Lou Lamoriello, Islanders have decisions to make as free-agent market opens
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello speaks to the media at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow on May 3. Credit: Brad Penner
Lou Lamoriello went into this offseason declaring “nothing is sacred” when it comes to improvements he’d consider to the Islanders’ roster after a second straight first-round playoff ouster.
There’s also this little thing in the NHL called the salary-cap ceiling, up $4.5 million to $88.0 million for 2024-25, which greatly dictates personnel decisions.
The confluence between intentions and financial reality comes Monday at noon as the NHL’s free-agent market opens. The Islanders have less than $6 million in cap space available with 18 players signed. That does not include injured defenseman Scott Mayfield ($3.5 million) or forward Maxim Tsyplakov ($950,000), signed out of the KHL.
There’s been a (perpetual) need for a top-line scoring wing to round out a trio with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. There could be a need for a defenseman with bottom-pair options Mike Reilly ($3 million cap hit last season), Robert Bortuzzo ($950,000) and Sebastian Aho ($825,000) all unrestricted free agents.
Longtime fourth-line stalwarts Cal Clutterbuck ($1.75 million) and Matt Martin ($1.5 million) also are UFAs who are not expected to be re-signed before free agency begins.
Lamoriello acknowledged Saturday at the conclusion of the two-day draft at the Sphere in Las Vegas that he might have to move out salary to afford some imports.
“Depending upon what’s available and what you can do,” he said. “I don’t go back on anything I said. There’s every intent to try and change. But it’s a cliche of not doing it for the sake of it. It might take a little time. It’s not something that we’re going to rush into or we’re going to do.
But if there’s a change that’s going to help us, we’re going to do it. We’re committed to winning; that’s the bottom line.”
Shedding the final two seasons of third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s six-year, $30 million deal, if possible, might be one avenue.
Second-line center Brock Nelson has one season remaining on his six-year, $36 million contract and top-six wing Kyle Palmieri has one season left on a four-year, $20 million deal.
Either might be a more attractive trade chip than Pageau, but dealing them could wind up being the opposite of improving the Islanders.
Both are eligible for contract extensions come Monday, but Lamoriello said new deals for either are not a priority at this time. He added that the same is true for top-pair defensemen Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov. Both will be due significant raises next summer as restricted free agents with arbitration rights.
“That’s not any disrespect to them,” Lamoriello said. “I think the focus right now is getting this team into the best situation we can get it to.”
Still, it’s tough to see right now how the Islanders can compete for top-end UFA forwards such as the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart ($6.5 million), the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos ($8.5 million) or the Canucks’ Elias Lindholm ($4.85 million).
The same goes for the top defensemen on the market such as the Hurricanes’ Brady Skjei ($5.25 million) and Brett Pesce ($4.025 million) or the Panthers’ Brandon Montour ($3.5 million).
The X factor, though, is not only the rise in the salary cap but the projected jump to $92.0 million for 2025-26.
This comes after the impact of the COVID pandemic limited the salary cap to a $2 million rise between 2019 and this offseason.
“As GMs, it’s always helpful when the cap goes up,” said Wild GM Bill Guerin, who played for the Islanders from 2007-09. “There is always a business side to it, so you have to be aware of that. It can be a big part of making your team better, not just to give more money to your current players but to actually go and get other players and make your team better.”
On Sunday, the Islanders extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Tyce Thompson and defenseman Dennis Cholowski. All but Holmstrom were arbitration-eligible. Minor-league forward Reece Newkirk was not extended a qualifying offer and will become a UFA.
Lamoriello said Wahlstrom, (No. 11 overall in 2018), who had two goals and four assists in 32 games last season, still could be traded to give him a fresh start.
Potential free agent targets
LW Anthony Duclair (Lightning) – Some defense is sacrificed but Duclair, coming off a three-year, $9 million deal, has shown he can score and skate in an up-and-down NHL career, reaching 20 goals four times in nine seasons.
C Adam Henrique (Oilers) – Never discount Lou Lamoriello reuniting with former players – he selected Henrique in the third round in 2008 for the Devils – and Henrique had an effective player run as Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup Final to complete a five-year, $29.125 million deal originally signed with the Ducks.
RW Jonathan Marchessault (Golden Knights) – The 33-year-old notched a career-high 42 goals and might fit well with Islanders’ top-liners Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, though he’d be pricy with a likely deal in the three-year, $18.5 million range.
- Andrew Gross
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.