Islanders' Mathew Barzal, Semyon Varlamov expect to return healthy for next season

The injury news was discouraging all season for the Islanders and was a major factor in the team missing the playoffs. But goalie Semyon Varlamov and top-liner Mathew Barzal, the two players who missed the most time, believe they’ll be ready for Day 1 of training camp in September after undergoing surgical procedures on their knees.

“I expect to be ready for the next season. Everything is going well with the rehab and the physical therapy,” Varlamov said in his first public comments in five months during Saturday’s breakup day at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. “The main focus for me is to finish the rehab hopefully soon and have a good summer of training.”

Neither president/general manager Lou Lamoriello nor coach Patrick Roy addressed the media on Saturday as exit interviews were conducted. The organization said the plan is for them to speak after the meetings conclude next week, though there is natural speculation about their job statuses after the team went 35-35-12 and finished nine points behind the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.

Top-six forward Anthony Duclair, who had only seven goals and four assists in 44 games in the first season of a four-year, $14 million deal, also was not available to speak. He sat out the final eight games on a leave of absence after Roy called his play “god-awful” and questioned his effort in a 4-1 loss to the Lightning at UBS Arena on April 1.

Varlamov last played on Nov. 29 and missed the final 57 games after having a procedure on his knee in December. He said he hopes to resume skating in June after an abortive attempt at an in-season comeback was shut down in January.

Barzal missed the final 31 games after being struck on his kneecap by a puck on Feb. 1. He also missed 21 games from Nov. 1-Dec. 12 with an upper-body injury. Barzal said he has been skating on his own and even ramped up his work before the Islanders were eliminated from contention, hoping he might be able to play in the postseason.

He anticipated skating hard through the offseason to prepare for training camp, eschewing the usual summer vacation or trips.

“If not even harder than what I’ve done in the past,” Barzal said. “Just really wanting to persevere through this. I love the game. I love being around my teammates. It’s kind of everything to me. To not be able to play as many games as I missed stunk mentally and physically. My drive to get back to the player I was coming into camp last year is at an all-time high.”

Healthy returns for both are crucial for the Islanders’ chances of rebounding from this disappointing season.

Barzal’s elite skating makes him one of the team’s best playmakers both five-on-five and on the power play, but he had only six goals and 14 assists in 30 games as the Islanders’ power play ranked 31st. Barzal’s absence also impacted linemate Bo Horvat, who slumped to 28 goals and 29 assists in 81 games.

Varlamov went 3-4-3 with a 2.89 goals-against average and .889 save percentage. That forced Ilya Sorokin, who missed the bulk of training camp and all of preseason after back surgery, to play 61 games, one shy of his career high. He missed two games in the final week because of a lower-body injury.

“Of course, when you play a lot of games, sometimes the quality can go down,” said Sorokin, who went 30-24-6 with a 2.69 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

The Islanders need a reliable backup after Marcus Hogberg went 2-6-3 with a 3.38 GAA and .878 save percentage in his first season in the NHL since 2021.

Varlamov, who will turn 37 this month, has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $11 million deal. He said he had been trying to play through his knee condition early in the season.

“It’s something that has been bothering me for a long time,” Varlamov said. “At some point, they just had to make a decision how to move forward and how to play. When you play in this league, you’ve got to make sure you’re ready 100%.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.