Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Things were quiet once again on Tuesday as the Islanders and their staff wait to resume activities after a COVID outbreak paused their season this past weekend.
The Islanders could return to practice as soon as Wednesday afternoon, (more on that below) and if they do, we’ll find out which players are out of protocol and have recovered enough to return to the lineup.
As things presumably progress in the right direction, there were a few items of note to keep fans engaged including The Athletic projecting how the roster will look down the road. Plus, fans are flocking to UBS Arena, parking problems causing a disturbance, and a WWE superstar gets cheap heat at the Isles’ expense.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Tuesday came and went without word from the NHL or the Islanders as to whether team activities would resume Wednesday in preparation for their scheduled game Thursday versus the San Jose Sharks at UBS Arena.
No news could be good news. According to Arthur Staple, the team will return to practice on Wednesday afternoon if they get all negative COVID tests for players and staff in the morning. The team needed three straight days of no additional positive tests to get back on the ice. Those tests would not include players currently in COVID protocol.
🔜 LOOKING AHEAD The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman projected the Isles roster over the next three seasons, pointing out that when it comes to projections, “What makes it easier for the Islanders is that most of their core is locked up long term. This is the core they’re trying to win with.”
Below we have summarized the key lineup and salary considerations highlighted in the article for the team in coming years, not factoring in potential trades, draft picks, and free-agent signings.
2022-23
Pending UFAs Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck could agree to extensions.
Oliver Wahlstrom becomes the long-term solution to replace Jordan Eberle
Josh Bailey, whose game has slipped this year, could shift to the third line.
Noah Dobson is in line for a raise from his entry-level deal, his market value will be about $3.4 million next season.
2023-24
RFA Mathew Barzal is primed for a long-term deal. Evolving-Hockey has his “predicted” next contract at $8.9 million on average over the next eight years.
Isles may need to find a replacement for the team-friendly contract of UFA Scott Mayfield as well as another righty defenseman to fill out the blueline.
UFA Seymon Varlamov could decide to take on the full-time role of back-up to Ilya Sorokin at a reduced rate or the Isles could look elsewhere for a netminder.
2024-25
This is the season when the team could see two parts of their core depart as free agents, with both Bailey’s and Matt Martin’s contracts expiring.
Salaries are expected to rise are on the wing with Anthony Beauvillier and in net with starting goaltender Sorokin.
2024-25 might be the Islanders’ last chance to go for it with this group based on future expiring contracts (like Brock Nelson’s a year later) and aging players.
⏭ NEXT UP: The test results on Wednesday morning should determine whether the game Thursday night versus San Jose will go on as scheduled.
📊 STANDINGS: In a rare occurrence, all four Metro teams (Capitals, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, and Devils) in action lost in regulation on Tuesday.
🚘 PARKING MAYHEM: If there has been one common criticism of the UBS Arena experience thus far, it has been the parking situation - both getting in and getting out. But the complaints aren’t limited to hockey fans.
CBS2 reports on Elmont residents complaining about the arena’s parking situation causing disarray on neighborhood streets.
UBS Arena opened amid much fanfare, yet locals say they have been saddled with something they didn’t expect.
“I cannot even get over the sidewalk, over the lawn, to get in because I’m completely boxed in with cars,” homeowner Patricia Romeo said.
Romeo said she has been trying to go to home from the hospital, where she’s a nursing supervisor. She shared videos she has taken of game night or concert night. She claims on Elmont streets there has been chaos and pandemonium, and out-of-control drivers.
Neither the arena nor the Islanders responded to CBS2’s request for comment. The arena’s parking garage is still under construction as is the Long Island Rail Road westbound out of the new Elmont station.
🐶 PAW-ER RANKINGS: The Islanders organization cracked one Top 10 list as ESPN ranked the NHL’s best team dogs with “Monte” placing a highly disputed 8th. Both “Tori” and “Radar” received honorable mentions as dogs who have since moved on to their service obligations and beyond.
Puppies are the most pure, joyous, beautiful creatures on the planet, and the Isles' pup is almost painfully cute. Seriously, try looking at a picture or video of him for a while and your heart starts to hurt. But it's a good hurt, not the same hurt as, say, the kind Isles fans have been feeling with the team's disappointing start to the season.
🙋 HELLO ROCHESTER!: Another Islanders meetup group has formed, this time in Rochester, NY. The group made its first social media post yesterday and plan to combine forces with their fellow upstate brethren — Isles Meetup Buffalo — when the Islanders make their trip to Buffalo against the Sabres.
👩🏫 SOUND SMART: The Islanders might have lost their first four games at their new home, but their building is drawing the masses. The Isles already rank 13th among the 32 teams in the NHL in attendance this year according to ESPN. It’s a huge jump up from the last two years, where they ranked 31st and 30th respectively playing their games at both Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum.
🗓 ISLE REMEMBER: Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green may be on the hot seat in 2021, but 28 years ago he recorded his first career hat-trick including the game-winning goal in a 6-4 Islanders’ win over the Washington Capitals at the Nassau Coliseum behind 34 saves from Ron Hextall.
🎧 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: This week, James and Jon dive into the Islanders' ongoing losing streak and the worsening COVID situation, and answer some tough questions surrounding the team; Can they recover? Does it make sense to work out a trade? We dive into all of this and more in this week's chat. Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts and never miss an episode.
🔗 Projecting the New York Islanders’ lineup through 2024-25: How long can this core carry them — and how far? by Shayna Goldman, The Athletic “The theme remains the same for this team throughout the next three seasons: try to contend with this core, and make necessary adjustments around it. The closest the Islanders have come with this group is the Eastern Conference final — the question is whether they can take the next steps without any massive changes.”
🔗 Islanders Bright Spots In a Pretty Grim November by Mike Fink, The Hockey Writers “Despite the tough month that left the Islanders with only five wins in their first 17 games and in last place in the Metropolitan Division, there were plenty of bright spots with how the team looked and some of the players on the roster. Some young players in particular that were called up stepped up and stood out. Moreover, some skaters on the roster were a reminder of how the season is going to turn around and who will potentially lead the way.”
🎧 No Sleep Till Belmont: Scott Gordon joins as December cohost! with Arthur Staple “Arthur introduces former Islanders head coach Scott Gordon as December cohost and then the guys discuss Scott’s time on the Island, what he learned during his tenure behind the bench, what stood out to him about young players like Josh Bailey and John Tavares, and more.”
And we leave you with this…the Islanders really are getting hit from all angles both on and off the ice amid their struggles. Even WWE superstar Becky Lynch took a shot, referring to the team and their winless record at UBS Arena in her promo on Monday Night Raw. It was a classic heel tactic and another reminder of a hellish past few weeks.
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