The Park Chat With Goring & Trottier The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/maxim-tsyplakov-new-york-islanders-signing-forward-khl-free-agent-lamoriello] winning out a bidding war for a prized player, in this economy? There was so much interest in the 25-year-old Russian forward Maxim Tsyplakov, but somehow, he's Long Island-bound, inking a one-year entry-level contract on Thursday afternoon. Scout Jim Paliafito deserves stick taps. His specialty is bringing European players to the NHL, like Ilya Mikheyev, Nikita Zaitsev, and Alexander Barabanov, so he has done a good job here. But there had to be more for the Islanders to beat out reportedly 11 other teams, per The Athletic [https://twitter.com/RussoHockey/status/1790491068527427591], including the cross-town rival New York Rangers. When was the last time a free agent who had the choice to choose New York City chose Long Island? Players who get traded to Long Island always want to stay, but getting players to come on their own is a completely different story. Some players who come from overseas have no issues acclimating to a new way of life. But having teammates who come from their country and speak their language certainly helps calm nerves. It just so happens that the Islanders have been padding their Russian player pool over the last few years. First, it was Semyon Varlamov who joined the Islanders ahead of the 2019-20 season before helping to bring top goaltender prospect Ilya Sorokin over from the KHL in 2020. Then, at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal, the Islanders acquired Montreal Canadiens defenseman and former KHL player Alexander Romanov. Not only did they bring this player aboard, but Varlamov has three more years left on his deal, Sorokin has eight more years left, and Romanov is likely to get a long-term deal before his contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. Prospect Ruslan Iskhakov joined the organization ahead of the 2022-23 season, starting with the Bridgeport Islanders before making his NHL debut in Game 82 of this past season. He remained on the team for the playoffs, playing in Game 4, and is a pending restricted free agent. Now, the Islanders aren't the only team in the NHL with Russian players. The Rangers have Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin. The Maple Leafs, who were very active in acquiring Tsyplakov, only have one Russian in Ilya Lyubushkin. The Golden Knights, who always find salary cap space, have two Russians in Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev. The list goes on... Were the Islanders' Russians the sole reason why Tysplakov agreed to come to Long Island? No, probably not, but something had to elevate the Islanders above the rest of the interested parties, especially after a shaky regular season and lackluster first-round playoff series. Maybe it was former Islander Shane Prince (2016-2018) who played with Tysplakov for the last two seasons in the KHL. Outside of the beautiful beaches and quick train ride to New York City, having Russian teammates (Romanov and Sorokin are essentially brothers at this point) likely gave Tysplakov the comfort of knowing that he could come to Long Island and focus on his game rather than having to juggle more than just his job. TOP STORIES
