The New York Islanders have not had much luck with previous European acquisitions, but they're hoping to have struck gold with 25-year-old Maxim Tysplakov.
The New York Islanders have not had much luck with previous European acquisitions, but they're hoping to have struck gold with 25-year-old Maxim Tysplakov.
The New York Islanders have not had much luck with previous European acquisitions, but they're hoping to have struck gold with 25-year-old Maxim Tysplakov.
Like with any player coming to a new league, expectations must always be tempered. But there are reasons to be more excited about the near future than the past.
In his final season in the KHL, Tsyplakov broke out, scoring 31 goals in 65 games after just 10 in 63 games during the 2022-23 season.
For factual purposes, New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin scored 26 goals in his final KHL season, a career-high after 20 the previous year.
How does Tsyplakov's KHL finale compare to the last three Russian players who joined the Islanders?
The last Russian to join the Islanders as a free agent was forward Nikita Soshnikov, at the age of 28.
He signed a one-year deal worth $750,000 ahead of the 2022-23 season after scoring four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 33 games split between CSKA Moscow and Omsk Avangard.
Four goals.
He played three games with the Islanders, struggling mightily, before eventually having his contract terminated.
Toward the end of the 2020-21 season, the Islanders signed 26-year-old forward Anatoli Golyshev to a one-year ELC after he scored 12 goals with 15 assists for 27 points in 53 games for Yekaterinburg Automobilist.
In Dec of 2021, after five goals and two assists for seven points in 15 games with Bridgeport, the Islanders placed him on waivers for the purpose of contract termination.
That brings us to forward Jan Kovar, who had several NHL offers before inking a one-year deal worth $2 million with the Islanders ahead of the 2018-19 season at the age of 28.
Kovar finished the 2017-18 season with seven goals and 28 assists for 35 points with the KHL's Magnitogorsk Metallurg.
His time with the Islanders was short-lived, as he failed to report to Bridgeport after training camp, and his contract was terminated.
Kovar quickly signed a PTO with the AHL's Providence Bruins, playing in 12 games with four goals and six assists. However, he never got an NHL deal and returned to Europe to play in the Czech League.
So, why should anyone think Tsyplakov's future will be brighter than any of the other failed European signings by the Islanders?
Tysplakov is younger than the others, and if you add up all three of their goal totals from their final year before signing (23), that doesn't come close to the newcomer's 31.
The hype around Tsyplakov was much higher than the others, and if you are reading that line thinking, "I didn't hear a thing about him" before Thursday, that's because of Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello.
No one ever knows what he is thinking -- a man of many surprises, and time will tell if this move can pay dividends.