Good morning,
The New York Islanders and the rest of the NHL had until 5 pm Monday evening to submit their opening night rosters. Lou Lamoriello continued to go about his business as quietly as possible, until late yesterday evening. So while most 23-player rosters are dissected already, Islander fans and writers got a surprise around 9:30 pm with a few announcements. Let’s dive into what we know so far.
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🔏ROSTER SET (FOR NOW): The 5 pm deadline came and went, but late Monday night, we learned of the 23-man roster that was submitted to the NHL.
🤕 VARLY TO IR: Earlier in the day, Barry Trotz provided an update on Semyon Varlamov, who has been dealing with an undisclosed injury throughout camp. “Just resting. He’s doing fine,” Trotz said. “He’s been skating for a little bit here, but he’ll be joining our group fairly soon I would think.” Despite this bit of good news, Varlamov was placed on the IR to start the season.
🏒 MORE TO COME: Per Arthur Staple of The Athletic, expect G Corey Schneider to be on waivers Tuesday/Wednesday so his contract can be filed. Once he clears, Jakub Skarek, currently on the 23-man roster, would be sent to Bridgeport, making Schneider the backup while Varlamov is out. Matt Martin is likely non-roster/injured to start the season, meaning he has no roster spot, but his cap hit counts.
🔝TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT: The 23-man roster gives the Isles an Accruable Cap Space Limit (ACSL) of $81.493 million with Boychuk on LTIR, per Cap Friendly. The ACSL is a team’s new upper limit once they begin using the Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR). This number is used to determine the amount a team can exceed the salary cap using the LTIR. The closer to the cap a team is before using the LTIR, the more relief they’ll get. The Islanders used all but $6,400 of their extra cap space.
⬇️ BRIDGEPORT BOUND: The Islanders announced that Richard Panik, Robin Salo, Samuel Bolduc, Anatolii Golyshev, and Jakub Skarek are all headed to the AHL, after clearing waivers on Monday at noon.
🕺PANIK IN THE MINORS: Of those headed to the AHL, only Richard Panik had realistically been battling for a roster spot as an extra forward. Barry Trotz was complimentary of the 30-year-old throughout camp, citing his ability to play up and down the lineup and having him practice both with the fourth lines and the top six.
👋 WAIVE MDC: Meanwhile, 2014 1st round pick (5th overall) Michael Dal Colle was also put on waivers on Monday. Last night, it was announced Dal Colle signed a 1-year/1-way contract for $750k.
TELL ME MORE: Dal Colle was an unrestricted free agent after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the Islanders earlier this offseason but spent camp with the team (and even attended a Jets game). The 25-year-old played in 26 games with the Islanders last season, recording just four points. He’s received praise from the coaching staff in a limited role, but not enough to earn him a spot in a deep forward group. Should he clear waivers, he is likely to report to Bridgeport.
✍️ WHAT’S LEFT? Where should we start? With Dal Colle’s contract now on the books and the player on waivers, it leaves Lou with some serious cap gymnastics. To start, there are the unofficial contracts for Kieffer Bellows and Cory Schneider, which puts the Isles back over the 23-player roster limit. Per Arthur Staple, “With Dal Colle on waivers, his contract is now filed ($750K). If/when Isles decide to add Bellows/Schneider, they will both have to go through waivers when their contracts are filed, most likely at the same number.”
✂️ PATCHWORK: The Islanders released a video entitled “New home, same family” on social media, and in doing so, revealed what is likely their patch to commemorate the inaugural season at UBS Arena at Belmont Park:
📣 The goal horns have arrived at UBS Arena:
🐶 PUP-ARRAZI: Monday afternoon’s “Pucks and Paws” 2021 calendar photoshoot delivered its annual level of adorableness as the players posed with puppies sending social media into a frenzy. If winning a Stanley Cup wasn’t enough incentive for Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara to come to Long Island, this was an added bonus.
💲PLAY TO GET PAID: Speaking of bonuses, Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the performance bonuses for Parise and Chara, which max out at $750k, are based on the number of games played. But because it’s Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders, the number of games wasn’t specified.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Per Isles statistician Eric Hornick, October 11th marked the 41st anniversary of the Dynasty Islanders playing their first of what would be 399 consecutive games as Stanley Cup Champions (320 Regular Season + 79 Playoffs) as they opened the 1980-81 campaign. That was also the first time Hall of Fame broadcaster, Jiggs McDonald joined Ed Westfall in the broadcast booth.
🔗 31 (now 32) Thoughts Podcasts On his Monday’s podcast previewing the Eastern Conference, Sportsnet’s Elliot Friedman said this about the 2021-22 Islanders: “I really like them. Obviously, I’m all aboard the train. I think there’s no team in the NHL better to deal with their weaknesses because of the way they play systemically. I think that’s the best team in the Metro and my winners to start the season.”
🔗 3 Key Islanders Needed for a Successful Season, by Jon Zella: Jon dives into three Islanders - Anthony Beauvillier, Noah Dobson, and Oliver Wahlstrom - who he believes can put the Islanders over the top if they can take the next step.
🔗 New York Islanders Season Preview 2021-2022, Steve Dangle Podcast, SDPN
Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake predict and preview the New York Islanders 2021-2022 season and start out with an amazing stat about Zdeno Chara.
🔗 Islanders most likely to benefit from Hurricanes’ mess in Metropolitan Division, by Andy MacNeil, NY Post: “The Metropolitan Division is very balanced. Just about every team has a chance to make the playoffs and there is no clear-cut leader of the pack. The Carolina Hurricanes would have been favored to win the division, but they made several questionable moves in the offseason. And the New York Islanders are the team most likely to benefit from their missteps.”
📺 WATCH: The NHL Network talks about the importance of Isles’ captain Anders Lee, particularly his work in front of the net.
And we leave you with this hype video for their new arena in Belmont:
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Great stuff! Let's go Isles