Inside The Islanders' Prospect Pool Turnover
While the Islanders' NHL roster remains largely unchanged, major turnover within the prospect pool and development system is helping shape the organization's future.
The New York Islanders didn’t do anything drastic during the free-agent period. They had some holes, and general manager Mathieu Darche did what he had to do without overpaying.
He got his Semyon Varlamov insurance with Vitek Vanecek. He got his low-risk, high-reward guy, signing Matias Maccelli. He got his depth defensemen, signing Matt Kessel and acquiring Ryan Healey’s rights from the Minnesota Wild.
Healey must be signed by Aug. 15, or the Islanders lose his rights. He had a really strong development camp, so I think they’ll sign him.
The biggest additions are Pete DeBoer behind the bench and the returns of Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov, and Pierre Engvall to full health.
I know that’s not what many fans wanted to hear, but it’s the reality of the situation.
While fans are eager to see the next wave of Islanders’ prospects, the NHL roster turnover isn’t expected to happen until next summer when Palmieri, Casey Cizikas, Ondrej Palat, and Varlamov come off the books, with other players seeing their full no-trade clauses turn into modified no-trade clauses.
So while we haven’t seen much change above the surface, below it, the Islanders have completed a significant turnover.
The roster may look largely the same.
The prospect pool does not.