Inevitably, the Islanders will be on the move this summer.
But whether that means something seismic will happen within the franchise or if the Islanders will simply finish the summer resolving their issues with restricted free agents Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom and Ruslan Iskhakov is a question, and the answer isn’t entirely in their own hands.
The addition of Anthony Duclair on the first day of free agency filled a long-standing void by adding a scoring winger who should anchor the top line in Bo Holbert and Mat Barzal.
The additions of Duclair and Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov, who was acquired from the KHL in May, have made this summer a success and arguably left the Islanders stronger than they were before.
But it probably won’t be enough to fundamentally change the team’s cap situation in 2024-25 unless something more comes along.
Ask yourself: Would the Islanders have changed the equation with a potential series against the Hurricanes, who eliminated the Islanders in the first round in both 2023 and 2024?
Carolina probably has a better chance than they did 10 weeks ago, in part due to changes within the organization itself, including the departures of Brett Pesce, Stefan Noesen and Brady Skjei, as well as the likely departure of Martin Necas, but the Hurricanes are the favorites today.
With roughly $900,000 in cap space remaining after Monday’s signings, the Islanders have enough room to either sign one of their RFAs with a qualifying offer or sign a free agent for just a little more than the league minimum, but no more than that.
If they are going to make any more significant additions, it will have to be through trade.
Shane Pinto, who was seen as a trade option on Monday, ended up staying with the Senators after Ottawa offered a compromise in the form of sending Matthew Joseph to St. Louis to free up salary space.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Pinto’s two-year contract, worth $3.75 million per year, ends the ideal scenario for the Islanders, who now have to focus elsewhere.
If it hits the trade market, Jets wingers Nikolaj Ehlers and Rutger McGroarty, who have rumors swirling about their respective futures in Winnipeg, would also fill a need for the Islanders.
Ehlers might have been with the Islanders 10 years ago if they hadn’t had the same agent, Nino Niederreiter, who left the team a year before Ehlers was drafted, and his arrival would add a top-six player to the roster who can score 25 goals a year.
McGroarty is reportedly hoping to leave Winnipeg to play one more season at the University of Michigan, and while it’s unclear if he’ll turn pro this season if a move goes through, it would give the Isles a high-end prospect who could play in the NHL right away.
Ehlers is under contract through the end of this season and the Jets control McGroarty’s rights as a 2022 draft pick, so there’s no reason for Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to rush into moving him.
Cheveldayoff also said he would try to sign Ellers to an extension at last week’s draft and compared him to Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele, both of whom were rumored to be moving on from Manitoba but ultimately did not make the move.
That means it’s much less clear that a trade will happen for the Islanders than it seemed at various points last week.
But nothing is set in stone yet, and they’ll likely need to give Holmstrom a raise just to re-sign him.
(It’s becoming harder to understand why the Isles even qualified Wahlstrom unless they plan to keep him in the AHL or trade his rights for the future).
Similarly, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck have yet to follow defenseman Sebastian Aho into signing with other teams (the Swede officially signed with the Penguins on Tuesday), but it’s just as hard to frame a scenario in which they would return now as it was 24 hours ago.
