Should the New York Islanders address goal-scoring or defensive play at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline? What about goaltending?
Should the New York Islanders address goal-scoring or defensive play at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline? What about goaltending?
EAST MEADOW, NY -- Should the New York Islanders address goal-scoring or defensive play at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline?
Although either of those options could help the Islanders' playoff aspirations, the Islanders can't disregard their goaltending situation.
Pause for dramatic effect.
Although Ilya Sorokin (3.27 GAA, .909 SV%) has been more human this year than he was a year ago when he was chasing a Vezina trophy, he's still an elite goaltender in this league. He hasn't been provided much help for a second straight year and is struggling to mask the Islanders' issues as he did in years past.
The Islanders No. 1 goalie had been playing better as of late before being pulled after watching six goals go past him in the second period of a 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
Semyon Varlamov (2.75 GAA, .918 SV%), who came in for relief Wednesday, stopping six of seven shots in the third, has had a solid season thus far.
He hasn't played a lot, with 13 appearances through 34 games, but has been a consistent force between the pipes and played a vital role in the Islanders holding down the second spot in the Metropolitan division.
Ahead of Islanders practice on Thursday, the Islanders announced that Varlamov would not practice due to maintenance and that goaltender Ken Appleby had been recalled from Bridgeport.
"He's day-to-day. So we'll see what happens as we go forward," Lambert said following the skate.
Whether Varlamov misses zero time with whatever is ailing him or misses extended time, this should be a wake-up call to the Islanders that they need goaltending depth.
Sorokin's been relied upon before, but we saw how that negatively affected his production, especially in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With veteran netminder Cory Schneider, who had been mentoring the prospects in Bridgeport from 2021-2023, not returning, the Islanders gave Jakub Skarek the reigns for his fifth season with the organization, inking him to a two-year extension this summer.
Through four years in Bridgeport, Skarek had been consistent but not in a positive way, posting a .891 SV% with a 3.17 GAA in 103 games.
That's not to say the team in front of him has been gifted, especially defensively, but he hadn't proven to be a reliable option just yet.
Bridgeport has been an absolute disaster this year, with an 8-17-2-0 record through 27 games.
Skarek, in 18 appearances, has posted a 3.51 GAA with an .877 SV%.
His counterpart, the 28-year-old Ken Appleby has played in 10 games for Bridgeport, posting a 2.86 GAA with an .898 SV%.
Moving to the ECHL options in Worcester, 21-year-old Tristan Lennox owns a 2.94 GAA with a .909 SV% in his first taste of professional hockey. Henrik Tikkanen, 23, is in his second year with the organization after playing in Sweden and owns a 3.11 GAA with an .896 SV%.
Lennox, despite the lack of experience, spoke with The Hockey News during his first rookie camp:
Lennox and Tikkanen are a few years away from even being a consideration for the Islanders, likely lining up more for a spot for when Varlamov eventually hangs the skates up.
Most NHL teams have three reliable options, some even carrying three goalies on the NHL roster.
Look at the 2023 Stanley Cup-winning Vegas Golden Knights, who had five goaltenders on their roster at the end of the season.
After a strong rookie campaign, Logan Thompson proved to be the guy heading into the season. With Robin Lehner out for the season, Laurent Brossoit was to be the backup, per general manager Kelly McCrimmon.
But then, in late August, McCrimmon acquired a goalie named Adin Hill from the San Jose Sharks for a 2024 fourth-round pick.
"This puts another really good goalie into our organization and into the mix," McCrimmon said, per the Las Vegas Journal. "Gives us a lot more comfort in terms of the position heading into the year."
What a move that became, as Hill went from being a third-string goaltender for Vegas to backing them to their first-ever Stanley Cup.
Now, that's not to say that the Islanders are going out there looking for an undiscovered star to emerge, especially with Sorokin on the books until 2031 and Varlamov through 2026-27.
But the need for goalie depth is there, and there are a few pending unrestricted free-agent netminders with NHL experience that can come in as a safety net.
Long Island native Keith Kinkaid was signed by the New Jersey Devils this offseason but has been playing for the Chicago Wolves (8-14-2-2), who don't have an NHL affiliate.
In 11 starts, Kinkaid owns a 3.57 GAA with an .871 SV%
The 31-year-old has logged 169 career games over a 10-year NHL career, and with a cap hit of $775,000, Kinkaid is certainly a viable option.
A familiar face, free agent Jaroslav Halak, could be an option at the league minimum.
The 38-year-old, who spent four years on Long Island, backed up New York Rangers Igor Shesterkin last season and was in Carolina for a PTO earlier this season but ultimately didn't sign a contract.
Here's the list of other pending unrestricted free-agent goaltenders with a cap hit under $1 million:
Regardless of who the Islanders could potentially bring in, it's an area of need, given the lack of growth from Skarek over the last few years and the timeline for a goaltender like Lennox.
The hope for the Islanders is that Varlamov doesn't have to miss any time and Sorokin remains healthy, where the lack of goaltending depth isn't an issue.
But that doesn't change the fact that the Islanders are not prepared for if one of their two starters goes down for any length of time.
You can listen to Rosner talk Islanders hockey on Hockey Night in New York with co-host Sean Cuthbert on Sunday nights at 8 PM ET during the season.