Predicting Islanders Roster, Lines When Injured Players Return

With the New York Islanders off on Wednesday, it's a great day to dive into what the roster and lines could look like when the injured players return. 

Anthony Duclair (lower body) and Adam Pelech (upper body) are skating at practice in non-contact jerseys, while Mathew Barzal (upper body) is skating on his own.

Before these players can return, specifically Duclair and Barzal, the Islanders have to create the necessary cap space since both are on long-term injured reserve. 

Let's break out the calculator and crunch the numbers.

With Duclair's $3.5M and Barzal's $9.15M not on the books (not counting Mike Reilly's $1.25M, even though he is on IR because he'll be moved to LTIR if need be) the Islanders have a cap hit of $79.45M, running a 22-man roster. 

This leaves them with $8.256M in room, and the salary cap for this season is $88M. 

That means instead of needing to be below $88 million, they just have to get at to or below $86.75M. 

So, to get Duclair and Barzal on the books, the Islanders must clear an additional $2.85M.

It's unlikely that both are back at the same time, so these roster moves will not have to be made all at once. Waived players need 24 hours to pass before that player comes off the books. 

The first likely waived player is Hudson Fasching and his $775k. The 29-year-old has struggled to stay in the lineup, playing just 10 games after not making the team out of training camp due to a lower-body injury. 

Still to clear: $2.075M

At this point, the Islanders' next likely move is to move on from forward Pierre Engvall, who is in the second season of a seven-year deal worth $3M annually. 

The 28-year-old didn't make the team out of training camp, and although he's had his solid moments, he's been unable to play the brand of hockey head coach Patrick Roy needs him to play. If waived, the Islanders can bury $1.15M in the minors, leaving $1.85M on the books. The ideal thing would be to find a trade partner willing to retain half or take on the full length of his deal for a price, of course. If not, and Engvall is not on the NHL roster, he's a buyout candidate at the end of the season. 

Still to clear: $925k

Next, it's time to look at the backend. The Islanders, with Pelech back, will have eight defensemen on the roster. This is where things get tricky for general manager Lou Lamoriello. Isaiah George, who has been a tremendous surprise as a 20-year-old rookie, is the only player on the roster who is waiver-exempt. And, if he's going to play limited minutes or become the seventh defenseman, it makes more sense for him to be in the minors. 

So don't be shocked if he goes down. 

But, on the flip side, he seems to be a fit and brings a skill the team needs, so could Grant Hutton and his $775k hit waivers with Dennis Cholowki ($775k) remaining on as the seventh defenseman. 

The difference is $63k, but let's say George is the one who goes down. 

Still to clear: $87k

Depending on the status of Semyon Varlamov (day-to-day, lower body, no skating), it's likely that Marcus Hogberg and his $775k come off the roster. 

He's currently up on an emergency basis. 

That puts the Islanders back in the green with $688k to spare. 

Here's our cap-friendly 22-man roster:

Forwards: Barzal, Horvat, Tsyplakov, Lee, Nelson, Palmieri, Holmstrom, Pageau, Duclair, Wahlstrom, Martin, Cizikas, MacLean

Defense: Romanov, Dobson, Pelech, Pulock, Cholowski, Mayfield, Hutton

Goalie: Sorokin, Varlamov

Now, to the forward lines. 

Some may say, just run the lines the Islanders did on opening night, minus Reilly:

Duclair-Horvat-Barzal

Tsyplakov-Nelson-Palmieri

Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom

Cizikas-MacLean-Wahlstrom

But, things have happened since the injuries that can't be ignored. 

Maxim Tsyplakov looks as confident as ever, so he, alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, could be an interesting trio to try.

Anders Lee is in the midst of a career resurgence, taking advantage of top-six minutes, so there's no reason to lessen his role. 

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom could use speed on their line, so having Duclair join them makes that line a potential transition nightmare for opponents. 

With the fourth line, now that Martin has a contract and looks much better than he did earlier in the season, running him with Kyle MacLean and Casey Cizikas just makes sense. 

Forwards:

Tsyplakov-Horvat-Barzal

Lee-Nelson-Palmieri

Duclair-Pageau-Holmstrom

Martin-MacLean-Cizikas

Roy has options with the defense, but it's clear that the organization wants Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson to be a pair for years to come. 

Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock were playing solid before Pelech's injury,y and that's a duo that has had success through the years. 

Scott Mayfield needs a mobile defenseman by his side, and with George in the minors for cap purposes, Cholowski is the only real fit. 

The Islanders could decide to keep George, waive Hutton, and place Pelech or George with Mayfield, but that's an unlikely route. 

Defense:

Pelech-Pulock

Romanov-Dobson

Cholowski-Mayfield

The Islanders weren't playing well when fully healthy. Still, with the uptick in play from a few players, the defensive structure better collectively, and their situation in the wild-card race, there's no reason why this team can't be a playoff team once they get healthy.

The question is, when exactly will that be?