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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.

Metropolitan Notes: Tomasino, Tarasov, George, Holmstrom

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Penguins winger Philip Tomasino left Friday’s game against Florida early after a collision with Nate Schmidt and sustained a lower-body injury on the play.  Team reporter Michelle Crechiolo relays (Twitter link) that there was no further update on his injury today with head coach Mike Sullivan indicating that he’s still being evaluated.  Tomasino has been a nice addition since being acquired from Nashville back in November for a 2027 fourth-round pick, picking up four goals and three assists in 16 games but now it looks like he’ll be out of the lineup for a little while.  Barring any further roster movement, one of Anthony Beauvillier or Jesse Puljujarvi (who remains on the roster despite recently clearing waivers) will take Tomasino’s place in the lineup.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov acknowledged to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he declined the organization’s request to take a conditioning stint with AHL Cleveland. The 25-year-old has only played once in the last month – that coming last Saturday – and has played just twice since mid-November.  It has been a rough year for Tarasov who has a 4.23 GAA and a .857 SV% in 10 starts but feels he’d be best served staying in the NHL while his agent J.P. Barry added that Tarasov’s injury history in the minors also played a role in the decision.
  • Islanders defenseman Isaiah George is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, notes Newsday’s Denis Gorman (Twitter link). The rookie was injured in Thursday’s loss to Toronto.  George has been impressive since being recalled in early November.  He has played in 25 games so far, recording five points and 30 blocked shots while averaging 16:38 of playing time and even saw time on the top pairing at one point.  Meanwhile, Gorman adds that winger Simon Holmstrom is also listed as day-to-day with his upper-body injury.  He last played on Sunday and has nine goals and 13 assists in 37 games so far and is close to matching his rookie-season output already.

Snapshots: Guentzel, Holmstrom, Chernyshov, Bains

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It’s one of the busiest nights of the hockey year. Unlike in years past, the Winter Classic is no longer a standalone event. The NHL has 12 other games on the docket, all backlit by Team Canada taking on Team USA in an exhilarating World Junior Championships tournament. The heap of action has pulled together sparked plenty of news from around the league.

Most notably, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Jake Guentzel returned to the team’s practices in a no-contact jersey on Tuesday, per NHL.com’s Eduardo A Encina. It was his first time skating since suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s Saturday game. He was designated as day-to-day, and missed his first game of the season on Sunday. Tampa Bay have until Thursday to prepare for a three-game slate this weekend. Guentzel’s return to the ice could be an indication that the Bolts will be getting another star scorer to support the effort.

Guentzel has been fantastic in his first season in Tampa Bay. He’s recorded 20 goals and 37 points through 33 games this season. That equals out to a 1.12 points-per-game scoring pace, which stands as the highest of Guentzel’s nine-year career and puts him on pace for 50 goals and 91 points across 81 games. He’ll need to return soon to uphold those numbers, and continue contributing to a Lightning top-six with three players outscoring him.

Across the Eastern Division, the New York Islanders have lost forward Simon Holmström to an upper-body injury. He has been designated as day-to-day, per a team announcement, and missed his first game of the season on Tuesday. Holmstrom has been a rare bright spot in the Islanders lineup, posting nine goals and 22 points across 37 games so far. He’s nearly past his career-high of 25 points set in 75 games last season, and has slowly climbed the Islanders lineup as a result. The Islanders scored just one goal in his absence on Tuesday, pulling their record to 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. All four of those wins required four-or-more goals, meaning New York now faces the challenge of maintaining their offense without one of their top scorers.

Traveling to the other coast – San Jose Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov has shared that he hopes to return to game action in January, per Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News. Chernyshov – the fisrt pick of the second round in last year’s draft – has been skating with Sharks staff to support his recovery. He was a top prospect in last year’s class, with many even dubbing him a first-round talent. But a shoulder surgery in August has so far held him out of all 2024-25 action. He is expected to head to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit when he returns to full health.

Finally, Vancouver Canucks winger Arshdeep Bains has changed agents, now represented by Wasserman’s Darren Hermiston per PuckPedia. Bains is in the final year of his entry-level contract. He began the year in the minor leagues, but was the clear top option on Vancouver’s call-up chart. He’s already been recalled seven times this season, resulting in Bains stepping into 11 NHL games. Unfortunately, he hasn’t done much to make the call-ups stick – with just one assist and a -4. He’s been much more active in the minors, recording 11 points, 20 penalty minutes, and a -5 in 12 games. Bains ranked second on the Abbotsford Canucks in scoring last season with 55 points in 59 games. His change of representation months before a new deal could be a step towards fighting for a hardier chance at the top flight.

Metropolitan Notes: Holmström, Martin, Flyers, Nadeau

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At long last, Islanders forward Simon Holmström appears ready to push for a top-six role. Head coach Patrick Roy thinks so, at least, he told The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner.

Holmström, the Isles’ 2019 first-round pick, has established himself as a full-time NHLer over the past two seasons. But he’s been used almost exclusively as a bottom-six option at even strength with some fringe penalty-killing usage as well.

He began to flash some extended offensive upside last season, recording 15 goals and 25 points in 75 games. Those aren’t top-six totals on a playoff team, nor was Holmström ever drafted to be a true game-breaker on the scoresheet, but he’s showing the “compete level” necessary to flash his puck skills more often and fit better in a complementary role alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, Roy said.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Expect Matt Martin’s professional tryout with the Isles to last past when opening night rosters are due on Oct. 7, Rosner and The Hockey News’ Kai Russell write. Players can remain with a team’s practice group, just not game action, on PTOs up until the trade deadline. The Bruins took advantage of this tactic last season, keeping Danton Heinen around on his PTO for almost a month into the season before they created the cap space necessary to sign him to a contract. The Islanders, which currently have exactly $0 in cap space with an open roster spot (PuckPedia), may need to do the same if they want to bring the 35-year-old back for his 14th season on Long Island.
  • Early line rushes in camp suggest Flyers Calder Trophy candidate Matvei Michkov will start his first NHL season in a second-line role at right wing alongside Tyson Foerster and Morgan Frost, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes. Meanwhile, Noah Cates may fall victim to the press box early on in the season after finishing ninth in Calder voting and 15th in Selke Trophy voting just two seasons ago. The 25-year-old has had a continually diminishing impact as the Flyers have built out the rest of their forward corps, seeing his ATOI drop from 17:46 in his rookie season to 13:48 last season.
  • Seth Jarvis’ pathway to the NHL offers hope for Hurricanes winger Bradly Nadeau and his chances of cracking the opening night roster, opines Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer. Both first-round picks, Jarvis cracked Carolina’s roster as a 19-year-old in his second season after being drafted, skipping the AHL and landing a full-time role in the NHL directly out of juniors. Nadeau has faced older competition, recording 46 points in 37 NCAA games last season for the University of Maine before signing his entry-level contract and making his NHL debut in Carolina’s final game of the regular season.

New York Islanders Re-Sign Simon Holmstrom

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The New York Islanders announced they have re-signed forward Simon Holmstrom to a one-year deal. PuckPedia reports Holmstrom has signed a one-way, $850K with the Islanders instead of accepting his qualifying offer which would have been a one-year, two-way contract of $874K.

The Islanders originally drafted Holmstrom with the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and he made his debut with the organization the following season. Holmstrom suited up in 46 games for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the 2019-20 season and scored eight goals and 15 points in his rookie campaign. He played another 24 games with the Tigers the following year but also played in the HockeyAllsvenskan on loan and Team Sweden’s international junior team.

The 2021-22 campaign in the AHL was Holmstrom’s coming out party at the professional level as he scored 12 goals and 43 points in 68 games which was good for third on the team in scoring. Now labeled as the Bridgeport Islanders, the team made the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time during Holmstrom’s tenure and he would score three goals and four points in six postseason contests.

He made his NHL debut with the Islanders the following season but largely earned bottom-six minutes during his rookie season. Holmstrom scored six goals and nine points over 50 games while averaging 11:16 of ice time per game. The young Swede performed much better over his sophomore campaign as he entered into a middle-six role with the team’s forward core. Over 75 games played, Holmstrom scored 15 goals and 25 points while finishing sixth on the team in goals.

There is no question that New York is looking to add more offense into their lineup next season as they finished as one of only 11 teams not to average at least three goals per game during the 2023-24 regular season. While on a very reasonable contract for the next year, Holmstrom should again be used as a valuable secondary scorer for the Islanders next season.

Islanders Move Casey Cizikas, Robert Bortuzzo To LTIR, Activate Ryan Pulock, Recall Two

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The New York Islanders are facing a multitude of injuries and a tight cap. Because of that, they’ve moved forward Casey Cizikas (lower-body) and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (lower-body) to long-term injured reserve. Both players have been out of action since early January, already missing the required time with injury. That means both can be activated again whenever they are ready to return, though it’s uncertain what their exact timeline is. These moves were necessary for the team to create enough cap space to activate defenseman Ryan Pulock off of injured reserve. Pulock has been out of action since December 7th, missing the team’s last 24 games with a lower-body injury.

With Pulock activated, the Islanders also had enough cap space to recall minor-league forwards Simon Holmstrom and Kyle MacLean. Holmstrom has been a frequent member of the Islanders lineup this season, appearing in 48 games and scoring 12 goals and 18 points, while MacLean has gone without a point in five NHL games this season.

New York could have instead placed Adam Pelech on LTIR, rather than Bortuzzo or Cizikas. But unlike the latter two, Pelech has only been out since January 25th, meaning he would have to miss at least nine more games before being eligible to be activated. Team reporter Stefen Rosner shares that Pelech may be dealing with a concussion, making his return trickier to gauge than other injuries – though the team is hopeful he’ll be able to return within the next nine games.

These moves bring a beat-up Islanders lineup a bit closer to normal. Holmstrom will slot in for Julien Gauthier, who recently cleared waivers and was assigned to the AHL. MacLean will serve as the understudy to Hudson Fasching, who is facing a lower-body injury with an unknown timeline. And Pulock will likely return to his top role with the club. He’s averaged nearly 23 minutes per game through 25 games this season, scoring six points and recording a -6. The Islanders have provided more minutes to Alexander Romanov and Scott Mayfield in Pulock’s absence.

Injury Notes: Chabot, Martin, Hamilton

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The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch shared that star defenseman Thomas Chabot will return to the lineup in the team’s Friday matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Chabot has missed the last 10 games with a broken right hand suffered on October 26th against the New York Islanders.

Chabot has appeared in seven games this season, recording three assists, two penalty minutes, and a -1. He’s coming off a career year, scoring 41 points in 68 games last season. It was the second-most that Chabot has scored in a single season, with his career-high coming in the 2018-19 season when Chabot scored 55 points in 70 games. Chabot, 26, is in the fourth season of an eight-year contract extension signed in 2019.

Other injury notes around the league:

  • New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert shared that forward Matt Martin is close to returning to action, but that his activation from injured reserve was more precautionary than anything. Lambert said that forwards Simon Holmstrom and Cal Clutterbuck missed the team’s Monday practice with illness and were questionable for the team’s Tuesday night game against the New Jersey Devils. Both players suited up for the matchup – with Clutterbuck even scoring a goal – delaying Martin’s return.
  • New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff shared that there is currently no timetable for Dougie Hamilton’s return from an upper-body injury. He will remain questionable for the team’s Thursday night game in Philadelphia. Ruff also shared that center Erik Haula will be out against Philadelphia, and that Timo Meier returned to skating on his own on Wednesday.

New York Islanders Recall Simon Holmstrom

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The New York Islanders have recalled forward Simon Holmstrom from the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, a team release states Thursday.

New York assigned Holmstrom, 22, to the minors on Monday in order to submit a cap-compliant opening night roster. While most expected he would make the team, he does not need waivers to head to AHL Bridgeport and sending him down was the easiest course of action until the Islanders could make corresponding moves to free up space.

That corresponding move was waiving veteran enforcer Ross Johnston, who was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Johnston, 29, was signed for three more seasons at a $1.1MM cap hit and had registered 283 penalty minutes in 134 NHL contests with the Islanders since joining the team in 2015.

With Johnston off the books, the Islanders now have enough cap space to recall Holmstrom, the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Last season was his first in the NHL, and it wasn’t what anyone hoped. He registered just nine points in 50 contests, and his production also took a major hit in the AHL, notching just five points in 16 games for Bridgeport.

After a strong showing in camp, however, the Islanders are expecting bigger things out of the Swedish winger this season. The team doesn’t kick off their 2023-24 schedule until Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, but Holmstrom is expected to slot in on the team’s top line alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat. It’s quite the opportunity for Holmstrom, who averaged just 11:05 per game last season under head coach Lane Lambert.

Holmstrom is beginning the final season of his entry-level contract, which carries a $863.3K cap hit. He will not have arbitration rights if he reaches restricted free agency next summer.

New York Islanders Recall Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc

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02/05/23: The Islanders have brought Holmstrom and Bolduc back to their active roster today, per a team announcement. Raty, of course, is no longer eligible for the Islanders to recall because he was shipped to the Vancouver Canucks as part of the Bo Horvat trade.

Holmstrom played one game during his stint in Bridgeport during the break, registering two shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears. Bolduc also registered two shots in that contest, and now both find themselves back up on Long Island.

01/29/23: Expect a lot of teams to send their fringe roster players down to the minors today, with most having wrapped up their schedules before the All-Star break this weekend. The New York Islanders continue that trend, as the team announced Sunday they’ve loaned forwards Aatu Raty, Simon Holmstrom, and defenseman Samuel Bolduc to the Bridgeport Islanders.

The move is especially necessary for Bolduc, who is slated to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic, as Newsday’s Andrew Gross notes. After a rough 2021-22 season, the 2019 second-round pick has rebounded nicely with 26 points in 40 AHL games this year.

Called up last weekend as Noah Dobson went down with a lower-body injury, Bolduc played four consecutive games, his first in the NHL. He didn’t look entirely out of place, recording a +2 rating, four shots on goal, and an average ice time of 14:32 per night. If Dobson is ready to go by the time the break ends, though, expect Bolduc, who is waivers exempt, to stay in the minors.

Holmstrom and Raty, both just 21 and 20, respectively, haven’t produced much in their NHL stints this season, but that’s to be expected given their limited opportunities in the Islanders lineup.

The 20-year-old Raty fell to 52nd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft after once being viewed as a potential first-overall contender. Still, he’s done well in his first professional season in North America. He’s scored twice in 12 appearances with the Isles and has 15 points in 27 games down in Bridgeport.

Holmstrom also made his NHL debut this season, and he’s played 24 games in New York compared to just 15 in Bridgeport. The team’s 2019 first-round pick has three points (two of them goals) in those NHL appearances but has played less than 12 minutes a night in limited offensive roles.

Holmstrom and Raty could be recalled back to New York after the break concludes if injuries to Hudson Fasching, Cal Clutterbuck, and Oliver Wahlstrom persist.

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