Could the Islanders go big-game fishing this summer in free agency?
The New York Islanders have been a team that has been constantly up against the salary cap each season.
While general manager Lou Lamoriello has added to his squad, the Islanders being ca-strapped has prolonged any significant signing and/or trade that could change the long-established group of players who have been on Long Island.
However, this will change next season.
According to Spotrac, the Islanders are ninth in the league in projected cap space for next season, with $29,675,000 to spend:
Before everyone starts imagining signing each top free agent in July, the Islanders will have to use this money to re-sign players, depending on who they want to bring back.
The following are unrestricted free agents: Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri, Matt Martin, Hudson Fasching, Mike Reilly, Tony DeAngelo and Dennis Cholowski
The following are restricted free agents: Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom, Marc Gatcomb, Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Scott Perunovich, and Adam Boqvist.
The Islanders aren't obligated to bring anyone back, and it's likely that many on the UFA list will not return next season. The money will be needed for the RFAs.
Can the Islanders position themselves to be big-time players in free agency for the first time since...since?
Some of the top players whose contracts expire and who may enter the free-agent market in July are Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen, Aaron Ekblad, Nikolaj Ehlers, John Tavares, and Brock Boeser.
The current core of the Islanders has been on Long Island for an extremely long time. They advanced to two Eastern Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021 but were eliminated in the first round the past two seasons.
The Islanders need to re-tool, and with money coming off the books, this may be the perfect opportunity for Lamoriello to welcome some new faces to the team next season.
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