The New York Islanders landed top international free agent, Maxim Tsyplakov, during the 2024 offseason, and the Russian’s rookie season had its fair share of ups and downs.
Tsyplakov wasn’t handed anything as he earned his way up from the fourth line to the second line during the preseason.
After posting three points (one goal, two assists) in five games, he secured a spot on the opening night roster alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.
The trio got off to a hot start, with Tsyplakov recording a goal in his first career NHL game, as well as nine points (two goals, seven assists) across his first 16 games.
From there, the point production slowed, and Tsyplakov was eventually moved into the bottom six, seeing time alongside Simon Holmstrom, JG Pageau, Marc Gatcomb, and Kyle MacLean.
While Tsyplakov ended the season with just 35 points, 10 of which were goals, he learned a lot, specifically how to adjust to the North American style of hockey:
"Patrick Roy can be fiery. He once screamed at me for a mistake in the last 30 seconds of a period. He said, 'In the last five minutes, no risks – just dump it in.' I learned quickly,” Tsyplakov said in a recent interview.
A Breakdown Of Tsyplakov's Latest Russian Interview
<a href="http://thn.com/isles">New York Islanders</a> forward <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-maxim-tsyplakov-files-for-salary-arbitration">Maxim Tsyplakov</a> sat down for an interview with The Slippery Ice program, and he touched on a lot.
"The hardest thing was the long preseason — I felt overtrained before camp even started. Then came Roy's brutal conditioning drills. My legs were dead."
It was not uncommon for Roy to be vocal about his players’ struggles, and Tsyplakov was no exception.
Following a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in March, Roy called out the rookie, and instead of fighting his coach, Tsyplakov took full accountability.
“No, I understand. He does not like my turnovers,” Tsyplakov said. “I just [need to] be better and have better moments going through the offensive zone. I just need to play hockey.”
“Don’t look for risky pass. Just play better on the wall in our zone, because, sometimes […] a guy is close and if I see the pass, I do the pass. But it can be risky. It can be broken, so I can probably just dump [the puck in]. Just play simple. It’s not my risk, but I believe this risk. Sometimes the play gets broken, but it’s a game.”
Tsyplakov ended 2024-25 with 78 giveaways, the most among Islanders forwards and 11 more than the next closest forward.
Following his mid-season struggles, Tsyplakov improved, registering just 14 turnovers in his final 16 games, but there is a lot left to tweak.
Fortunately for the Islanders and Roy, Tsyplakov impressed in many other aspects of the game, specifically his size, awareness, and shot.
Tsyplakov stands 6-foot-3, tied with Anders Lee for the tallest player on 2025-26’s projected roster, and 210 pounds, the fourth heaviest.
Tsyplakov is unafraid to use his size, as he finished the year with 140 hits, the third most among Islanders forwards.
Shown in recent draft and free agent trends, physicality is as important as anything in building a contender.
While there is no stat for net-front battles, his game was at its best when he was causing chaos around the crease, evident in eight of his 10 goals coming from within a stride of the crease.
Final Verdict: B
Tsyplakov’s rookie season had many positives, but his turnover issues were enough to limit his impact.
Had he found a bit more offensive consistency and maintained better responsibility with the puck, his season would be remembered more fondly, and he would have received more ice time.
Heading into 2025-26, he will need to improve the smaller aspects of his game, especially with his projected role on the Islanders' fourth line.
Last season, Tsyplakov held a -20 PIM differential, meaning he took 20 more PIM than he drew, according to MoneyPuck.
This was the worst differential of all Islanders skaters, and it effectively cost the Islanders 2.3 goals based on league power play averages, but was further magnified with the team’s disappointing 72.2% penalty kill success rate.
As a fourth liner, his focus will not be on offensive production, but putting together a notable offensive campaign in this role would be a major positive for a team that has recently struggled to find consistent offense.
With the addition of Emil Heineman, it is clear GM Mathieu Darche is aiming to bring back aspects of the famed ‘Identity Line’ that led the Islanders through their success in the early 2020s.
With Heineman and Cizikas’ speed, and Tsyplakov’s scoring ability, Roy can run out a fourth line that contributes in all aspects of the game and combined for 515 hits in 2024-25.
Tsyplakov has played just over 100 minutes with Cizikas in his career, so there is a very small sample size to project any chemistry, but the trio has the potential to dominate opponents, with a 10+ goal, 20+ assist season a good target for Tsyplakov.
CoreNHL’s model projects Tsyplakov to provide an estimated $2.6 million of value in 2025-26.
Stefen Rosner contributed to this report.
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