Islanders, Oliver Wahlstrom agree to one-year deal
Oliver Wahlstrom of the New York Islanders skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena on Nov. 26, 2022 in Elmont. Credit: Jim McIsaac
This definitely will be a prove-it season for Oliver Wahlstrom.
The sharpshooting right wing, a restricted free agent without arbitration rights, has agreed to a one-year deal, the Islanders announced on Monday. Wahlstrom accepted his qualifying offer of $874,125, according to an NHL source.
Wahlstrom, 23, will be an arbitration-eligible RFA after this contract. He is coming off an ACL injury suffered in December but has resumed skating and is expected to be ready for the Islanders’ training camp in September.
Wahlstrom’s new deal pushes the Islanders above the salary cap ceiling of $83.5 million by almost $500,000. However, teams can exceed the cap ceiling by 10% until the season opens.
The Islanders are still waiting to hear whether left wing Zach Parise — Wahlstrom’s frequent linemate on the third trio — will continue his career or retire. Parise, who will turn 39 on July 28, played the previous two seasons on one-year, $1.5 million deals and had 21 goals and 13 assists in 82 games last season.
Wahlstrom, the 11th overall pick in 2018, had seven goals and nine assists in 35 games. Overall, he has 32 goals and 29 assists in 161 games but has yet to show scoring consistency either at five-on-five or on the power play.
Such consistency will be crucial this season if Parise does retire, particularly after the Islanders could not swing a deal for high-scoring wing Alex DeBrincat, whom the Senators wound up trading to the Red Wings.
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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