Duclair and Pelech are back at practice in non-contact jerseys.
With forward Anthony Duclair and defenseman Adam Pelech back at practice, albeit in non-contact jerseys, it's only a matter of time before both get reinserted into the New York Islanders lineup.
Duclair is currently on long-term injured reserve, while Pelech is on injured reserve.
With forward Mathew Barzal and his $9.15 million currently on LTIR -- he is skating on his own -- the Islanders are fine cap-wise to activate Duclair and his $3.5 million. Pelech's $5.75 million never came off the books, as his transaction just created an additional roster spot.
And that's the thing the Islanders need to figure out.
If one of the two is ready before the other, likely Pelech before Duclair, the Islanders will have to do nothing to become roster or cap-compliant.
Right now, they have a 22-man roster, with a maximum of 23, and their cap situation is fine with LTIR usage.
However, when Duclair and Pelech are both ready to go, the Islanders need to make a transaction to create one additional roster spot.
The logical answer is for the Islanders to waive Hudson Fasching, who has struggled to find a consistent game in 10 showings, with two shots, serving as a healthy scratch against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
The Islanders could waive one of two defensemen, Dennis Cholowski or Grant Hutton, or send the waiver-exempt Isaiah George to Bridgeport.
The George decision is going to be very interesting.
It's more of a risk for the Islanders to waive a defenseman, especially with how both of the fill-ins have played.
Also, with Barzal getting closer, there won't be a need to have two extra forwards on the roster.
It takes a player 24 hours to clear waivers. So, for example, if the Islanders want both Duclair and Pelech in the lineup for a game on a Thursday night, a player must be waived on Wednesday.