Mitchell returns to Bridgeport. Who fills the blue line void, and what strategic shuffle awaits the Islanders' defense?
On Wednesday morning, the New York Islanders announced that they had loaned rookie defenseman Travis Mitchell back to Bridgeport.
Mitchell, 26, made his NHL debut on Black Friday, playing in nine of the last 10 games.
Helping to fill the Alexander Romanov hole, Mitchell has provided stability for the most part, keeping things simple, but has only averaged 11:32 minutes per game. That's led to more minutes for Adam Pelech and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer.
Another caveat to the send-down is that Mitchell is one NHL game away fromlosing his waiver exemption:
Something For Islanders To Consider When It Comes To Travis Mitchell
Rookie blueliner Travis Mitchell's solid play forces a tough decision. Will the Islanders risk waiving him to keep defensive depth options open?
It's possible that the Islanders are swapping Mitchell for another left-side defenseman who can eat some more minutes. Isaiah George, who returned this past weekend after missing a month with an upper-body injury, averaged 15:39 in his 33-game stint on the big squad last season.
Could we see rookie Marshall Warren, who played his first two games at the NHL level once Alexander Romanov went down the first time, come back up?
He averaged 12:08 minutes per game over his small stint.
While the Islanders don't play until Friday night when they host the Vancouver Canucks, Bridgeport is in action on Wednesday night against the Syracuse Crunch. So, don't expect a corresponding move to come until at least Thursday morning, maybe not until Friday morning.
Mitchell recorded one goal, four shots on 13 shot attempts, adding six blocks and 13 hits in 103:50 total minutes.
The Islanders are off on Wednesday after their 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Mitchell played a career-high 15:04 minutes but didn't play the final 6:37.