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Mike Reilly

Hurricanes Sign Mike Reilly

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The Hurricanes made a big splash on the back end with the acquisition of K’Andre Miller today.  They also have added some depth on the back end as PuckPedia reports that Carolina has signed defenseman Mike Reilly to a one-year, $1.1MM contract.  The deal represents a small cut in pay after he made $1.25MM with the Islanders last season.

The 31-year-old was limited to just 18 appearances with New York in 2024-25 but the low number wasn’t performance-related despite notching just two assists.  Reilly suffered a concussion in the first game of November and while recovering from that, it was determined that he needed a procedure on his heart, leaving his availability for the rest of the season in question.  However, he was able to return to the lineup in mid-March, getting into a handful of games down the stretch.

Reilly is a veteran of over 400 career NHL games but has bounced around along the way, never spending more than three years in the same organization.  Overall, he has 18 goals and 106 assists to his name while logging a little more than 17 minutes per game on average.

The Hurricanes will be his fourth team in the last three seasons but the expectations should be the same when he gets in the lineup.  Reilly is typically a player who is capable of providing a bit of depth offense and has five years of at least 16 points under his belt.  The most recent of those came back in 2023-24 when he had six goals and 18 assists in 61 games between the Panthers and Islanders.

It’s likely that Reilly will start the season as Carolina’s reserve defender as it’s widely expected that top prospect Alexander Nikishin will handle a regular role after joining the Hurricanes for the playoffs.  But after the Hurricanes churned through Riley Stillman and Ty Smith through a high amount of recalls and promotions last season, it appears they’ll operate with a full-time seventh option in Reilly who is someone they should be comfortable relying on more frequently than the other two.

Islanders Notes: Dobson, Reilly, Palmieri, DeAngelo, Varlamov

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Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer and is in line for a substantial raise on the $4MM he made on his bridge deal.  Speaking to reporters including Ethan Sears of the New York Post, the 25-year-old declined to provide a preference between signing a short-term deal that could allow him to hit the open market in his prime or a long-term agreement that could make him the highest-paid player in team history.  Dobson had a quieter year this season with 10 goals and 29 assists in 71 games but he’s only a year removed from a 70-point effort that saw him land in the top ten in Norris Trophy voting which will play a significant role in negotiations.  Dobson has just this one year of RFA eligibility remaining and he is arbitration-eligible.

More from the Isles:

  • After missing more than four months following being diagnosed with a heart condition, defenseman Mike Reilly told reporters including Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News he intends to play next season. The 31-year-old was limited to just 18 appearances this season between the heart issue and being scratched with some frequency and while he noted he’d like to stay with the Isles, the limited usage could suggest that he’s unlikely to be brought back.  Reilly had just two assists in those 18 outings while his 15:10 ATOI was the second lowest of his career.
  • Winger Kyle Palmieri wasn’t moved at the trade deadline with the belief that the two sides were close on a new deal. That hasn’t happened yet but the veteran indicated to Newsday’s Andrew Gross and other reporters that he’s hopeful a new contract can be reached.  A pending UFA, the 34-year-old had 24 goals and 24 assists in 82 games this season which should put him in line for another contract close to the $5MM he received for each of the last four years.
  • Pending UFA defenseman Tony DeAngelo told reporters including Gross that his intention is to remain in the NHL next season with his preferred outcome being remaining with the Isles. Signed midseason after having his KHL deal terminated, DeAngelo played a bigger role than expected, averaging over 23 minutes a night of playing time while chipping in with 19 points in 35 games.  With that type of production, DeAngelo’s market might be better this time around after not getting a firm offer last summer while playing for the prorated league minimum when he joined New York.
  • Goaltender Semyon Varlamov is hoping to start skating in June as he continues his recovery from a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup since late November, Gross relays. The 36-year-old posted a 2.89 GAA with a .889 SV% in just ten starts this season and still has two years left on his contract that carries a $2.75MM cap charge.

Islanders Notes: Reilly, Pelech, Boqvist

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Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly will return to the lineup Sunday vs. Florida after undergoing heart surgery in November, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. The team activated him from injured reserve last week, but he’s remained out of action for the last four games as a healthy scratch.

Reilly will almost certainly have his minutes limited in his first NHL action since Nov. 1, when he sustained a concussion and entered protocol. Standard echocardiograms he underwent while he was out revealed an underlying heart condition. General manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed at the time that the procedure wouldn’t be career-ending but would cost him a significant chunk, if not all, of the 2024-25 campaign.

The 31-year-old is now available for the stretch run as the Isles look to overcome a six-point deficit in the standings and capture a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The lefty puck-mover went without a point and logged a plus-one rating in 11 games earlier this season, playing a regular role out of the gate. His role got muddied when the Isles picked up offensive-minded rearguards Adam Boqvist, Tony DeAngelo, and Scott Perunovich in the last few months with Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock each missing time with injuries, but he’ll now return to a third-pairing role alongside Scott Mayfield, per Rosner.

Here’s more on the Islanders:

  • Reilly’s return comes as Adam Pelech exits the lineup due to a lower-body injury, head coach Patrick Roy told reporters (including Ethan Sears of the New York Post). The veteran shutdown man is day-to-day after he logged over 23 minutes against the Oilers on Thursday. Dobson, a righty, is moving to his offside to replace the lefty Pelech in the top four while Pulock jumps up from a third-pairing gig with Mayfield, according to Rosner.
  • Boqvist, who missed the Edmonton game with an upper-body injury, is progressing toward a return but remained in a no-contact jersey at today’s practice, Rosner relays. He left Tuesday’s game against the Kings in the second period after being laid out in the neutral zone by Kevin Fiala. He has five points in 12 games since being claimed off waivers from the Panthers in January.

Islanders Activate Mike Reilly And Matt Martin

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The Islanders made a pair of roster moves leading into tonight’s game against San Jose.  Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News relays that defenseman Mike Reilly was activated off LTIR while winger Matt Martin was activated off injured reserve.

Reilly has been out since the beginning of November when he suffered a concussion.  However, that hasn’t been what has kept him out this long.  While undergoing testing as a result of the concussion, it was discovered that the 31-year-old had an undiagnosed heart defect.  Fortunately, Reilly told reporters including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that the issue has been corrected and there are no long-term concerns.  He has been skating with the team lately but despite the activation, he’s not expected to play against the Sharks.

Reilly has played in 11 games this season and had been playing a regular role before suffering the concussion.  He didn’t record a point in those outings while averaging 15:45 per game.  For his career, he has 122 points in 411 appearances over parts of 10 NHL seasons.

As for Martin, he last played in mid-January and had been dealing with a lower-body injury.  The 35-year-old eventually earned a contract off an extended PTO but his role has been quite limited this year when he has played.  Through 24 games, he has just one assist along with 68 hits in less than eight minutes a night of ice time.

Islanders Issue Updates On Multiple Long-Term Injuries

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New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello met with the media on Saturday morning to provide updates on the team’s endless injury list, captured by NHL.com’s Rachel Luscher. Most notably, Lamoriello shared that backup goaltender Semyon Varlamov has stopped skating on his own or taking shots after a setback in his lower-body injury. Lamoriello dubbed Varlamov as now out indefinitely and referred to his recovery as “a total rehab situation”.

Varlamov has been out of the lineup for over two months but very little about his injury has come to the surface. His last appearance was an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on November 29th where Varlamov – despite allowing five goals – didn’t seem to suffer a noticeable injury. But he was pulled from skating the following morning, moved to injured reserve on December 14th, then moved to long-term injured reserve five days later. He seemed to be on the rebound when the new year rolled around, returning to skating and individual drills on January 2nd. But after a month of light action, Varlamov still needs more time to recover. He’ll head back to the shelf, forcing the Islanders to continue searching for a backup.

Unfortunately, that search will be made significantly tougher by an injury to Varlamov’s fill-in, Marcus Hogberg, who Lamoriello shared will miss the next four weeks with an upper-body injury. Hogberg was originally injured on January 26th and moved to injured reserve the following day. He’ll now sit out through the two-week break 4-Nations Face-Off from February 9th to February 22nd. Hogberg was in the midst of a small resurgence before going down with injury. He made his return to North American pros with a two-way deal with the Islanders this summer, after spending the last three seasons starting for Linkopings HC of Sweden’s SHL. Hogberg started the year with middling numbers in the AHL – a 2-5-3 record and .898 save percentage in 11 games – but found his momentum in the wake of Varlamov’s injury.

Starter Ilya Sorokin has been New York’s bell-cow, but in seven games relieving him, Hogberg has managed a dazzling, team-leading .947 save percentage. It’s the highest save percentage of his North American career, ignoring sample size. But now, Hogberg will join Varlamov on the absentee list – and force the Islanders to find yet another replacement. After succeeding him as AHL starter, Jakub Skarek has also filled Hogberg’s role of NHL backup in light of his injury. Skarek hasn’t yet made his NHL debut, but he nonetheless seems cushy at the top flight – with Henrik Tikkanen and Hunter Miska both posting save percentages below .840 in their own elevated, minor-league roles.

Moving out of the net, Lamoriello also shared that the team is still unsure when defenseman Mike Reilly will return after undergoing a heart procedure in November. Reilly has been skating on his own since December 14th – just over a month after his surgery – but hasn’t progressed since then. Lamoriello added that Reilly’s situation will be dictated by his doctors. The 31-year-old defenseman is in his second season with the Islanders. He scored a career-high 24 points in 59 games last season, serving as an impactful third-pair option for a deprived Islanders defense. He seemed headed for a cushier role this year, but struggled to manage any scoring through the first 11 games of the season – then fell to injury. Reilly seems to have a winding recovery ahead of him, which could limit his chance to earn another deal when his $1.25MM cap hit expires this summer.

Ending on a positive note, top Islanders defensemen Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock are both expected to return to skating drills during the 4-Nations break, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports. Dobson has missed the Islanders’ last four games and earned a spot on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury; while Pulock has missed two games and been placed on standard IR with an upper-body injury. The pair of absences have driven the Islanders to acquire both Scott Perunovich and Adam Boqvist via trade and waivers respectively. This news will lock the new acquisitions into the lineup until the two-week break – but hopefully the blue-line can return to full-health soon after that.

Islanders Injury Notes: Fasching, Varlamov, George, Holmstrom, Reilly

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New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello shared a slew of injury updates with Newsday’s Andrew Gross on Thursday. Most notably, winger Hudson Fasching is expected to miss the next two weeks after suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s Monday loss to the Boston Bruins. Fasching left that matchup in the third period and didn’t travel on the team’s two-game road trip to the Western Conference. The Islanders have deployed healthy scratch Matt Martin to fill in for Fasching’s absence. Of the two, Martin is the only one to record a point this season – boasting one assist in 20 games to Fasching’s zero points in 19 games. They sit close on the Islanders’ depth chart, respectively averaging eight and nine minutes of ice time this season.

Lamoriello also shared that many of the Islanders’ other injuries are progressing positively. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov is expected to rejoin the team at practice when they return from their road trip on January 12th. Varlamov hasn’t played since the team’s November 29th loss to the Washington Capitals. He allowed five goals on 26 shots in that matchup, bringing his season totals to a career-low .889 in 10 appearances.

Rookie defenseman Isaiah George is also expected to return to practice when the Islanders return home. It will be his first time skating since sustaining an upper-body injury on a hit from Max Domi in New York’s January 2nd match against Toronto. George was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to the 2nd, and is now eligible to return when he’s back to full health. He has been one of the Islanders’ few bright spots this season, recording five points and 17 minutes of ice time in 25 games. The 20-year-old defender was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, and stands as just the third player selected outside of that year’s first-round to play through his rookie season. He’ll rival a role in the lineup when he’s back to full health, but may be bumped to the side by the return of Adam Pelech.

Forward Simon Holmstrom is also aiming to return to practice next week. He’s been another bright spot in the New York lineup, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points in 37 games, but went down with a day-to-day injury on January 1st. He was placed on injured reserve on January 7th. Meanwhile, defenseman Mike Reilly has also progressed from his injury but hasn’t yet been cleared for practice. Reilly has been out since November 1st.

The Islanders sit with 23 men on their roster. They’ll need to send someone to the minors to activate Holmstrom or Reilly.

Islanders Recall Grant Hutton

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The Islanders recalled defenseman Grant Hutton from AHL Bridgeport on Tuesday, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reports. Winger Simon Holmström, who’s been out since Dec. 29 with an upper-body injury, was placed on injured reserve to open up a roster spot, Rosner adds. The team also moved defenseman Mike Reilly, who had been on IR since November after undergoing a heart procedure, to LTIR to give the Isles the necessary salary cap flexibility to add Hutton.

Hutton, 29, comes up to serve as an extra defenseman for the Islanders’ two-game Western Conference road trip. Rookie Isaiah George, who remains day-to-day with the upper-body injury he sustained last Thursday against the Maple Leafs, didn’t travel with the club, per Rosner.

Most of New York’s defensemen have spent time on IR this season, allowing players like Hutton to get some reps. The Indiana native played in 12 games in November and December, logging two assists and a plus-one rating while averaging 14:09 per game. The 6’4″, 214-lb righty controlled only 42.2% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5, but the stay-at-home defender was deployed as such and was primarily given defensive zone starts.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Hutton also has three assists and a plus-two rating in 15 appearances for Bridgeport. The former Miami University captain has spent his entire professional career in the Islanders organization, where he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He’s now in his seventh season with the Baby Isles, amassing 89 points and a minus-six rating across 242 games.

He’s peaked as a replacement-level third-pairing piece, but getting so many professional games out of an undrafted pickup means the Islanders have gotten a good return on their investment. He’ll presumably sit as an extra defenseman on Thursday against the Golden Knights. It’s worth noting the Islanders are only carrying 12 healthy forwards on their road trip, though, so if one sustains an injury, he could draw into the lineup as a result of head coach Patrick Roy dressing 11 forwards and seven defenders.

Holmström, who’s already missed three games, can come off IR at any time upon their return home. He has nine goals and 22 points through 37 contests, on pace to shatter last year’s career-best 25 points in 75 games.

Mike Reilly Out Indefinitely After Heart Surgery, Other Islanders Updates

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Cory Wright of the New York Islanders issued several injury updates this afternoon including one unfortunate update for a member of the Islanders’ defense. The organization announced that defenseman Mike Reilly has fully recovered from his concussion suffered on November 1st but underwent a procedure on his heart that will keep him off the ice indefinitely.

There shouldn’t be any long-term concerns for Reilly’s health after fully recovering from the surgery according to a few quotes from New York’s general manager and president of hockey operations, Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello said, “It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation. It’s probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you’re sometimes born with, but never knew. [His quality of life will be] 100% and he will be able to play once this procedure is done. It takes quite a bit of time. It could be several months before he’s back, because of the type of procedure“.

Because of the uncertainty of the recovery process, it’ll likely be some time before the Islanders issue any formal updates on Reilly’s status. Considering Lamoriello mentioned it could take several months, there’s every likelihood Reilly won’t return until next season.

The puck-moving Chicago native has played in 70 games for New York since being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers last year. He’s been a steady offensive performer over that stretch with six goals and 24 points, averaging 17:01 a night in an Islanders’ sweater.

The team also issued updates on Alexander Romanov, Anthony Duclair, Mathew Barzal, and Adam Pelech in the announcement. Romanov, the closest to returning, is still considered day-to-day and will be a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s contest against the Calgary Flames.

On the longer-term end, neither Duclair, Barzal, or Pelech have resumed skating, but the team hopes Duclair will soon. He’s been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th and was originally given a four—to six-week recovery timeline.

Barzal and Pelech haven’t been out as long as Duclair. The two were injured in back-to-back games in the first week of November and still haven’t been cleared by the team’s medical staff.

Islanders Place Mike Reilly On IR, Recall Travis Mitchell

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The New York Islanders have shifted defender Mike Reilly to injured reserve and recalled defender Travis Mitchell, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Reilly hasn’t played since November 1st, when he hit his head on the ice after a hit from Buffalo Sabres forward Jordan Greenway. Reilly has since been labeled as out with an upper-body injury, though it seems his concerns are concussion-related.

Reilly went without any scoring in the 11 games he appeared in before injury, with one penalty, three hits, and four blocked shots standing as the only changes to his statline. He’s nonetheless been an impactful pickup for the Islanders, playing in 59 games with the team last season after an October waiver claim. Serving in a third-pair role, Reilly put up six goals and 24 points – the former a career-high, and the latter the highest he’s managed with a single club. He’s been a stout, two-way depth defender for the last decade, with a career that’s taken him through stops with six different clubs.

Reilly’s absence lined up closely with Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov’s exit from the lineup, depleting the entirety of New York’s left-side defense. The team has turned towards a list of defenders in response – calling up Samuel Bolduc, Grant Hutton, and Isaiah George to join Dennis Cholowski in rotating through the open spots. Cholowski is the only one to score of the bunch, with two goals in eight games, though it’s been George who’s jumped off the page in his first four NHL games.

With a continued lack of production from their depth, the Islanders will now add to the rotation by awarding Travis Mitchell the first NHL call-up of his career. Mitchell is a Cornell University who joined the Islanders organization as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He totaled 47 points in 95 games at Cornell but has since struggled to find his stride in the minors, with just seven points across 48 games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders across the last three seasons. Still, Mitchell has proven a lanky and capable defender, making an impact through heavy hitting and active defending. He’ll try to bring a spark to an Islanders lineup that’s gone 3-4-2 across their last nine games.

Islanders’ Mike Reilly Out Indefinitely With Upper-Body Injury

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New York Islanders’ defenseman Mike Reilly has been announced as out indefinitely with an upper-body injury per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Reilly has been out since hitting his head in the team’s November 1st win over the Buffalo Sabres. He was initially dubbed day-to-day in the wake of the injury, but will now be out for the foreseeable future with what’s been dubbed a concussion.

Reilly’s absence leaves a clear hole in the New York lineup. While his minutes have been relatively capped, he’s served as a go-to depth option since being acquired off waivers from the Florida Panthers last summer. He landed with the Islanders when they needed him most – square in the middle of injuries to Adam Pelech, Sebastian Aho, and Ryan Pulock. Those absences paved the way for Reilly to average just over 17 minutes of ice time through 59 games with New York. He made good work of the role, passing the 20-point mark (24) for just the second time in his 10-year career. But both his role and his scoring have dried up this year, with Reilly averaging 15:45 in ice time and yet to score through 11 games this season.

New York is also missing Adam Pelech and Alexander Romanov – effectively depleting the entirety of their blue-line’s left-hand side. The team’s seventh-defenseman, Dennis Cholowski, joined call-up Samuel Bolduc in trying to mend the emptied depth chart – but neither proved very reliable. That led New York to recall rookie Isaiah George, who’s looked far more the part of the top-end defender that the Islanders are missing. George has averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his first two career games, blocking four shots and impressively handling the pace of NHL defense. He’s yet to score the first point of his career, but should continue as a strong member of the Islanders’ top-four while they wait for their defense to return to health. The Islanders have also been tied to rumors around left-defenders on the trade or waiver market, and may be quick to replace George if he falters in a continued role.

Romanov also remains out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports.

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