The Islanders are typically a difficult team to predict at the trade deadline due to general manager Lou Lamoriello's secrecy.
They're a tough team to predict at the deadline, as it's completely unclear what their biggest needs will be at this point.
That will depend on how long Ryan Purok and Semyon Varlamov are out with lower-body injuries. Neither athlete started skating on their own.
Pulock was injured on Dec. 7 against Columbus, leading the Islanders to trade Robert Bortuzzo (who has since joined the injured reserve brigade). Varlamov collapsed a week ago on Tuesday in Colorado.
Adding to the potential problems was Casey Cizikas limping off after blocking a shot in a 5-2 loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night. He attempted to return to the match but was unsuccessful.
If these players don't return soon, the Islanders will not only have to fill their own injury holes, but Pulock's status in particular will affect how much salary cap space they have by the March 8 deadline. It also has an impact on how space is secured and managed.
With Pulock placed on long-term injured reserve, the Isles will be able to add an additional $6.15 million to the salary cap. They have already poured his $2,712,500 into that pool. This leaves him with $3,437,500.
(The possibility of Zach Parise joining the cap sheet is another factor that could reduce their available funds, but the timing is out of Lamoriello's control.)
However, if Pulock is activated, that cushion will evaporate and the Islanders will be back on the hard cap of $83.5 million. They also won't gain any cap space until Pulock is activated. Therefore, exactly how much money will accrue by the trade deadline will depend on when Purok becomes active.
That would require the Islanders to reduce some of their cap, which in itself would involve difficult decisions. It may not be clear exactly how many they will hold as of March 8, but we can safely say it won't be many.
For the sake of simplicity, if the Islander is not already on LTIR, we can assume that any trade will require salaries to be equal or close to it.
Moreover, if they are expecting Pyrrhok's return on, say, March 15th, they will need to operate under the same auspices. The only scenario in which the Isles could truly get $3.4 million by the deadline would be if Pulock misses the rest of the season or doesn't return until the playoffs, when the team could be over the cap.
If so, the Islanders need to start thinking about a rental defenseman (actually, they might have to do that anyway, but being able to receive a salary would make things easier).
Calgary's Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev are the obvious starting spots. Both players are nearing the end of their contracts, and there have been rumors of a transfer for several months.
But perhaps even more urgent may be goal management. Depending on how long Varlamov is out, it may not be possible to play Ilya Sorokin every night after a certain point.
As of Tuesday, that point may come sooner than the Islanders hope. Sorokin leads the league in shots taken, but he's not stealing games for the Isles like he was last season. Against Vancouver, he allowed a slap shot from Tyler Myers that he should have stopped 10 out of 10 times.
If the Islanders don't expect Varlamov back anytime soon, they need to get someone to back up Sorokin.
By the way, this doesn't mean the organization's No. 3 goaltender who can start spot in the second end of back-to-back games. It will make a minimal difference at best.
They're going to need someone reliable to play at least every third or fourth night.
Whether any or all of that can actually be done is another question entirely given cap constraints and an uncertain injury schedule.
Considering the Islanders haven't acquired a first-round pick since 2019, they should probably do everything possible to ensure that streak ends by 2024, and well, this… It's a little difficult to find any other way. I hope everyone gets healthy as soon as possible.
Lamoriello has made things happen out of the blue before. That includes last year's trade for Bo Horvat, but with Anthony Beauvillier going to the Blackhawks due to a cap injury and Atu Lati stuck in the AHL, it's now extremely difficult. Looks shrewd.
But it will be difficult to maneuver until the injury becomes somewhat clear.
PWHL comes to Long Island
The local team in the Women's Professional Hockey League hosted Montreal at UBS Arena on Wednesday, one of at least four games this season that PWHL New York will play on Long Island.
The teams split their first two games, defeating Toronto in the fledgling league's first game, and then canceled their first home game against Toronto, also in Bridgeport, Conn. — PWHL New York's home schedule will be split between Bridgeport and Long Island; The remaining three games are undecided.
“It's amazing,” Isles coach Lane Lambert said. “Certainly I wish them the best. It's very inspiring. Bobby Carpenter's daughter [Alex] perform for them. I played with Bobby Carpenter. Brooke Hobson, she's from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, 92 miles from where I grew up. It's a lot of fun to watch and take note of, and I wish them the best of luck. ”
Brock Nelson's wife, Carly, played hockey for four years at the University of Wisconsin and won Frozen 4 twice.
“She dedicated so much of her life to the game and loved it. And now we have kids, older boys and girls, who are doing the same thing, so they're into it. ,” Nelson said. “Just to have it in something that they can look up to and to know how much they love it, that's huge. It's great to be able to share that with all of them and Carly.”
All-star berth
Ruslan Iskhakov was named to Bridgeport's AHL All-Star squad on Wednesday. His 28 points currently lead the club, as do his 12 goals and 16 assists.
It seems unlikely that another Islander will appear in the NHL All-Star Game after the latest update was released by the league on Tuesday.
The Islanders were not in the league's top 15 skaters or top eight goaltenders, but will have eight skaters and four goaltenders on the roster based on fan voting. The final roster will be announced on Saturday.
