Islanders Mailbag: Goaltending Decisions, Prospect Chances & Fixing The Roster
Breaking down the Islanders’ biggest questions: goaltending uncertainty, roster flexibility, prospect chances, trade talk and what Darche can realistically change.
With the season in the rearview mirror, Free Friday is shifting into offseason mode—with a weekly New York Islanders mailbag where your questions take center stage.
And don’t get it twisted: just because the games have stopped doesn’t mean things are slowing down here.
From exclusive interviews and insider intel to in-depth columns and behind-the-scenes access, The Elmonters isn’t going anywhere—keeping that Islanders pulse alive all summer long.
Here’s our second offseason mailbag:
Thoughts on the backup goaltender? Is there a chance Varly is healthy enough to come back full-time? It is said he looked good in his 2 starts in Bridgeport. (@VoiceIslanderFn)
Rosner: A year ago, I would have told you “no chance” Varlamov would ever play again. But, man, I’ve watched him since he first got back on the ice to where he ended in Bridgeport, and he looks like himself again. We’ll need a bigger sample size to know where he truly stands. He’s definitely healthy enough, physically, to play. The question is: can he get back up to NHL speed a year and a half from now, at 38?
I wrote more about this yesterday. Below is my piece on the Islanders' goaltending situation and some options for not just the backup spot, but the vet for Hamilton — a reliable third-string goaltender if Ilya Sorokin or his backup goes down.
Assuming 1-2 contracts get moved out (11,81) and a weaker free agent pool, do you think Darche looks to add a forward via free agency or give a prospect a look? (@IslesCave)
Rosner: Let’s say that Darche does move both Anthony Duclair and Ondrej Palat — would think it’s just Duclair out of these two — but for this exercise, let’s say they do.
There are glaring hole(s), one less hole if Eklund makes the squad:
X—Horvat—Holmstrom
Ritchie—Barzal—Palmieri
Eklund (?)—Pageau—Schenn
MacLean—Cizikas—Heineman
Now, that top-line player, that top-line winger, isn’t available on the open market. Alex Tuch would be the only player close, but not only is he over 30, I also think the Syracuse native ultimately gets a deal done to return to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Islanders would have to sign a bottom-six player and hope they turn out to be a top-six player — Duclair, Jonathan Drouin — but that’s a recipe that ultimately hasn’t worked.
So, while the Islanders wait for Cole Eiserman to hopefully develop into that player — he’s got a lot of work to do — they’d have to go the trade route to acquire the talent they are looking for, a role that every team wants.
How is Darche going to make the necessary changes (age, speed, backup goalie, etc) with the current contract situation? (@JLeblast)
Rosner: I do think there are some tough contracts in there, but I wouldn’t say they are salary-cap hell as they have been in seasons past. Before doing anything, the Islanders have $10.7M, but then, due to bonus overages to Matthew Schaefer, that number drops to $7.2 million. Then, because of league-minimum adjustments, you can knock off another $86,667, bringing their more realistic offseason cap space to $7.133M. Yes, with league min rising, that also means the amount of money of a player’s contract that can be buried goes up by the same amount, but it’s hard to determine whether Pierre Engvall ($3M AAV, $1.25M can be buried) will be healthy when the season begins. His status is in limbo. The Islanders also must sign a backup goaltender. If they believe that Varlamov is indeed ready, they likely would need to run a three-goalie system under the grizzled veteran, who can prove reliable. Maybe they get a goalie to sign a two-way deal. Darche understands the cap better than anyone coming over from Tampa, so it will be up to him to figure out and use his tricks to shed some cap and improve the team on the trade front.
What is the percent chance Eklund makes the opening night roster? Percent chance George makes opening night roster (they would have to trade Pelech)? (@TheNLKing)
Rosner: When it comes to Eklund, I thought he could have jumped right into the NHL as soon as he came over from the SHL. But I get why the Islanders had him in Bridgeport. He’s NHL-ready, and after getting a taste of the NHL game in Game No. 82, I’m sure he’s going to work at getting bigger this summer in preparation for that. While Cal Ritchie didn’t make the team out of training camp — that was more so due to an injury — the Islanders did want to give him some games in the AHL before calling him up, which they did. Eklund got his AHL games in at the end of the season, so I don’t think he needs that adjustment period, especially since he was playing pro in Sweden, not in the OHL like Ritchie. If there’s a move on the backend, I do think it would be Adam Pelech on the move. Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield have full no-trade clauses. Matthew Schaefer isn’t going anywhere. Alexander Romanov, who missed the first season of an eight-year deal worth $6.25M AAV due to needing shoulder surgery, isn’t getting moved. Pelech has a 16-team modified no-trade clause and is coming off a strong season, with his value never going to be higher. When it comes to Isaiah George, who is NHL-ready, maybe he would take the open spot with Romanov moving to LD2. Maybe George flips to his off-side if Tony DeAngelo doesn’t come back. Or maybe he’s the seventh defenseman, even though he should be playing every day.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I saw that the Islanders led the NHL this past season with 15 6-on-5 goals. Can you please discuss the team’s relative success in this situation vs. a conventional power play? (@Ekimaizuklemrac)
Rosner: Yep, that stat is correct. They ended the season tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first in the NHL with 15 6-on-5 goals. I think the biggest issue has been the lack of time and space on the power play. Yes, getting into the zone always seemed problematic, but the Islanders were passing too much and shooting too little.
With 6-on-5 situations, the ice is a bit more crowded, with less time and space than 5-on-4. I feel like — I haven’t gone back and watched — but many of those goals were garbage goals right in front, a style that the Islanders don’t use on their power play.
Maybe, they should…
Aside from the now frequently noted issue with high danger chances, what were some other fatal flaws to Patrick Roy‘s tenure? (@jeffscottcomedy)
Rosner: I think he tried too hard, and that’s not a dig. I respect how much he cared. He wanted success here, but I think at times, he moved on too quickly, especially when it came to his forward lines. He tried around 70 different line combinations, per MoneyPuck.com, and that’s only taking into consideration lines that played 10 or more minutes together — a few of those were tried under Pete DeBoer. I think he’d tell you that he handled some players incorrectly — Duclair, Maxim Tsyplakov. Again, I think it comes back to his mentality of how much he wanted to win, and I think at times, that got in the way.
I see some fans are pushing the idea of trading Barzal. I don't see it happening unless you're getting a high-end player in return, similar to the Huberdeau-Tkachuk trade. Do you believe it’s possibly in the cards? (@MetsIsles123)
Rosner: Mathew Barzal has a modified 22-team no-trade clause. The other 10 teams are believed to be teams that have a ton of cap tied into their top-six, something that you see often when players aren’t given full no-trade clauses. Realistically, for a player like Auston Matthews or Brady Tkachuk, yeah, Barzal would likely have the value needed to make a move like this. But if you are the Islanders, you are acquiring the elite goal scorer to play with Barzal. I don’t see it coming with this team. You look back at that trade, too, and Tkachuk had told Calgary he didn’t want to ultimately be there, which is why the trade even happened. While I can’t speak for Matthews or Tkachuk, we know that Barzal loves being an Islander.
SIGN YOUR CHILD UP FOR THE MATT MARTIN HOCKEY ACADEMY CAMP:
Heineman missing in the forward group a mistake? Agree with not putting Engvall in the mix at the start. Agree that Eklund playing sheltered minutes on third line could be a good place to start.