Waivers! Hello! (and Goodbye)
Uncle Leo and Timashov on waivers as Matt Martin looks ready for Chicago
Good Morning Islanders Country,
It’s a New York Islanders gameday! Hopefully, you’re not feeling too sour about that.
It’s the battle of the goose eggs, as the winless Islanders (0-2-0) go head to head with a winless Chicago Blackhawks (0-2-1) squad who have dropped three straight games.
See, you are not alone.
One would figure there will be a higher sense of urgency for the Hawks in their home opener, so the Islanders will need to return to the form we’re used to seeing after being outscored 11-4 in their first two games.
In a bit of good news - yesterday, reports surfaced about the possibility of players returning to the lineup, which was followed by corresponding roster moves. With that, let’s catch you up on everything to get you ready for tonight’s game.
DaDaDa, DaDaDa, it’s on national TV, airing on ESPN.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders are headed into tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks with a key piece to the lineup possibly returning and another on the cusp of being back in net.
💪 FEELS GOOD: Matt Martin practiced with the main squad yesterday in a regular blue jersey indicating he’s on the cusp of returning to the lineup "I feel good and if I'm in the lineup tomorrow, that's great." Martin revealed he had suffered an ankle injury blocking shots in back-to-back games in March.
🗣"He provides that emotional element to that line and to our team," Barry Trotz said of Martin. "He's a smart player. He understands the moments, he brings an emotional element to our team for sure and then obviously, the physical element."
🤏 THIS CLOSE: Semyon Varlamov was the first goalie on the ice yesterday morning, followed by Ilya Sorokin and Cory Schneider. Varlamov also practiced with the main roster, however, he was ruled out of tonight’s matchup with the Blackhawks. Now that Varly is back to practice, his status is now day-to-day and it seems likely he could play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
🗣"Once anybody joins practice he's day-to-day. We'll see if we can get a couple more ice sessions and then, we'll see where he's at,” noted Barry Trotz. “As I've said, we're just going through the protocol that we do for every player. Ramp it up, get them healthy and ramp it up over time. Once he feels that he's ready then we'll put him in the net."
👋 WAIVED: Leo Komarov and Dmytro Timashov hit the waiver wire Monday afternoon as some of the Islanders’ regulars return to full health.
SAY UNCLE: This isn’t the first time Komarov was waived by the Islanders over the last two seasons, and with his $3 million cap hit, it’s likely he’ll pass through unclaimed again.
TERMINATION: Timashov hitting waivers comes with a little extra, as his contract will be terminated if/when he clears later this afternoon. The 25-year-old forward was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future consideration before the 2020-21 season and appeared in one NHL game with the Islanders.
Ⓩ TAKE IT E-Z: Despite being a -4 on Saturday, Zdeno Chara doesn’t seem too concerned about finding his game on his new team.
🗣 "We have good guidelines that are being forwarded to us from the coaching staff and the system has been in place for some time in here," said Chara. "It's not about the system, it's about doing our jobs and doing it well and once we do that, I think everything's going to fall in place."
📺 E60 PRESENTS: Debuting tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 , A Love Story tells the remarkable tale of Pat LaFontaine’s daughter Brianna and Randel McCoy who grew up just a few miles from each other on New York’s Long Island, but were in different worlds. The one-hour television edition of E60 also will include a feature on NHL goaltenders Elvis Merzlikins and Matiss Kivlenieks.
⏭ UP NEXT:
📊 STANDINGS:
🤝 Nassaumen Hockey Podcast: We’re excited to announce Nassaumen Hockey Podcast is now the official Isles Fix Podcast powered by The Hockey Podcast Network. Be sure to tune in with James and Jon for weekly episodes, live shows, and more on all podcasting platforms and Youtube. Click here to find where you can tune in on all platforms!
🎧 Islanders Drop First Two Games, Nassauem Hockey Podcast (NHP): In this episode, James and Jon discuss the Islanders’ first two games, who’s trending, the team’s early adversity, and much more. “There’s a time to panic, and there’s a time to be concerned with individual situations and players. We’re not in panic mode quite yet,” James said.
🔗 Despite losing the first two games, Isles’ 13-game road trip could be a ‘blessing in disguise’, by Arthur Staple, The Athletic: “You may feel stressed right now, stressed enough to take advice from a bunch of ex-Rangers. But it’s worth heeding. This Isles trip is already a grind, but there could be something good waiting on the other side. Maybe even something great.”
🔗Assessing NHL overreactions after the first week: Can Connor McDavid score 200 points? by Greg Wyshynski, ESPN: OVERREACTION. It's impossible to comprehend a Barry Trotz-coached team not finding its defensive groove eventually.
🔗Matt Martin hopeful to return to Islanders lineup Tuesday vs. Blackhawks, by Joe Pantorno, amNewYork: “The restoration of the Islanders’ identity line should only help improve a team that has started off on the wrong foot in 2021-22. Barry Trotz’s men have yielded 11 goals in the first two games of the season, second-worst in the Eastern Conference.”
🎧 Islanders Award Winners Season 2 Preview - Bryan Trottier, Calder Trophy, 1976 Hosted by Dan Saraceni, a new season of Islanders Award Winners debuted on Monday. “The Isles use a new rule to take a young and impressive Bryan Trottier in the 1974 NHL draft in this short preview of the first episode of Islanders Award Winners Season 2. After another stand-out season in Juniors, the quiet farm boy from Saskatchewan makes the team and impresses everyone with his skills and poise.”
And… we leave you with this Islanders fan smartly hedging against his bet of a premature championship tattoo with this design.
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