Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov deals highlight Islanders' desire for chemistry in net
Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov of the Islanders celebrate after defeating the Ducks at UBS Arena on March 13, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Lou Lamoriello’s blueprint for roster construction ever since he entered the NHL in 1987 has been to build from the net on out. Having Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur for all those years with the Devils certainly reinforced that.
The Islanders’ president and general manager again stuck to that design when the free-agent market opened on Saturday, keeping his Russian tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov — teammates for all three of Sorokin’s NHL seasons — together for the long term.
Sorokin, 27, was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goalie, and re-signing him to an eight-year, $66 million extension that begins next season after he completes his current three-year, $12 million contract was crucial. Lamoriello also considered it important to retain the 35-year-old Varlamov on a four-year, $11 million deal even though the Islanders’ former No. 1 played only 23 games last season and only three times after Feb. 26.
Chemistry matters.
“The first day I came, he helped me,” Sorokin said of Varlamov during the Islanders’ breakup day on May 1. “A great human and a great goalie. I’m happy with what I can learn and see from him.”
Added Varlamov that day: “He’s my good friend. I know him for a long time. We had so much fun the last couple of years playing together. It’s always nice to come into the locker room and talk Russian, especially with him. We’re on the same page, I think, on a lot of things.”
Varlamov, completing a four-year, $20 million deal, went 11-9-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
Lamoriello was aghast when asked before the NHL trade deadline on March 3 if he would consider moving Varlamov for future assets as an impending unrestricted free agent, especially considering his reduced playing time. Whenever he was asked about it, Varlamov repeated his desire to remain with the Islanders.
At the time, Cory Schneider, who succeeded Brodeur as the Devils’ No. 1 netminder before injuries slowed his career, was the only other experienced goalie in the Islanders’ organization. Now, with Schneider choosing to end his career in Europe, Lamoriello may have to sign a veteran for the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
“Unless you were here, you really couldn’t appreciate the communication and the help they are to each other,” Lamoriello said of Sorokin and Varlamov. “There’s a tremendous respect and love for each other and I think you can see that in how they appreciate the performance of the person who is in the goal that night.
“Varly has been a tremendous mentor for Ilya and Ilya has been a tremendous teammate to Varly as far as looking up to him.”
Brodeur played past his 40th birthday, ending his career with a seven-game stint with the Blues in 2014-15. Gump Worsley was 39 when he won a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1969. Dominik Hasek won a Cup with the Red Wings in 2002 at age 37. The Maple Leafs last won the Cup in 1967 with a goalie tandem of Johnny Bower, 42, and Terry Sawchuk, 37.
Varlamov will be 39 when his new contract expires.
“The first thing you have to do with any player, not just a goaltender, with the age factor is how they take care of themselves,” Lamoriello said. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone any better than Varly as far as how he takes care of his body . . . He might be a 35-year-old. I’ve seen 26-, 27-year-olds I wish were in the shape he is in.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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