Free-agent focus on New York Islanders

F Simon Holmström – It was a true breakout season for Holmström. He finished the year fourth on the team in scoring with 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games. Even more impressive, he reached that mark while operating from New York’s second power-play unit, and with only six total points on the man-advantage. It was a major step forward, fueled largely by Holmström’s increased confidence on and around the puck. He, surprisingly, matched his 20.8 shooting percentage from last season, when he scored 15 goals and 25 points in 75 games. But Holmstrom generated 56 more shot attempts this year than he did last. He was a true driver of play, and finished the year with a firm spot in the Islanders’ top-six. Holmström just turned 24 years old and stands as one of the Islanders’ highest potentials for next season, so long as he can maintain his top-end shooting luck. A two-year bridge deal, or long-term extension, seem like the only two options if New York wants to best control his prime.

D Alexander Romanov – New York will face another tough call as they approach a new deal with Romanov. He grew into true top-pair minutes this season, and seemed to maintain his bruting, defensive presence into matchups against the league’s best. But he was also not a stop gap, and didn’t offer the toughest safety net behind Dobson. That led Romanov to 20 points and a plus-five in 64 games this season, the latter stat 18 marks lower than his total last year. He’s shown his might as an NHL defender before the age of 26, but offers little flashiness. Darche will have to find what salary falls between those factors, though Romanov seems like a good bet to sign a hardy extension.

F Maxim Tsyplakov – Tsyplakov’s rookie season stood as one of the brightest spots of New York’s otherwise underwhelming season. He scored 10 goals and 35 points through 77 games on the season, good for ninth among all rookies in scoring. That’s an impressive feat on a team that ranked in the bottom-five of total scoring. Tsyplakov manned second-line minutes through points in the season, and projects as a hardy piece of the Islanders’ middle-six next year. One year in, he likely won’t have the pedigree to command much of a raise from his $950K cap hit this season – though at 26 years old, even a bridge deal would likely carry him through his prime years.

F Marc Gatcomb – Gatcomb didn’t carry the same lineup role as his RFA peers, but he’ll be another head-scratcher for Darche to consider ahead of July 1st.  He split the season nearly perfectly between the NHL and AHL – netting eight goals and nine points in 39 games in the NHL, and nine goals and 17 points in 35 AHL games. He came up as a big moment player more than once, even if his dull spots were far from impactful. Gatcomb has pro size at 6-foot-2, 195-pounds and knows how to use it properly from a bottom-six role. His next deal is almost certainly going to come at, or close to, $1MM – but plans for what lineup he should start next year on will have to soon follow.

D Scott Perunovich – The Islanders acquired Perunovich for a conditional fifth-round pick in a January trade with the St. Louis Blues. He was apart of their extended effort to find puck-moving defenders in the second-half. Of the trio of defenders added – Perunovich, Adam Boqvist, and Tony DeAngelo – it was the former who posted the dullest moments. Perunovich recorded just three assists and a minus-four in 11 games with the Islanders, after netting six points in 24 games with the Blues. He’s an undeniably mobile defender, but now has just 32 points in 108 career games. That stat line doesn’t illicit much upside, and could leave Islanders looking elsewhere for depth this summer. If the ydecide to stick with Perunovich, he’ll likely come at a fairly cheap price.

Other RFAs: F Liam Foudy, F Ruslan Iskhakov, F Adam Beckman, D Samuel Bolduc, D Travis Mitchell, D Aidan Fulp

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Matt Martin – The 36-year-old Martin remains undecided on whether he’ll continue his playing career into its 16th season next year. All but two of those seasons have been spent in an Islanders journey, and usually in a bruising role on the fourth-line. He’s lost some of his grit in his sunset years, and posted just two assists and 10 penalty minutes in 32 games this season. But Martin is also a mainstay of the modern-day Islanders, and deserves to take his final lap on Long Island. If he chooses to push for one more year, New York could likely fit in a league-minimum contract and moot lineup role. But this late in his career, it doesn’t seem like Martin will offer more than a strong veteran presence.

F Hudson Fasching – Fasching seemed to be getting his legs moving beneath him over the last few seasons. He finally won out a platoon lineup role in 2022-23 and recorded 19 points in 49 games. But that mark slipped to 14 points in 45 games last year – and continued to slide to just four points in 43 games this year. With the decreased scoring has come more-and-more knocks to his ice time. He’s struggled to make something of a surge into New York’s bottom-six, and may be best suited with a prove-it deal in a new location this summer. Fasching has also appeared in games with the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes – and has 40 points in 175 career appearances. He’d be a low-risk, low-reward option if the Islanders want to shore up their depth, though it seems they’d find better upside in their prospect pool.

D Mike Reilly – Reilly appeared in just 18 games this season. He was diagnosed with a heart condition that required surgery in November and sat out of the lineup until late-March. By that time, New York had added a trio of defenders to compete for Reilly’s NHL minutes, and the aged-veteran had little platform to jump back into a role. He was a strong depth piece in New York last season, when he posted a career-high six goals, 24 points, and plus-28 in 59 games. If his health allows him to surge back into that hardy role, Reilly will be a name worth signing to a low-stakes contract. But if not, New York may need to find a way to replace his role with a younger option.

D Tony DeAngelo – One candidate to stick in Reilly’s role could be DeAngelo, who joined the Islanders midseason after starting the year with SKA St. Petersburg of Russia’s KHL. His move was scrutinized, but through the allure DeAngelo managed an admirable 19 points in 35 games, or an 82-game pace of 45 points. That’s the scoring surge New York needed from their depth defenders, even if it came at the cost of DeAngelo’s minus-11. It will be the Islanders to determine if that performance was enough to return DeAngelo to the NHL full-time.

Other UFAs: F Julien Gauthier, F Frederik Karlstrom, F Tyce Thompson, D Grant Hutton, G Jakub Skarek

Projected Cap Space

The Islanders will enter the summer with a projected $20.94MM in cap space. That’s a solid budget, but it will get quickly eaten up by the hefty deals likely due to each of Dobson, Romanov, and Holmstrom. With a handful more players worth re-signing in the mix, the Islanders could be confined to internal deals and little improvements this summer. Luckily, they’ll pick first overall for the first time since 2009, and almost certainly find a future star who will impact the lineup sooner rather than later.

Contract information per PuckPedia.