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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We heard a lot from a lot of players on Monday's “clean out” day, but we did not hear from head coach Lane Lambert or General Manager Lou Lamoriello.
That may mean nothing. It may mean something. Reports were that they would both eventually speak to the media, just not today. For now, we wait, but the longer we do, the longer speculation will grow that no decision has been made on either the coach or the GM coming back and that ownership is evaluating its options.
Given where the Islanders were in January and how unlikely a playoff berth was at that time, it would be somewhat surprising if Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin would make such a significant change after allowing Lamoriello to trade assets for Bo Horvat, sign off on an eight-year extension and then watch Lambert make adjustments after the Mathew Barzal injury to get the team into the playoffs.
Then again, perhaps they remained true to their ‘hands-off’ approach to meddling with the hockey side of things and are only now taking time to take a step back and decide if now is the best time to take the franchise in a different direction.
Coming up, Josh Bailey has an uncertain future, while Hudson Fasching knows he is coming back. Plus, Scotty doesn’t know what to expect in free agency, Varly wants to stay put, and Matthew Maggio inks his ELC.
📰 NEWS: The most compelling comments from “clean out day” came from the longest-tenured Islander, Josh Bailey. The 15-year veteran was a healthy scratch toward the end of the regular season and did not dress in any of the six playoff games versus the Carolina Hurricanes. It was something he has never experienced in his career, and it clearly weighed on him.
The 33-year-old has played in 1,057 Islanders games, the third most in franchise history, and expressed a desire to keep playing, but he doesn't want to sit on the bench and watch. “If it’s [his role] going to be sitting in the stands a lot, that’s something I don’t want to do,” said Bailey.
When the Islanders were a healthy team, there simply wasn't a place for Bailey in head coach Lane Lambert's lineup, and that was before Mathew Barzal returned from injury in the playoffs that landed Holmstrom as a scratch alongside Bailey.
The 2017-18 All-Star feels he can still contribute at a high level and intends to play next season, even if it’s not with the Islanders, but for the player that debuted at 18 years old, grew up, and started a family here, he’s also not going anywhere. “This has been home for a long time, and it [Long Island] will continue to be home after hockey regardless.”
Soon after the player interviews concluded, the Islanders announced that they had signed Hudson Fasching two a two-year contract worth $775K per year, according to Ethan Sears of the NY Post.
Earlier, Fasching told the media he wanted to stay with the Islanders, a trend among the pending unrestricted free agents.
"I love playing here," Fashcing explained. "I love being here, and they gave me the opportunity. So we'll try to figure that out at a later date."
That later date was today.
“I’m excited,” Fasching said. “This is what I’ve always worked towards, and to be able to look down at the season and be like, I finished the season playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s kind of a dream come true for me. I’m just so excited for the summer, just to be better again next year.
💸 SCOTT FREE AGENT: After signing the friendliest of team-friendly deals in 2018, defenseman Scott Mayfield will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) for the first time in his career after setting a career-high in goals (6) and points (24) this season. "I've never been in this situation; it's new to me," said the 2011 second-round draft pick. "I don't know what to expect, I've never gone through it."
Mayfield started his Islanders career in 2013 and slowly built himself into a reliable bottom-pair defenseman that can also play top-four minutes. During the team’s playoff runs in 2020 and 2021, he gained a reputation for being a player that is most valuable in the postseason.
If he gets to free agency by July 1st, he’ll likely have multiple suitors eager to add size and stability to their blue line. However, for now, Mayfield’s intentions remain the same as they were during the season. He wants to stay.
"My mind is still the same as what it's been. I love it here; my wife loves it here, Mayfield said. "We have our house, not too far from the rink; it's a great setup. My mindset is the same. This is where I want to be, and we'll see what happens."
🥅 NET PRESENCE: Goaltender Semyon Varlamov is also set to be a free agent as the four-year contract he signed in 2019 comes to an end. The 35-year-old transitioned to backing up Ilya Sorokin and started a career-low 22 games, posting an 11-9-2 record with a 2.70 GAA and .913 save percentage.
"This year, it’s been different for me. It is what it is. I spend more time practicing on the ice with the goalie coach,” said Varlamov in January. “You have to when you don’t play every game or every other game; you have to make sure you stay in good shape.”
Even at 35 years old, ‘Varly’ could be a starting goaltender on a handful of teams around the NHL and get paid more to do so than remain as Sorokin’s backup, but on Monday, Varlamov reiterated the same sentiments he shared during the season. He wants to stay with the Islanders.
" I want to stay with the team," Varlamov said. "Nothing has changed... I have a good feeling about this team and about the future. I want to be a part of it."
In his career with the Islanders, Varlamov played in 135 games and accrued a 59-51-14 record with a 2.54 GAA and .917 SV%, and in the playoffs, he elevated his game to an 18-14 record with a 2.31 GAA and .922 SV% in 34 games.
◾️ The Isles also announced on Monday that 2022 fifth-round draft pick (142nd overall) Matthew Maggio signed a three-year entry-level contract (ELC).
The 20-year-old forward is coming off a historic season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), in which he led the league in goals (54) and points (111) in 66 games.
He also tallied a career-best 57 assists this season.
After the conclusion of his OHL season, Maggio signed an Amateur Tryout (ATO) with the Bridgeport Islanders, the team's AHL affiliate, and picked up a pair of assists in three games.
The deal is reportedly a two-way entry-level contract, worth 775K in the NHL and $82.K with Bridgeport, and comes with a signing bonus of $95K.
🏆 STANLEY CUP® PLAYOFFS: It’s not quite the same celebrating New York Rangers elimination day when it comes 72 hours after your team was eliminated, but nonetheless, the Blushirts were shutout 4-0 by the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 as the match-ups for a wide open second round is now set.
📊 SOUND SMART: New Jersey’s Akira Schmid became the fifth rookie goaltender to earn a shutout in Game 7 last night, but the first was the Islanders’ Glenn ‘Chico’ Resch, who blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 1-0 win to complete a remarkable series comeback for the Isles who trailed 3 games to 0.
🗓 ISLES REWIND: On May 2, 1993, the Pierre Turgeon-less Islanders defeated the two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game 1 of the Patrick Division Finals. Ray Ferraro and Benoit Hougue each had short-handed goals, and Glenn Healy made 28 saves in the win. "We just walked in and stole the game," said the Islanders' Brad Dalgarno. "We didn't see their best, but they didn't see our best either."
🎧 Key Takeaways From Getaway Day, Locked On Islanders with Gil Martin “The Islanders cleaned out their lockers, conducted their exit interviews and spoke to the media one last time before heading home to start the offseason. We have key takeaways from those interviews concerning Semyon Varlamov, Zach Parise, Josh Bailey and more””
🔗 Josh Bailey facing Islanders uncertainty after late-season scratches by Ethan Sears, New York Post “But after being made a healthy scratch for the duration of the team’s first-round loss to the Hurricanes, as well as playing just four games over the regular season’s final month, it is an open question whether Bailey has played his last game for the Isles — a fact he himself acknowledged at breakup day on Monday.”
And we leave you with this…one decision down, many to go.
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