The New York Islanders have limited options if one of their right-shot defensemen gets hurt. Could unrestricted free agent Calen Addison be a PTO option?
If anything, the New York Islanders will be subtracting from their roster rather than adding before opening night, given their salary cap situation.
But there's a certain position that the Islanders lack, depth-wise, one they might want to address before the start of training camp in a few weeks, and that's their blue line.
The Islanders have their six starting defenseman — Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Mike Reilly, and Scott Mayfield, with Samuel Bolduc entering camp as the front-runner to land the seventh defenseman gig.
However, Bolduc is a left-side defenseman, so if any right-side defensemen go down, Grant Hutton is the likely call-up from Bridgeport — for now.
Aidan Fulp, 24, is the only other right-handed defenseman on the AHL roster at this moment in time.
It would make sense for the Islanders to bring in a right-side defenseman on a professional tryout (PTO).
If things work out, that player would wait away in Bridgeport as an insurance policy.
Calen Addison would be a solid PTO option for the Islanders.
The 24-year-old, who was drafted second overall (No. 53) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018, has four NHL seasons under his belt.
He started the 2023-24 season with the Minnesota Wild but was dealt to the San Jose Sharks for forward Adam Raska and San Jose’s 2026 fifth-round pick.
In 72 games — 12 with Minnesota and 60 with San Jose — the Manitoba native had a goal with 16 assists, playing 17:21 minutes per game.
He added 79 blocks with 45 hits to go along with that stat line, scoring one goal with 11 assists with the Sharks.
One of those assists came as a secondary helper on Islanders newcomer Anthony Duclair's 11th goal of the season.
This isn't a player high on many teams' radar, hence the lack of an NHL contract with the 2024-25 season right around the corner.
The 5'11, 172-pound blueliner plays a similar game to Dennis Cholowski.
He's a strong puck transitioner but lacks the defensive play to earn more minutes.
PTOs last up to 25 games, but the Islanders would likely sign him to a two-way deal, waiving him after training camp ended so that he could report to Bridgeport for the start of the season.
In theory, he could beat out Bolduc for the extra defenseman job, but Bolduc isn't waiver-exempt, so there's risk there.
Although the Islanders are hopeful that their backend can be healthier in 2024-25 — a need if they want to have a more consistent regular season — staying healthy has been a tough ask.
Last season, Mayfield missed 41 games due to a broken ankle, powering through for half a season after suffering the injury in game one of the regular season.
Pelech suffered a concussion after taking a cheap shot from Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher.
After blocking a shot off the ankle, Pulock missed two months with a lower-body injury.
Sebastian Aho, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, suffered a shoulder injury.
Romanov only missed one game but found himself in a face shield for the second straight season.
Dobson was the lone healthy defender, but fatigue seemed to play a part later in the season.
When everyone was hurt, Dobson wore extra hats, played on the penalty kill unit, and, at times, played his off-side.
The injuries and a lack of NHL-ready options in the minors led to the waiver pick-up of Mike Reilly — he signed back on a one-year deal — and the trade for Robert Bortuzzo, who has just signed a one-year deal with the Utah Hockey Club.
With Bolduc, Dennis Cholowski, Isaiah George, Calle Odelius, Marshall Warren, and Travis Mitchell, the left side is well taken care of if injuries arise.
The right side is the issue, and Addison is a low-risk move that fills a need.