Just in case there was any ambiguity in regard to the way he views the game, Lou Lamoriello made clear Saturday afternoon that, to him, it’s the goalies, first and foremost, who provide the foundation for success.
An eight-year, $66 million contract extension for Ilya Sorokin that kicks in in 2024-25 and a four-year, $11 million deal to keep free agent Semyon Varlamov were only the latest reflections of the Islanders general manager’s philosophy.
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He reiterated that himself.
“That has been my philosophy and my past,” Lamoriello said. “I just believe in that, from studying the league and watching different teams who maybe could have had success (and) maybe didn’t.”
Lamoriello obviously believes that the current Islanders team, first-round losers in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, can still have success. It’s why he also kept around two other players who were free to test the market in defenseman Scott Mayfield (seven years, $24.5 million) and Pierre Engvall (seven years, $21 million). Only Zach Parise, who will either return to the Islanders or retire, and Oliver Wahlstrom, a restricted free agent under team control, have yet to be re-upped by the club.
That Lamoriello wanted to keep the band together was something he’s mentioned a few times in recent weeks. In order to do that, though, the lengths of the deals for all four players he signed Saturday are potentially too long.
On the flip side, that surely brought their annual average values down to numbers that were manageable for a team that is tight to the salary cap. Mayfield’s salary was expected to be in the $4 million to $5 million range — too much for a third-pair defenseman — so his $3.5 million is palatable for the short term. Engvall’s $3 million AAV might have been higher had he been on a shorter-term deal, too, and he fit in nicely after he was acquired from Toronto in March.
Islanders contract grades with @seangentille
Sorokin! Engvall! Mayfield! Varlamov! Long ass contracts for everyone!!!https://t.co/mdCdWzVnmq
— dom 📈 (@domluszczyszyn) July 1, 2023
Lamoriello called the 30-year-old Mayfield “unheralded” for what he brings to the team in terms of his physicality and ability to penalty kill, while Engvall, 27, is a player he’s known since he was the general manager in Toronto and believes “he’s only going to get better and better.”
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“You sort of judge to keep the AAV down where a player would be today in the first several years of the contract, and then where they might be in the latter part of the contract,” Lamoriello said. “Try and get it so it’s a manageable number on both ends.”
Lamoriello confirmed that Sorokin’s deal came together quickly, as July 1 was the first day an extension for the Vezina Trophy finalist could be announced. Getting the 27-year-old franchise goalie locked up before he entered the final season of his contract was always going to be a priority.
“You don’t want a player of his stature to go into the last year of his contract,” Lamoriello said. “I think it’s a lot of pressure on the player. It would be a lot of media pressure, on what his thoughts are and so forth. … Once you get along in the season, it’s a distraction. This will not be a distraction to anyone.”
Varlamov was steadfast in his desire to remain with the Islanders, as he’s comfortable being the No. 2 to his good friend and countryman. And while he’s still a more-than-serviceable goalie — he’ll arguably be the best backup goalie in the NHL when the season starts — Varlamov is also 35 years old. In other words, he’ll be 39 by the time his new contract expires.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone any better than Varly as far as how he takes care of his body, how he prepares for each day of practice, how he, post-practice and postgame, takes care of his body,” Lamoriello said. “He might be a 35-year-old, but I’ve seen a lot of 26-, 27-year-olds I wish were in the shape that he is in.”
Consequently, the Islanders’ roster hasn’t yet undergone any changes since the 2022-23 season concluded.
“I thought the players wanted to come back,” Lamoriello said, “just trying to work out a situation that’s fair for both parties. We’re pleased we were able to accomplish it.”
So with only a little more than a million dollars in salary-cap space available and Parise and Wahlstrom still yet to be signed, Lamoriello can put his feet up and his phone on silent and wait for the start of training camp in September.
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Right?
Somewhat surprisingly … no. And though this might give some Islanders fans who remember last summer’s inactivity a nightmare or two, Lamoriello did clearly indicate that a “hockey trade” could be on the horizon. That was something that was essentially promised a year ago but didn’t come to fruition until the Bo Horvat acquisition Jan. 31.
“We’ve signed the free agents with the dollars that we had available, and now to get better as everyone tries to do, it will be a hockey trade,” Lamoriello said. “I think that you’ll find that to be a similar situation throughout the National Hockey League, after the next day or so.”
Prior to the news dump Saturday afternoon — a text message at 4:47 p.m. announced all four of the signings — the chatter regarding the Islanders was about Alex DeBrincat and the team’s reported interest in acquiring the talented winger.
According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, the Islanders, Capitals, Stars and Predators were pondering the 25-year-old, now a restricted free agent. Meanwhile, the Capitals added forward Max Pacioretty, the Stars inked free-agent winger Matt Duchene, while Barry Trotz’s Predators made a whole flurry of moves, including signing center Ryan O’Reilly and winger Gustav Nyquist.
Garrioch later added that the term here is the key, and that “DeBrincat’s agent has been given permission to discuss terms with some teams. Has found out he can’t get the kind of term that Ottawa is offering.”
DeBrincat's agent has been given permission to discuss terms with some teams. Has found out he can't get the kind of term that Ottawa is offering. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) July 1, 2023
If the Islanders are, in fact, speaking with the Senators about DeBrincat, it’s easy to see why they might balk at giving the winger a long-term deal, particularly after adding 26 more years worth of contracts Saturday. If DeBrincat commands, say, between $8 million to $9 million annually and wants at least six or seven years, the Islanders won’t leave themselves with much flexibility for the future, even with the salary cap set to significantly rise in 2024-25.
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There’s also the question as to whether DeBrincat is worth that kind of money. His production dipped last season to 27 goals and 66 points in 82 games, after he managed 41 goals and 78 points in 82 games in 2021-22 with Chicago.
One league source who watched plenty of DeBrincat in Ottawa last season spoke about the pros and cons of his game.
“I think it took him a little while to get used to the (Senators) system,” the source said. “A little bit more structure than maybe he played in in Chicago. He was snakebitten, though. He would get chances and just wouldn’t score. There was a time later in the year when he lost his confidence. But he worked hard. He tried to be aggressive on the forecheck and all that.”
The Senators loaded up their top line with Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux in the second half, leaving DeBrincat to play with lesser players on the second line. DeBrincat’s shooting percentage dropped about 5 percentage points last season, too, indicating that he might have been a victim of some tough luck.
“He’s playing behind Brady Tkachuk, that’s the bottom line,” the source continued. “What happens if he plays with Stützle? I don’t know. That’s a different scenario. … He wasn’t playing with Patrick Kane anymore.
“At the same time — should he need people to drive the line (if he’s getting paid) $9 million, or should he drive the line? That was one of the talking points. It’s a legitimate talking point. But on the flip side, the hardest thing to do in the league is score goals. If he’s going to score you 40 goals, ($8 million to $9 million is) what you’re paying him. That’s the counterargument.”
The Islanders, of course, would have to move out money to acquire DeBrincat. And, perhaps the winger is willing to take a one-year deal before trying to cash in next summer when the salary cap is set to rise, like a handful of other players did Saturday.
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Former Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (and his $5 million salary-cap hit for the next three seasons) is the likeliest player who would move, as the Islanders have four other NHL centers in Horvat, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal, assuming Barzal goes back to the middle after playing on the right side of Horvat before his injury in February and in the playoffs.
Putting DeBrincat on a line with Barzal could naturally help bolster the Islanders offense, as well as what was a rubbish power play.
“Barzal, the way he can hold onto the puck … if DeBrincat is on the ice with Barzal, that’s going to create some scoring chances,” the source said.
Time will tell whether Lamoriello has a dancing partner this time around.
“We will do everything we can to make any transactions we can to make us better,” he said. “As we’ve always said, it takes two, but we are certainly open to hockey trades.”
(Photo of Semyon Varlamov and Scott Mayfield: Jonathan Kozub / NHLI via Getty Images)
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