Islanders lose Adam Pelech for the rest of the season
Islanders' Adam Pelech collides with the Kings' Blake Lizotte during the second period on Nov. 27, 2019, in Los Angeles. Credit: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
TORONTO — Lou Lamoriello termed it a “freak injury” and later lamented that this was one conference call he would have wished to avoid.
That’s because losing stalwart defenseman Adam Pelech for at least the remainder of the regular season leaves a giant hole in the Islanders’ lineup. The team announced Friday morning that Pelech suffered an Achilles tendon injury before Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to the Devils at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum.
“It was just pregame warm-ups,” said Lamoriello, the Islanders’ president and general manager. “Certainly, a freak accident that could’ve happened to anyone. Unfortunately, it’s his Achilles, which will need repair.”
Though coach Barry Trotz spreads his ice time fairly equally among the defensemen, Pelech’s pairing with Ryan Pulock could be considered the Islanders’ top pair.
Sebastian Aho, 23, a fifth-round pick in 2017 with 22 games of NHL experience, was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Aho, named an AHL All-Star on Friday, will be available when the Islanders face the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
Thomas Hickey, a lefthanded shooter like Pelech who has played 449 games for the Islanders since 2013 but was reassigned to Bridgeport out of training camp, currently is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
When asked if Pelech might be available to return if the Islanders qualify for the postseason, Lamoriello could not pinpoint exactly how long he will be sidelined.
“I always feel you give the worst scenario,” he said. “Everybody heals different. This type of injury usually takes around four months.”
That might mean Pelech would not be available until the third round of the playoffs.
Lamoriello also would not specify exactly how Pelech was injured during his pregame routine.
“I’m not going to get into what it was,” he said. “In pregame warm-ups, not on the ice, which they go through naturally every day. And it was a freak accident, that’s the best way to put it.”
Pelech, 25, had a goal and eight assists in 38 games this season.
Aho, who had a goal and three assists in 22 games for the Islanders in 2017-18, also is a lefthander. But if rookie Noah Dobson, who dressed in his 12th game Thursday, goes into the lineup instead of Aho, it would give the Islanders four righthanders in Dobson, Pulock, Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield and two lefthanders in Nick Leddy and Devon Toews.
Aho has two goals and 18 assists in 34 games for Bridgeport this season.
“Aho had an outstanding year in the minors,” Lamoriello said. “Young Dobson has been getting experience here. Hickey has been injured. He’s in a recover situation. Right now, with the depth we have, we certainly feel we can get the job done.”
The NHL trade deadline is Feb. 24, and Lamoriello’s priority seemed to be bolstering the Islanders’ forward production, possibly by acquiring a top-six wing potentially at the cost of defense depth.
This might change that.
“You don’t replace a player like Adam Pelech at the trade deadline,” Lamoriello said. “He’s one of the top defensemen at this point.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
