Islanders Don't Need To Create Cap Space Ahead Of 2024-25 Season

We've spent the entire start of the offseason discussing the Islanders lack of salary cap space. But do they actually need cap space?

We've spent the entire start of the offseason worrying about the New York Islanders' lack of salary cap space.

Although the Islanders have their backs against the cap ceiling, they aren't over the cap. They have 13 forwards and seven defensemen on their roster, an extra at each end of the ice, with two goalies.

With Simon Holmstrom signing a one-year deal worth $850,000, the Islanders are left with $50,000. 

Yes, the Islanders are allowed to carry 23 men, and general manager Lou Lamoriello has never failed to do so over his five years at the Long Island helm.

But do they need 23 on their roster?

Creating cap space made sense for the Islanders if they were going to acquire a player with a hefty cap hit like Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who has one year left at $6 million annually. 

But if the Islanders aren't making a big move, is there a point in clearing cap space, moving players like Anders Lee ($7 M AAV), Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5 M AAV), and Casey Cizikas ($2.5 M AAV) to have an extra player sit in the press box?

Trading a player like Cizikas or Pageau would make the Islanders slimmer down the middle, which is currently ultra-deep. 

Yes, the Islanders will need cap space to recall a player, but if there was an injury, that's why the Islanders have two extras.

With Kyle MacLean able to play center and wing, the need for a second extra forward is lessened.

And if the injury was one that was longer term, the Islanders can use LTIR, which would take that player's cap hit off the books until he was ready to return.

The other thing that needs to be discussed is cap accrual.

If the Islanders don't reach the exact $88 million cap ceiling, they can accrue money. 

For example, if the Islanders start the season with $50,000 in cap space, that means halfway through the season, the Islanders will be able to take on $100,000, a tad more at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.

So, if they moved a player just to create space, there's a benefit to that, especially if the Islanders have their eye on someone ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. 

Per PuckPedia, the way the cap is calculated, a player worth $1.8 million annually would only count for $900,000 of the actual cap through the remainder of the year.

So there's value in having cap space.

But the Islanders are likely to start the season with around $25,875 so even with cap accrual, they aren't creating enough space to make a move unless another contract comes off the books. 

The only real reason the Islanders would have to create more cap space is if they plan on bringing Holmstrom and Oliver Wahlstrom back, as they don't have the necessary cap space to sign both. 

But it sounds like Wahlstrom will not be on the team at the start of the 2024-25 season, regardless of the arbitration outcome. 

The Islanders, in theory, could move one of those contracts above, call up a prospect who carries a much smaller cap hit, which would all a young player an an opportunity, creating more space for cap accruel. 

The Islanders would only go that route if they had a prospect that was proven to be ready for NHL action. 

If the Islanders moved one of those contracts and didn't fill that spot with an NHL-ready player, they are just making themselves weaker.

So, while cap space may seem like a need for the Islanders, it certainly isn't if the current roster will be the one taking the ice to start this upcoming season.