Islanders sign Maxim Shabanov to one-year entry-level contract

The New York Islanders announced on Wednesday that general manager Mathieu Darche and the team have agreed to terms on a one-year, entry-level contract with forward Maxim Shabanov.

Shabanov, a 24-year-old winger who has spent the past three full seasons as a member of Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL, was highly sought after on the open market.

The Islanders did not make contract details available as part of their release, but PuckPedia reported the contract as carrying a salary cap hit of $975,000.

In 2024-2025 with Traktro, Shabanov racked up 23 goals and 44 assists for 67 points in his 65 games played. In the Gagarin Cup playoffs, he was good for 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 21 games to go with a plus-14 rating.

This marks the second consecutive offseason in which the Islanders have landed a coveted, experienced forward from Russia.

Last year, Lou Lamoriello managed to bring on Maxim Tsyplakov, who is currently a restricted free agent. Tsyplakov took some time to find his footing in North America, but he found his game and wound up producing 35 points in 77 regular season games.

Shabanov was more productive than Tsyplakov in the KHL, and he’s also considerably smaller. Head coach Patrick Roy will be tasked with finding a way to successfully incorporate him into the team’s lineup.

The Islanders are set to run back a largely similar forward group to the one from last season, with the two other notable additions being Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman.

Heineman was acquired in the trade that sent Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens, and Drouin was the team’s biggest signing on July 1.

The Islanders missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-2025 for the first time since 2022, as they went 35-35-12 to finish sixth place in the Metropolitan Division.