New York Islanders Free Agency Outlook, Potential Fits
By Ryan Ritchie
New York Islanders Free Agency Preview/Outlook, Salary Cap Situation, Restricted Free Agents, Team Needs, and Potential Fits
With just days winding down until the July 1st free agency period, the New York Islanders still have several key players without contracts.
The team has spent a little over $57 million towards the 2016-17 salary cap, and still have to (potentially) re-sign Matt Martin, Ryan Strome, and Shane Prince (among others). UFAs Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen should each be looking for a new club on Friday.
New York Islanders had a strong season in 2015-16. They went 45-27-10 with 100 points, finishing 4th in the Metropolitan Division.
Claiming the top Wild-Card spot, New York drew Atlantic Division winner Florida Panthers in the first round (who finished just three points ahead in overall standings).
The Islanders managed to upset the Panthers in six games during the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unfortunately, they fell short in five games to Tampa Bay in round two.
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New York Islanders Free Agency Outlook/Preview
Salary Cap Committed to 2016-17: $57,578,975
Number of Players Signed: 35
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents: Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton, Marek Zidlicky, Brian Strait, Mike Halmo, Kevin Czuczman, James Wright, Joe Whitney, Marc-Andre Cliche
Notable Restricted Free Agents: Ryan Strome, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube, Kirill Petrov, Alan Quine
Regardless of whether GM Garth Snow is able to re-sign Frans Nielsen or not, the New York Islanders will have money to spend in free agency.
A top priority should include finding a new linemate for superstar John Tavares.
Now that expansion is officially announced, the Islanders face a few tough decisions regarding their blue line. Teams can only protect three defenders, which likely leaves Calvin de Haan and Thomas Hickey exposed/unprotected.
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New York Islanders Free Agency Team Needs
Top-Six Wingers, Bottom-Six Forwards, Depth Forwards
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From between the pipes out to the blue line, New York is built strong and deep.
The same cannot be said for their offensive group, although several promising prospects do exist (i.e. Michael Dal Colle, Anthony Beauvillier, and Josh Ho-Sang).
The amount of activity we can expect for Garth Snow beyond July 1st is still unclear.
Much of it will depend on who exactly the team decides to re-sign, and which prospects they think will be NHL ready this Fall.
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Potential New York Islanders Free Agency Targets
Top-Six Wingers: Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson, Mikkel Boedker, Troy Brouwer, David Backes, David Perron
Bottom-Six Wingers: Nathan Gerbe, Chris Stewart, Dale Weise, Tuomo Ruutu, Jamie McGinn, Nick Spaling, Brett Connolly, Dale Weise, Linden Vey, Patrick Bordeleau, Mike Santorelli, Landon Ferraro
Depth Forwards: Quinton Howden, Ben Smith, Danny Kristo, Luke Adam, Christian Thomas, Brian Gibbons, Mike Blunden, Zach Sill, Aaron Palushaj
*Salary/Free Agent information was obtained through www.generalfanager.com