the team for at least the next five days as a result.

New York Islanders Facing Severe Roster Crunch

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After a slow summer, the month of September has belonged to GM Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders. On September 1, the team announced new contracts for forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Casey Cizikas, and Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Ilya Sorokin. That same day, they hinted that veteran UFA Zach Parise will also be joining the team and have provided even more evidence of that fact since, despite no formal announcement. This week, the team made a flurry of depth signings, adding forwards Andy Andreoff, Cole Bardreau, Otto Koivula, and Dmytro Timashov and defenseman Paul LaDue, while inviting veteran blue liner Erik Gustafsson to training camp. They then capped off the week with Saturday’s high-profile signing of Zdeno Chara. 

This is all well and good on its face, but the reality is that there are only so many roster spots to go around. Interestingly enough, the Islanders should be okay with the salary cap. CapFriendly currently projects the team to be over the cap, but using only $4.48MM of their $6MM in LTIR relief from Johnny Boychuk’s career-ending injury. While this projection does not include the undisclosed terms for Chara and Parise, it is based on a 23-man roster and those veterans are expected to have minimum base salary, incentive-laden contract. However, therein lies the problem. CapFriendly already has New York roster at the maximum 23 players, but that does not include Chara and Parise, nor does it include unsigned restricted free agent Kieffer Bellows. Something has to give.

So who could be on the chopping block? It isn’t a long list. Many of the Islanders’ core players are returning from a run to the semifinals last season and are locked into a roster spot. In fact, the team may have its full group of 12 starting forwards already in place. Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Josh Bailey, Oliver Wahlstrom, Palmieri, Beauvillier, and Parise expect to be in top-nine roles, while one of the league’s best fourth lines of Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, and Cizikas will stick together as well. On the blue line, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will man the top pair and Scott Mayfield will be back on the second pair. Young righty Noah Dobson and the veteran lefties, Chara and Andy Greene, are at least locks for a roster spot, if not a starting role. In net, there is no question that Semyon Varlamov and Sorokin will be the NHL tandem.

This leaves three roster spots up for grabs and CapFriendly has five names currently projected for the roster: forwards Ross Johnston, Leo Komarov, and Richard Panik and defensemen Sebastian Aho and the recently-signed LaDue. They don’t expect veteran defenseman Thomas Hickey to crack the roster, but the oft-buried blue liner will have a chance to battle for a spot as well. There is also the unsigned Bellows to consider, as well as the potential for Gustafsson’s PTO to be successful. A top prospect like forward Simon Holmstrom or defensemen Robin Salo, Bode Wilde, or Samuel Bolduc may also force the Isles’ hand. While excellent depth is a good problem to have, the issue for the Islanders is that all of these players (minus the prospects) are not waivers-exempt. They have seven or eight good veteran players to evaluate for three roster spots and no guarantee that the four or five that do not make the cut will not be lost on waiver.

Bellows, especially, is a risk. Assuming the 23-year-old is eventually signed, the Islanders will be tempting fate if they try to sneak him through waivers. A 2016 first-round pick, Bellows NHL action has been limited, but the noted sniper does have five goals in his 22 games. A number of teams would be willing to take a shot on his scoring potential. Johnston and Komarov have cleared waivers in the past, but both are now in the final years of their current contracts making them more attractive on waivers. Johnston is a strong defensive forward and physical presence and Komarov is a streaky, but effective two-way presence; both of which have value. Komarov’s $3MM cap hit could make him the most likely to clear waivers though. Panik, who was just acquired by the Islanders this summer, has more recent scoring results than any of the other names competing for a forward spot and has half of his salary retained, making him another dangerous waiver exposure even with two years on his current contract. Of the three available roster spots, no more than two are likely to go to the forward position, so at least two of these forwards will either need to be tested on waivers – and potentially lost for free – or otherwise traded.

The situation on defense is slightly easier to manage. Aho, LaDue, and Hickey have all cleared waivers recently. In fact, LaDue spent all of last season in the AHL and is not much of a risk to be claimed on waivers. There is some more concern with Aho, 25, and Hickey, whose $2.5MM salary is more palatable to other teams in his final year. Both spent all of last season with the Islanders, but for both to do so again it would mean sacrificing one of the aforementioned forwards who are on the chopping block. If Gustafsson does earn a contract with New York from his PTO, that would likely mean that he is earning a roster spot, as the power play specialist would draw interest from a number of teams at a minimum salary, especially with a strong preseason performance.

While it has seemed like the Islanders have been loading up in recent weeks, Lamoriello still has some work to do. Lamoriello may need to explore the trade market for Bellows if he cannot re-sign him or cannot commit to a roster spot for the high-ceiling forward. He may then need to test the trade waters for several of his other players as well, lest he lose them on waivers for nothing. One way or another, as strong as the Islanders’ depth looks right now, it is highly unlikely that all of these players will still be with the organization when the season begins. Which are retained and which are lost could come back to play a big role in the team’s success this season.

New York Islanders Sign Four Players

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The New York Islanders have officially announced multi-year contracts for Anthony Beauvillier, Casey Cizikas, Kyle Palmieri, and Ilya Sorokin. Though they have not released any further information, some details had been previously reported. The deals are expected to be:

  • Beauvillier – 3 years, $4.15MM AAV
  • Cizikas – 6 years, $2.5MM AAV
  • Palmieri – 4 years, $5.0MM AAV
  • Sorokin – 3 years, $4.0MM AAV

Beauvillier, 24, already has five full seasons under his belt in the NHL after being the 28th overall pick in 2015.  During that time he has been one of the team’s most consistent offensive producers, racking up at least 15 goals and 28 points in each of the last four seasons. This year those totals were hit in just 47 games, giving him a strong 26-goal pace over a full 82-game season. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, in an Islanders system that suppresses scoring on both sides, it represents a very important player.

In fact, Beauvillier was fourth on the team in goals this season and one of the players ahead of him, Jordan Eberle, is now a member of the Seattle Kraken. That means there will likely be even more offensive opportunities for Beauvillier moving forward, especially with a new $4.15MM cap hit in place. That number moved him into sixth among forwards on the New York roster until Palmieri trumped it with his $5MM AAV.

For Cizikas, 30, a six-year deal essentially buys out the rest of his career, given the physical, in-your-face style that he brings to the rink every night. That kind of play is exactly why he fits so well in the bottom of the Islanders lineup, but it’s also not likely he could have secured that term elsewhere. The simple fact is that Cizikas can’t really play up in a lineup, but that doesn’t matter in New York where he is an essential part of their four-line structure. He’s relied on for important faceoffs and gets pummeled with defensive zone starts, given one of the hardest deployments in the entire league. All of that leads to poor overall possession numbers and just a handful of points every year, but there’s no doubt that the Islanders value him just as much as anyone else on their team.

Palmieri meanwhile is the newest member of the group, having only made his Islanders debut in April. He played 17 games down the stretch for the team after a midseason trade from the New Jersey Devils, and scored just two goals. It looked like that trade may have been a mistake until the moment the Islanders took the ice in the postseason, where Palmieri showed up and scored seven goals in 19 games. There’s obviously a history between the 30-year-old forward and New York GM Lou Lamoriello, who originally traded for him in New Jersey, and this new deal secures the last big payday of Palmieri’s career.

Overall, he is coming off his worst offensive season in some time, having scored just ten goals and 21 points in 51 games. Those numbers are a far cry from the consistent 25-30 goal man he had been over the previous five seasons, and it’s that production that the Islanders are hoping to return. The thing about Palmieri, like basically every other player on the Islanders roster, is that he is also a capable defensive forward that drives possession at both ends of the rink. He fits perfectly into their structure and with a full training camp could very well become one of the team’s most important players next season.

Speaking of important players, the 26-year-old Sorokin was an interesting case to follow this offseason. After a brilliant rookie season that saw him post a .918 save percentage in 22 appearances, he could have potentially filed for salary arbitration as an RFA. When he didn’t, there was technically a possibility he could sign an offer sheet somewhere else, though that speculation was misguided from the start. A deal with the Islanders was likely signed some time ago, and Sorokin will now be locked up for three years at a reasonable amount. While he has just a handful of NHL starts under his belt, there’s a much larger body of work to rely on when evaluating the 6’3″ netminder.

Selected in the third round in 2014, Sorokin stayed in Russia until 2020, playing season after season in the KHL. In fact, he completed seven full years at the professional level there, starting as a teenager and quickly becoming one of the league’s most dominant goaltenders. There is little doubt that he can be a starting-level option in the NHL, which he proved once again with seven games in the postseason. Sorokin posted a .922 in those playoff appearances, a number he’ll likely add to as this contract progresses.

At $4MM though, he actually still comes in below partner and friend Semyon Varlamov who will continue to take some of the load. The Islanders will be spending $9MM combined on their goaltending tandem, but it should be one of the best in the league.

Even with all of these new deals in place, the Islanders are expected to have more up their sleeves. Zach Parise and Travis Zajac for instance have also been linked to the team, though it’s a complete guess as to when they would potentially announce those deals, if signed.

Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweeted details on each contract. 

Poll: How Many Top Unsigned Free Agents Will Play In NHL This Season?

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Following a massive first day of free agency late last month, not to mention several more signings since, it may seem that there aren’t many big-name free agents left on the market. Yet, quietly there is still and abundance of quality players left unsigned. This includes ten of PHR’s Top 50 UFA’s i.e. 20% of the players that we believed were the best available. It also includes another 13 players who played in 40+ games out of 56 this past season. There’s also Bobby Ryan, who was on pace for 22 points in 53 games before season-ending injury, which would have made him the highest scoring player still unsigned, and Artem Anisimov, whose nine points in 19 games is the second-best per-game mark among remaining UFA’s. With a nice round number of 25 top players still unsigned, which still ignores plenty of other capable NHLers, how many of these can be expected to play in the NHL next season? Time is running out and so are roster spots. Late-offseason signings are not impossible and a fair number of PTO’s are expected in camp this year, but realistically how many of these players will be able to land an NHL deal?

The top available name may also be the hardest to predict because his market is just one team and he isn’t ready to play. Future Hall of Fame goaltender Tuukka Rask (No. 14) remains a free agent and at 34 and recovering from major surgery it is fair to be skeptical that he will ever play again. The career Bruin reportedly will only play in Boston and recent comments by some of his teammates suggest that they expect him to do so at some point this year. But with Linus Ullmark signing a substantial contract to play alongside rookie sensation Jeremy Swayman, do the Bruins need Rask, especially coming in cold mid-season?

While Rask stands out as the only high-end goalie left available, the same cannot be said for forwards. Kyle Palmieri (No. 16), Tyler Bozak (No. 35), Casey Cizikas (No. 36), Zach Parise (No. 37), Nikita Gusev (No. 41), Alex Chiasson (No. 47), and Eric Staal (No. 48), as well as the aforementioned Ryan and Anisimov are all unsigned. Several of these names – Palmieri, Cizikas, Parise – have been linked to the New York Islanders, but no deals have been announced. All three have seemingly done enough to earn new contracts, but are still waiting. Bozak, meanwhile, was arguably the best of the players still available last season, with the top points per game mark even in a season plagued by injury. Gusev is a unique talent that has the chance to excel in the right system, Chiasson is a hard-working, consistent contributor, and Staal is one of the most respected veterans in the game. Ryan and Anisimov each showed that they still have gas left in the tank. It is hard to envision any of these players not playing this season, unless it is their own decision. Yet, none have signed on yet.

On the blue line, top talent is more scarce. Only Sami Vatanen (No. 43) and Erik Gustafsson (No. 44) remain from the Top 50 list and while each brings considerable strengths, they also have major weaknesses. With that said, each has been a regular in the NHL and are perhaps even more valuable as a depth option. Will Vatanen and Gustafsson find the right spot once more this season?

Among the players who were regulars in 2020-21 even though they may not come to mind as top options is a mix of aging veterans, versatile depth players, and discarded youngsters. Legends Patrick Marleau and Zdeno Chara lead the way as players who should be able to find a home if they want to keep playing just purely based on their Hall of Fame pedigrees, but lack the impact they once had. Other veterans still searching for work include Derick Brassard, Travis Zajac, and Jason Demers. Capable bottom-six forwards like Riley Sheahan, Colton Sceviour, Mark Jankowski, and Tobias Rieder are still available, as it stay-at-home defender Erik Gudbranson. Finally, formerly promising prospects Ryan Donato, Jimmy Vesey, and Dominik Kahun are all still looking for another chance.

Each player brings their own case for why or why not they should be employed in the NHL this season. All have been impact players in the league, but in a game progressively more dominated by younger players, history is no longer enough on its own to win a job. The supply of talent in the NHL currently seems to be greater than the demand, even with the expansion to 32 teams. Is there enough room for these 25 top players to find a new team this summer?

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Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Islanders, similar to last season, face an extenuating salary cap crunch that could force some moves.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Anthony Beauvillier – It was a solid season for the 24-year-0ld winger, who’s continuing to progress into a legitimate depth option moving forward. Even with this year’s shortened season, Beauvillier’s now scored at least 15 goals for four straight years, including one of his most complete two-way years in 2020-21. Mostly relied upon for his scoring ability, he’s a good young piece for a team that struggles to have consistent offensive success. While the Islanders would love to commit long-term to Beauvillier, keeping costs down this offseason is paramount. Expect a bridge deal, likely no more than three seasons long, in the $3MM range. It allows Beauvillier to cash in at the end of the deal, and it gives the Isles some necessary breathing room.

D Adam Pelech – Underrated no more is Pelech, who even received a handful of Norris Trophy votes this season. Playing over 21 minutes a night for the second straight year, the low-event, shot-suppressing defenseman forms one of the formidable pairings in the league with Ryan Pulock. New York’s second-best defender, Pelech will need a sharp raise this offseason. Yet again, though, the salary cap will limit how long the Islanders can make an investment. Older than Beauvillier, any deal will carry Pelech into unrestricted free agency. The Isles will sign him to as much term as they can while keeping the cost as low as possible.

Other RFAs: F Michael Dal Colle, F Kieffer Bellows, F Dmytro Timashov, F Otto Koivula, F Anatoly Golyshev, F Bobo Carpenter, G Ilya Sorokin

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Kyle Palmieri – Despite probably the worst regular season of Palmieri’s career, he likely boosted his stock this offseason considerably with his playoff performance. He had nine points in 19 games with many coming at important moments. While there’s always the possibility of Palmieri taking a short-term deal on the cheap to try and win with the Islanders, it’s likely that he’ll receive enough more compensatory offers on the open market that he’ll be playing elsewhere next season. The Isles have younger, cheaper in-house options to replace his offense, including Oliver Wahlstrom and Kieffer Bellows.

F Casey Cizikas – The Isles’ longtime fourth-line center, this offseason could be one where Cizikas and New York part ways. Now 30 years old, Cizikas has played almost 600 NHL games and is an invaluable leader for the Isles. Yet the former 20-goal scorer remains stuck on the depth chart behind Jean-Gabriel Pageau. If Cizikas wants the opportunity to move elsewhere and play increased minutes, this may be his only shot. It’s also perfectly realistic to expect that Cizikas could take an extremely friendly deal to remain with the team. There’s always been an aspect of loyalty there, and that could come into play here.

Other UFAs: F Travis Zajac, F Cole Bardreau, F Joshua Ho-Sang, F Tanner Fritz, D Braydon Coburn, D Andy Greene, G Cory Schneider

Projected Cap Space

The Islanders are in tough this offseason with just $5.8MM to work with and important pieces to re-sign. While that number will surely increase once defenseman Johnny Boychuk’s contract is moved to LTIR, the Islanders still likely won’t have that much room to maneuver with. It’s entirely possible that we see general manager Lou Lamoriello make some unexpected trades in order to boost the team’s talent level without much added cap expense, but only time will tell.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Islanders Hoping To Re-Sign Cizikas, Palmieri

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The New York Islanders were once again more than the sum of their parts in these playoffs, taking a group mostly devoid of NHL stars and coming within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s not that the team lacks talent—far from it in fact—but the workman-like attitude that has been instilled in the group by the front office and coaching staff makes almost every player on the roster equally important.

Perhaps no player better represents that equal-importance structure than Casey Cizikas, the long-time Islander who has only scored more than ten goals in a season once. In fact, Cizikas only has 81 tallies in his entire 590-game NHL career but is still considered an incredibly valuable piece of the puzzle in New York. Acting as a third or fourth-line center, the 30-year-old Cizikas is a key cog in the Islanders defensive structure and can be relied upon in almost any situation.

He’s also an unrestricted free agent this summer, coming off a five-year, $16.75MM contract.

The Islanders don’t have a lot of cap space to work with, especially with new contracts due for restricted free agents like Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech and Ilya Sorokin, but Cizikas remains a priority. GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters today that the team will do everything they possibly can to bring the veteran center back, and that the player has also expressed a desire to stay in New York. He also hinted that a deal might not be done before the expansion draft, noting that because he is an unrestricted free agent the team doesn’t have to make any expansion considerations to keep him.

The same might not be said about Kyle Palmieri, who Lamoriello also mentioned as a player the Islanders are hoping to retain. Quite simply, New York may not be able to afford the UFA winger that was acquired at the trade deadline. As Andrew Gross of Newsday relays, the Islanders executive noted that there are “financial challenges” to the Palmieri situation, even though both sides have interest in him staying. The 30-year-old forward was outstanding for the Islanders in the playoffs, scoring seven goals in 19 games, including an overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Palmieri is coming off a deal that saw him earn $23.25MM over five years though; even if the Islanders were able to get him on the same AAV, it’s a tough piece to fit in their current cap puzzle.

Poll: Who Will Take Home The Conn Smythe Trophy?

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While four teams are still left in the running, the end of the season is near enough that Conn Smythe Trophy speculation can begin in earnest. In recent years, future Hall of Famers have put up giant playoff performances en route to championships, as Alex Ovechkin, Victor Hedman, and Sidney Crosby have all added a playoff MVP to their résumé.

But now, we turn our attention to the players grabbing headlines during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning look poised to repeat as champions on the back of a fully healthy core. The Vegas Golden Knights are struggling and facing elimination, but always seem to turn it on when it matters most. The New York Islanders continue to play disciplined defensive hockey, and the Montreal Canadiens continue to ride an underdog wave.

The Lightning have many candidates, as the teams to fall to them know all too well. Nikita Kucherov has absolutely tormented opponents on the power play since returning from injury, leading the playoffs with 27 points in just 16 games. Brayden Point has also terrorized opponents on the scoresheet, tallying an incredible 13 goals in 16 games. Tampa Bay’s trifecta wouldn’t be complete without an incredible performance from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who’s posted a .936 save percentage to pair with an 11-5 record.

Should the Islanders move on, there’s no real clear-cut candidate from their squad. It speaks as a testament to the strength of a team the Isles have assembled. Everyone’s eyes should turn immediately to Mathew Barzal, however. After a slow start, Barzal is approaching the team lead for both goals and points. Nods should also be given to Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who sit tied for the team lead with 13 points in 17 games. Brock Nelson and newcomer Kyle Palmieri share the team lead in goals with seven, and could also receive votes.

For the Golden Knights, Max Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo should be classified as the leading candidates. Pietrangelo has been playing his best hockey as a Knight, tallying 11 points in 18 games while playing almost 25 minutes a night. Max Pacioretty leads the team in points per game, having scored 11 in 12 since returning from injury. While Marc-Andre Fleury received earlier consideration, a string of recent mediocre performances likely put him behind Pacioretty and Pietrangelo for contender status.

And for the upstart Habs, it’s veteran Carey Price who’ll undoubtedly take home the hardware should they win it all. The 33-year-old netminder has posted a .933 save percentage in 16 games, playing every game for Montreal during the playoff run. Free-agent acquisition Tyler Toffoli could receive some love too with 14 points in 16 games.

So now we ask you – who’ll be taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy at the conclusion of these playoffs? Vote below!

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