The New York Islanders made the right move extending Ilya Sorokin
By Jim Lynch
The New York Islanders extended a major piece of their future success on Saturday right at the start of free agency. On the first day available, Ilya Sorokin signed a massive eight year extension with the Islanders keeping him with the team through 2031-32.
The New York Islanders made the right move extending Ilya Sorokin.
Sorokin has one more year on his current contract that carries a $4 million AAV. This new contract is wroth $66 million and will carry an AAV of $8.25 million for the next eight seasons.
Sorokin will have the third largest salary on the Islanders starting in 2024-25 when this massive contract kicks in. Only Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat will make more money. This is the right contract to give out to your All-Star goaltender.
Sorokin posted a 32-22-7 record this past season, and his numbers were also great with a 2.34 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. His outstanding season made him the runner up for the Vezina Trophy and he was a big factor in the Islanders even making the playoffs this season.
Goaltenders can play a long time in the league at an elite level. The fact that Sorokin starts this deal at the age of 28 might seem risky, but at the same time he will definitely still be a great goaltender at the age of 35 and 36. Plus, the salary cap will have risen by the end of this contract that $8 million might not be as hefty of a price as it is currently.
The Islanders gave out a lot of term in this contract. While they might have liked to go just six years on a deal with Sorokin, that would have caused the price to rise on this contract a bit more, and I do not think the team would be prepared to give out anything more than $8.25 million for Sorokin.
The Islanders might not be as lucky as the Rangers are to have Igor Shesterkin signed for just $5.666 million, but to get a goaltender like Sorokin for $1.25 million cheaper than Andrei Vasilevskiy definitely is something that benefits this team.
Sorokin is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and now the New York Islanders have secured that he will be with the team for the foreseeable future.