Islanders With a Tad Under $7 Million in Cap Space, UFA Analysis & Predictions

With the New York Islanders season in the books, with evaluations likely underway as your eyes read these words, let's take a look at the organization's cap situation and pending free agents.

The New York Islanders may have to wait for someone to be crowned the 2023 Stanley Cup champion before embarking, officially, on their offseason. 

But with their season over as of Friday, with evaluations likely underway as your eyes read these words, let's take a look at the organization's cap situation and pending free agents.

In 2023-24, the NHL salary cap will be set at $83.5 million, a $1 million increase from the 2022-23 season. 

That leaves the Islanders with $6.9 million in cap space, per CapFriendly, with five unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents. 

The Islanders need to prioritize their money, like every team, and that ultimately depends on the direction the organization wants to go.

Here's the list of free agents:

UFA- Pierre Engvall, Hudson Fasching, Zach Parise, Scott Mayfield, Semyon Varlamov, Parker Wotherspoon,

RFA- Oliver Wahlstrom, Samuel Bolduc, Jakub Skarek

We will dive into the UFAs in a minute, but all three RFAs will likely be back. Wahlstrom is coming off what was believed to be a torn ACL and will be ready for training camp. 

Samuel Bolduc made his NHL debut this season and has the potential to be a staple on the Islanders' backend for years. 

The Islanders have little goaltending depth, and Jakub Skarek did join the Islanders' roster for their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Let's get to some unsure predictions. 

Pierre Engvall: The 26-year-old may have been a bottom-six player with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he worked wonders in a top-six role with New York. It's not a stretch to say that he helped save the Islanders' season, with his line also one of the better lines across the NHL in the opening round of the playoffs. 

Engvall scored five goals with four assists in 18 games during the regular season, before a goal and an assist in six playoff games. 

The fifth-year NHLer has an expiring contract worth $2.250 million, so if he is willing to sign an extension at $3 million or less, then it makes sense for the Islanders to retain his speed. 

Maybe he can push the Islanders to go to $3.5 million. 

But Engvall's speed was brought in because Mathew Barzal's speed was out of the lineup. I know Lamoriello doesn't do rentals...but does Engvall's game fit the current system in place. I tend to think Engvall can get more on the market than what New York can offer. 

Hudson Fasching: There's no question that the 27-year-old earned himself an extension. Setting career-highs in every offensive category, with 10 goals and nine assists in 49 games, Fasching's play disallowed Lambert from taking him out of the lineup, even when everyday players got healthy. 

Fasching did tell The Hockey News that he is 100 percent interested in an extension. 

While the numerical value won't be large, likely around $1 million annually, he showed that he is a legitimate NHL player and fit the Islanders' system quite well.

Although not scoring any goals in the playoffs, he made some key plays defensively, also drawing a few penalties.

Stability is something that Fasching hasn't had, and after his strong season, I think he could get a multi-year deal. 

Zach Parise: If Zach Parise, who is about to turn 39, wants to keep playing hockey, I think he will be back with the Islanders. 

He's loved his time here and has been a tremendous asset, especially this season popping off with 21 goals and 13 assists, playing in all 82 games for a second straight season. 

But, we all saw his blank stare after Friday's loss, as if he was contemplating what happens next.  

I think he plays one more season, and while it's likely with the Islanders, there's a part of me that thinks it would be cool to see him go full circle and finish with the New Jersey Devils. 

Scott Mayfield: The 30-year-old defenseman has often spoken about wanting to re-sign with the Islanders. And it wouldn't be a shock if he had an extension already signed and stamped. But it also wouldn't be a shock if the Islanders looked at their group and about where money should go and thought better of it.

Mayfield rose to the occasion in the playoffs after navigating the regular season with a handful of different defense partners. 

He's due for a substantial raise from his $1.45 million, a number that could jump between $3-4 million if his agent plays his cards right. 

The Islanders did hold onto Mayfield when they could have moved him at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, but was that because he was needed to make the playoffs or because an extension was already in place? 

I think Mayfield does not return given cap allocation, but it also wouldn't surprise me if he took a team-friendly deal to stay. The Islanders do not have an abundance of right-shot defensemen. 

Semyon Varlamov: The 35-year-old netminder is not an NHL backup...yet. After struggling in 2021-22, Varlamov looked more like himself this season, bailing his teammates out often in the first half of the season. 

Like Mayfield, the Islanders elected to keep Varlamov through the trade deadline, with Lamoriello citing that moving him was never a thought. 

It made sense, as Varlamov was insurance in case anything happened to Ilya Sorokin.

Now, Varlamov has made it abundantly clear that he wants to stay, but if that's the case, he needs to take a heft pay cut from his latest $5 million AAV. 

Anything more that $2.5 million would be too much for a true backup netminder, especially for a team with financial issues and glaring holes that need fixing.

If Varlamov agrees to $2.5 million annually over the next two to three years, that's ideal. If not, the Islanders can find a backup on the market. 

Parker Wotherspoon: At 25, Wotherspoon made his NHL debut and showed to be a reliable defenseman. However, he only played 12 games with New York because of his inability to play on special teams.

Did Wotherspoon show enough to get a chance to be more of a role player for another NHL squad?

I don't think so, and I think having an abundance of defensemen with NHL experience is always a need given his latest cap hit, $750k, there's no reason not to retain him if I'm the Islanders. 

THN will chat with all members of the New York Islanders today, and we will keep you updated on the latest contract talks. 

If the Islanders were to re-sign Engvall at $3 million, Fasching at $1 million, Parise at $750k, Varlamov at $2.5 million, and maybe even Mayfield at $3 million, that equates to over $10 million -- which the Islanders do not have -- before Wahlstrom's contract ($1 million?) and Bolduc's ($750k). 

The number we are really looking at is $12 million, at the minimum. 

Now that's where Lamoriello's "hockey trades" come in. Could we see Jean-Gabriel Pageau and his $5 million annually moved? Could we see Josh Bailey's $5 million go, whether it be a trade or a buyout? What does the future look like for Cal Clutterbuck and his $1.75 million?

Lost of questions.