Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders The New York Islanders [https://www.theelmonters.com/] will be without defenseman Alexander Romanov [https://www.theelmonters.com/p/alexander-romanovs-extended-absence] for the sixth time in seven games when they face the Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/] on Thursday night. Romanov, who returned from an upper-body injury against the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/] on Nov. 1, showed off his warrior mentality in the second period of that outing, but he and the Islanders may have paid a price for that. After taking a hard shot from Sabres forward Jordan Greenway, Romanov went down the tunnel. But after seeing Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly leave the game with bad injuries, Romanov knew that he had to come back in and help his team if he could. Romanov's willingness to return is noble, but he's been unable to skate on his own since that win, a loss in the lineup that isn't easily filled. The 24-year-old has already dealt with a significant injury in his career with the Islanders. He played banged up in their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023, which led to him needing shoulder surgery. While Romanov, a pending restricted free agent, is without a long-term contract from the Islanders, he certainly will be a long-term investment. That's why, as much as Romanov wants to play, the Islanders need to be smart about how they handle him. While that's a common-sense mindset, the Islanders can also look back to recent history and how they handled veteran defenseman Scott Mayfield and goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwMjY0ODc3OTY3NjE1NTY2/usatsi_23153410-1.jpg] Mayfield, who entered the 2023-24 season with a new seven-year deal worth $3.5 million, suffered an ankle injury on night one of the season. Despite trying to play through it, in and out of the lineup in the first half, the Islanders eventually elected to shut him down for the season. It turns out that he played 41 games with a broken ankle, with the team opting for season-ending surgery. Now, Mayfield is back healthy, playing a much better game now that he can move around. However, had the Islanders shut Mayfield down immediately, could surgery have had him back a few months later? Early on, the surgery didn't seem necessary, but playing 41 games with an injury likely made it a little worse. A player that the Islanders didn't shut down during the season was Ilya Sorokin, who apparently suffered an offseason injury that led to back surgery. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNTM5MTI4NTQwODk5MTUz/usatsi_24687907.jpg] While a freak offseason injury certainly forced him to undergo surgery, anyone who watched the Islanders goalie last season knew that something was off. Sure, he wasn't hurt enough not to play, but it was clear that he looked like a shell of the goalie he was when he was a Vezina finalist in 2022-23. What made things more concerning was that the Islanders had made a long-term commitment to their star netminder, who signed an eight-year deal worth $8.25 million annually that began in 2024-25. The back surgery forced Sorokin to miss the first week of training camp and the entire preseason. But now back healthy, Sorokin has been brilliant, with a 2.35 GAA and a .921 SV% in eight starts. Romanov is proving to be a major part of the Islanders' success now and in the future, and they have to make sure he's 100 percent healthy before bringing him back. It does seem that's what they're going to do despite missing the entire left side of their defense.
