For fans wondering what is going on in with the New York Islanders, it might not seem like it, but they’ve been conducting business as usual. At least, that’s what people believe. They also believe the Islanders simply aren’t telling anyone about it. While multiple teams have jumped into the NHL free agent market in a big way, the Islanders have chosen to keep all their acquisitions and signings to themselves. That said, speculation is they’ve made a number of key decisions.
As per Arthur Staple of The Athletic, no one can confirm with certainty that deals with players like Kyle Palmieri, Casey Cizikas, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac are done. But, the belief is that they are.
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Staple notes that other NHL executives are all wondering what’s going on, but the scribe writes:
The prevailing wisdom from a couple of league sources as to why Lamoriello has chosen this path of ultra-secrecy is this: Lamoriello does not want anyone in the league to know where the Islanders are with their salary-cap space right now, so he’s not announcing any deals that are already agreed upon or even filing them with the league, which would quickly leak them out to the world.
The reason many believe these deals are in the bag is because all four players have high profile agents who would be making it clear as day their clients are available if they weren’t already signed somewhere. In other words, these agents would be out there pounding the pavement trying to get their clients signed. They aren’t doing that.
As such, we can deduce these players have been signed. What we don’t know is what kinds of deals these players have signed.
Parise is believed to have signed a one-year contract with performance bonuses. That’s not a given. Palmieri’s deal could be multiple (three to five) years and anywhere from $4 million to $5.5 million per year. No one knows for sure. Cizikas, who asked for $5 million per year from Seattle likely signed for something close with the Islanders.
What About Other Free Agents?
And, when it comes to free agents the team might have signed that weren’t already with the team, that’s where things get interesting. Staple wonders if the Islanders have inked a player like Ryan Murray. It’s been speculated the Edmonton Oilers have made a pitch for the defenseman but there’s no news there. If he’s already signed in New York, that could explain why.
The Islanders were also believed to be in on talks to acquire Vladimir Tarasenko in a trade from St. Louis. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has a reputation for pulling out of trades if word leaks that a deal is close. If it is, that would explain why St. Louis hasn’t said much, other than Tarasenko could come back to the team, which most people know isn’t likely.
Really, no one has a clue what Lamoriello is up to. All that anyone seems to know for sure is that he’s doing business under the radar and he’s intentionally keeping it hush hush.
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