Today We Analyze the New York Islanders Cap Crunch Heading into the Offseason

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I just learned to discover credit cards do something pretty awesome. At the end of your first year they automatically double all the cash back you've earned. That's right, everything you earned doubled. All the cash back from meeting at your favorite soup, dumpling restaurant, doubled. All the cash back from the trip where you sorta learned how to snowboard, also doubled. And the best part, you don't have to do anything ridiculous to get it. Nope, Discover does it automatically. Seriously though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com slash match. Today we discuss the Islanders salary cap situation heading into the off season and we discuss one move the team absolutely must make no matter who the general manager is. All that and more on today's Lockdown Islanders podcast. Slides it out for Egglack. Back to Hoffman, blocked by the whole lock out twice. Another spectacular stop. For Sartis it up and a save is made by Mabrovsky Nelson. Lars L with the Open Entity Scars. Hi and welcome to the Lockdown Islanders podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm your host, Gil Martin. I'm an Islanders columnist and historian and I wrote the book Ice Wars which covers the complete history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 to the modern era. And welcome everybody to the Thursday edition of the Lockdown Islanders podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to thank everybody for making Lockdown Islanders your first listen every day. And don't forget to subscribe on YouTube or on your podcast, your of choice so you can get new episodes every time they drop. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time, download the Game Time app, create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. We have got a lot to get to on today's show, but first if there's something Islanders related on your mind, if you have a question, a comment, maybe a subject you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, feel free to send us an email, the email address locked on Islanders at gmail.com. And if you leave your first name and where you're from, we're happy to mention you on the show when we discuss whatever it is that's on your mind. You could also follow the show on Twitter at locked on isles and you could follow me, Gil Martin on Twitter at Ice Wars, NYR, VSNYI. We'll keep you up to date throughout this busy off season on all the latest Islanders news notes and happenings, whether it's the draft free agency, trade rumors, hiring, firing, whatever it is, we'll keep you up to date on Lopt on Islanders. All right, so we discussed the front office yesterday. We talked about Lulamorello, we talked about Lane Lambert and every dayers, you know the analysis that I put forth and clearly what happens to Lulamorello, whether he retires, is told he's not getting a new contract or comes back, really is going to be the catalyst for whatever happens next during the off season. But that being as it may, one thing that whichever general manager the Islanders have, has to deal with during this off season is the salary cap and it's tricky because the Islanders right now don't have a lot of cap room and when you don't have a lot of cap room and you don't have a lot of prospects and we will in a future episode start talking about the form system and the prospects and how many players will even get a chance next year. So every dayers make sure you join us for that. But when you don't have a lot of young talent, you don't have a first or third round draft pick and you have a lot of veteran players and not a lot of cap room, you have an issue on your hands. So I wanted to start talking a little bit about the cap situation and we still do not officially know what the cap is going to be next year. The rumor is it will go up by about a million dollars so the cap ceiling will be approximately 83.5 million dollars and we'll let you know as soon as the official word comes in. But here's the deal as of yesterday or was it Monday, excuse me, when the Islanders signed Hudson Fashing to a two year one way deal that is worth $775,000 a year, the Islanders are approximately 77, they have $77.4 million officially with 19 players under the cap. Now Matthew Barzal and Bohorvat their new deals kick in starting next year. Barzy going to be paid $9.15 million or that's the cap hit at least, Bohorvat 8.5 million. So you have more than 17.5 million dollars wrapped up in those two players and look, let's face it, that means those guys have to produce. So the Islanders have about $6.2 million in cap space. We've talked before how it is very likely they will be buying out Josh Bailey. If they buy out Bailey, it gives them about $2.6 million, $2.7 million more. So that'll take them up to about $8.8 million, $8.7, $8.8 in available cap space. But again, it's a little more complicated than that because you have to start subtracting. You have some unrestricted free agents, you know not all of them are going to be back. We've talked about some of them, Scott Mayfield. Don't know even if they buy out Bailey how the Islanders could afford to give Scott Mayfield $3.4 million a year. And that's really I think 3 is even generous. I think 3.5 to 4 million is most likely what Mayfield will get on the open market, maybe even a little more. And even if he gives the Islanders a slight hometown discount, unless they juggle some contracts around and buy out another player or trade away a player or two, it'd be tough to see how the Islanders re-sign Mayfield just because another team will offer him more. And look, let's face it, Barry Trotts is the general manager now in Nashville. You think he doesn't want Scott Mayfield out there? We have that. We have Zach Parisse. Even if you pencil him in for another veteran minimum, $75,000 a year contract that's taking up a little more cap space. We did yesterday discuss semi and varlamov, Varley probably willing to come back at maybe 2.5 million, which is 2.5 million would be half of what he made the last few years that he was with the Islanders. But again, these numbers add up and all of a sudden you're looking at that cap space, which we said was about $8.8 million. And if Parisse would take you down to $8 million, Varley would take you down to $6 million. You keep going down. Once you're at $6 million, you're not getting a sniper, a top notch NHL goal scorer for less than that. So you'd have to luck into a young guy on an entry level contract or trade away a big contract in order to free up that space. Parker Wetherspoon also an unrestricted free agent, not so sure that he's priority one. He's a useful depth piece. But again, what are you going to do about, you know, depth on defense is a problem. And if Mayfield departs, it's an even bigger problem. They need a puck moving defenseman. Parker Wetherspoon is not really that. Maybe Samuel Bolduk, who's returning, could be that. But you need veterans like Wetherspoon in the organization. So the question is, can you resign him? Does he count against the cap if he sent and starts the season in Bridgeport? Again, a lot of juggling, a lot of stuff to figure out. And then you have two restricted free agents, Bolduk being one. And Oliver Wollstrom, who we talked about on yesterday's show, being another. So again, you're in a situation where if you're able to sign, Parisi Varlamov, I mean, Wollstrom is most likely to be back. But again, you're going to have to pay him at least two and a half million. You're probably going to have to pay Bolduk, somewhere between 750,000 and a million to keep him. If it's a one-way contract, you're squeezing that last $6 million even smaller and it really becomes more and more of an issue for the Islanders. Now you're talking about Wollstrom. I think you're talking about a bridge deal now. Two years, maybe three, two million a year, two and a half million a year. But again, all of that adds up. And if you don't sign Varlamov, you need to find another backup goalie. Maybe you could save half a million to a million dollars by bringing in another backup. But would you be better? And how does that affect Elya Sorokin? Lots of questions to think over here just before we get to the offseason. And this is just the salary cap stuff. So it'll be important. We'll see how the Islanders handle it and whether it's Lula Amorello or somebody else. This is something the Islanders need to figure out. We have got a lot more to discuss on today's show. We are going to talk a little more about the cap. We're also going to talk about the one big thing that whoever the Islanders general manager is, they have to do this offseason. We'll talk about that and a lot more on today's lockdown Islanders podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by Built Bar. If you're looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories, then you need the best tasting protein bar ever built. You got to try this. If you want to make healthier snack choices but you don't want to compromise on taste, go to Built Bar. They are all covered in 100% dark chocolate, real chocolate. Listen to some of these flavors. Peanut butter brownie, churro, my personal favorite, the cookies and cream and listen to the macros because they're outstanding. Each bar averages just 130 calories, only 4 grams of sugar but they pack a whopping 17 grams of protein. 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Seriously though, see terms and check it out for yourself at discover.com backslash match. So the cap, yeah, the cap. It's not going to be an easy thing for the Islanders to negotiate and the key in my mind, to get a little bit of cap help if you get some retirements. I mean that would probably be, you got buyouts and I think Bailey is going to be bought out. And the other issue obviously becomes any other players retiring. You know the Islanders ended this season with a small amount of cap space available. But coming up, do you want PR Engvall back? I've heard people say both things. I've heard a lot of people say yes. I've heard some people say, well, they didn't really show up enough in the playoff series. What do you have? One goal and one assist in the series. To me, here's the thing about Engvall and why I lean towards saying yeah, I want him back. And that is this. Engvall gives you speed and you don't have enough of it on this roster. So if you can get Engvall, bring him back, that really would help the team. And just to give you an idea of where he was at, he had a cap hit of $2.25 million this past year. You probably take a minimum of $2.5 million to get him back. We'll see if that's an investment the Islanders will, can or even want to make. Now he's going to be 27. It's not like he's old. We want this team to get younger, Engvall would help in that regard. But then there's retirement. So here's the thing about retirement. Matt Morton, and he hasn't said he wants to retire. This cap hit next year is only $1.5 million. It's not like, okay, if we trade or if Matt Morton retires, we get this large benefit. It helps. Cal Clutterbuck, next year, $1.75 million. Again, if Clutter, who is 35 going on 36, if he retires, you save a little money. But again, you are losing some of the leadership and some of the chemistry if you do that. I think all things considered, it makes more sense to move on from one or both of those players at this point because the physical style they play does take its toll on the body. But it becomes a real question about finding that money and putting it to good use. And the putting it to good use part is going to be vital for the New York Islanders. We'll see. What if anything they can do? Anders Lee, I've heard a lot of people say it's time to move on from Anders Lee. Here's the problem. $7 million cap hit three years left on his contract. Brock Nelson, $6 million cap hit two years left on his contract. To get Anders Lee, who's going to be 33 next season. And to get a team to take that $7 million a year contract, you're not going to get anything in return. In fact, not anything significant. In fact, the Islanders may have to throw in a draft pick possibly to get a team or pay part of that $7 million to get a team to take Lee. Now if you're paying part of the $7 million, you might be able to get something decent back. If you want a team to take on the whole $7 million, you may have to throw in a draft pick and you may get back a player who's nowhere near as productive, at least over the whole season as Anders Lee was. So this is not an easy dilemma. And I'll give you this. One reason that the cap situation is the way it is is because of the way Lulamarello and managed the cap. So you could talk all you want about the cap constraining what the Islanders are able to do. And it does. But who set up the cap this way? For the most part, the answer is Lulamarello and now that you set it up and you've got this problem, you need to find a way out of this dilemma. And if you can't do that, boy oh boy, is this team going to be in trouble because gotta get younger, gotta get faster, gotta get more skilled. And if they can't do that, I'm worried about this team. The players on the other hand don't seem to be as worried about this team and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, here's what Matthew Borsall told the hockey news. I think every year we can be in the playoffs and be a contender. Walsham getting hurt this year, but obviously he's going to be a big piece. You saw when he was playing just how much fire he brought in, adopts in or homestream next year. I think he's going to step up and so I think we're still headed. We're heading in the right direction. It's a lot to ask. It is a lot to ask for this team. It means Borsall stays healthy and picks up his game. It means that Horvat and Borsall get chemistry. It means that Horvat gives you at least 25 to 30 goals and plays better than he did down the stretch last year. And Beau Horvat had some interesting things to say about the trade and having to move and being away from his family and adjusting to the islander's system. And he said it's not an excuse, but it is reality and we do have to remember that hockey players are indeed people and they deal with a lot of the same day to day issues that we deal with. So can we get more from Beau Horvat in year two? I think we can, but we have to because $8.5 million, the pace that he scored at this year was not acceptable. I mean he only made $4.5 million this year and the islanders only had to pay the rest of the year, but 30 games, 7 goals, 16 points, that's a 16 goal pace, that's not going to get it done. And one goal, one assist in six playoff games and we know that goal was the meaningless short handed goal at the end of the game, that's not going to get it done. So it's a tight squeeze on the cap and whoever is the GM, whether it's Lula Morello, Chris Lamarello or somebody else who's brought in, they're going to have to make some trades and some buyouts and some LTIR if it comes to that and figure out how to get back some more cap space to get this team younger, faster and more skilled. Alright, we've got more to get to on today's show. One move that the general manager, whoever it is, absolutely has to make this year. We'll talk about that next on this episode of the LOCKdawn Islanders podcast. The following message was written by chat GPT. Get the inside scoop on everything NHL playoffs with LOCKdawn NHL. Join our expert hosts as they break down the latest news, games and predictions. From the hottest players to the biggest upsets, we've got you covered. Don't miss a beat this postseason, LOCKdawn NHL, available on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. LOCKdawn Podcast Network, your team every day. Two all-time greats are facing off in the NBA playoffs for a fifth time. LeBron James and the Lakers take on Steph Curry and the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals. You cannot find a second round playoff matchup in the NBA that is bigger than this one. The Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff series for the first time since 2004. And the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it's time to hand out some grades. For more on all these stories, head over to LOCKdawn Lakers, LOCKdawn Leafs and LOCKdawn NFL Draft. And check out LOCKdawn's new series, Paving the Way. Each episode will highlight a different voice from across the network. A LOCKdawn host whose journey in the industry has helped pave the way toward creating a more inclusive and diverse media landscape. That's Paving the Way presented by State Farm, available now on the LOCKdawn Presents Podcast Beat. Alright, here it is, the one move that the GM of the New York Islanders has to make. You have to sign an extension for Ilya Sorokin. Ilya Sorokin is going to earn $4 million next year and then he is an unrestricted free agent. And guess what? As an unrestricted free agent, the Islanders cannot afford to lose them. They don't have a goalie in their system right now who is even close to NHL ready. And we have discussed on this show so many times and in the comments on YouTube and in emails and, you know, every day or as you know what I'm talking about. But Oliver Wollstrom, this hockey team doesn't even sniff the playoffs. Right now he's earning $4 million a year. That number is probably going to at least double. And there's not a lot of cap space. So how, I mean there are a few more players who are going to come off the books by then. But again, not enough that you're really going to be able to spend that $8 million without making some changes between now and then. But Ilya Sorokin, how good is Ilya Sorokin? They haven't announced the VEZNA finalist yet. But when they do, I'm willing to bet he's one of the three. Ilya Sorokin was sixth in the league in goals against average with a 2.34. He played 60 games. None of the other players ahead of him played more than 48. He started 60. He played 62. None of them started more than 48 and played more than 49. Five percentage. Ilya Sorokin among qualified goalies third in the league with a 9.24 save percentage. The only players above him, Lina Solmark of Boston, Philip Gustafson of Minnesota. Olmark played 49 games. Gustafson 39 games. Sorokin 62. Shutouts. Ilya Sorokin. Numero Uno first in the league. Where is he lacking? And this should be no surprise to anybody who is an islander fan. Wins. He's ninth in wins with 31. Behind VEZNA, UC Sorrows. Andre Vazilevsky, Jake Ottinger, Igor Shisterkin, Connor Hellebuck, Alexander Giorgiev and Lina Solmark. The save percentage, the shutouts and the goals against average tell you how much Ilya Sorokin has carried this team and the fact that he's ninth in the league and wins illustrates how much that the islander's offense has been letting down Ilya Sorokin. You gotta get an extension done and I'll tell you another reason why. First of all, the price, the salary cap goes up, it's gonna go up at least another million, million and a half expected next year but the salaries go up and this offseason there will be goalies who are free agents who are gonna get big paychecks and you gotta know Ilya Sorokin's agent is just looking at that and saying, my guys, better than this guy who just signed a nine million dollar contract, pay me. And you know what, he deserves every dollar he would get, the price is only gonna go up, Sorokin is probably gonna have another banner a year next year. If you get the contract signed this offseason instead of waiting for next offseason, you'll probably save somewhere between half a million and a million and a half dollars a year and that can only help the islanders who are already up against the cap. Plus which, without Ilya Sorokin, this team will be pretty bad unless they find another elite goalie to replace him and elite goalies do not grow on trees. Alright, time for our islanders birthday of the day and this is a very popular player and if you grew up an islander fan in the mid to late 90s, he was probably the most popular player on the team. We're a day early here but Friday will be the 51st birthday of former islanders winger Zigman Palfey, the Slovakia native, a second round pick of the aisles back in 1991, 26th overall so that'd be a first rounder today. Main is debut with the aisles in 93-94 but put together 3 straight 40 plus goal seasons on some pretty bad islanders teams. 43 goals in 95-96, 48 goals and 90 points, both career highs in 1996-97 and then 45 goals in 87 points in 97-98. Only played 50 games in 98-99 and had 50 points, 22 goals and then was traded to the LA Kings. Later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and finished his career in Slovakia, 684 career NHL games, 329 goals, 713 points, 322 penalty minutes, played in 24 playoff games but guess what, none of them with the islanders. During the fishermen jersey era he was the face of the franchise and deservedly so. One of his better games with the islanders and there were so many home game at the old barn March 5th, 1996, welcome in the Boston Bruins, Bill Ranford in goal for Boston, Eric Fischo, the netminder for the aisles and guess what, Ziggy Palfey, a hat trick and an assist, he got the game winning goal, he scored the 3 goals on 5 shots on goal, 2 of them coming on the power play as the islanders beat the Bruins by a score of 5-3, none of the goals were empty net goals so Palfey, getting the hat trick the hard way, he gave this team hope while he was here and the islanders just weren't going to pay him back then, they just weren't spending money and they ended up trading Palfey to LA, a deal that broke the hearts of a lot of islander fans but Ziggy Palfey is our islanders birthday of the day. Want to thank everybody for making lockdown islanders your first listen every day, every dayers don't forget tomorrow on the show. We will start breaking down player by player this roster, talk about whether this player met expectations or exceeded expectations or fell below expectations, we'll talk about their potential role on the team next year and a whole lot more so we're going to go player by player through this roster as we begin our off season evaluations until then have a great day everybody, stay safe and of course let's go islanders. 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And the 2023 NFL draft is in the books which means it's time to hand out some grades. For more on all these stories head over to locked on Lakers, locked on Leafs and locked on NFL draft. Then check out locked on's new series, Paving the Way. Each episode will highlight a different voice from across the network, a locked on host whose journey in the industry has helped pave the way toward creating a more inclusive and diverse media landscape. That's Paving the Way presented by State Farm, available now on the Locked On Presents podcast feed. A Prime Member, you can listen to this locked on podcast ad free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today! ♪♪♪♪♪