Islanders' Ilya Sorokin injured in the offseason
Yes, Lou Lamoriello said to address recent speculation, Ilya Sorokin did suffer an offseason injury. But no, the Islanders’ president/general manager added, he is not presently concerned about the franchise goalie missing time to start the season, the first of his eight-year, $66 million extension.
However, Lamoriello could not say that Sorokin, who is skating, will be ready for the start of training camp on Thursday because of the upper-body issue.
“During summer training, he had a little bit of an injury,” Lamoriello said on Friday, the second day of the Islanders’ prospect camp at Northwell Health Training Center in East Meadow. “He is skating. There’s nothing we are concerned about.
“When he comes back, I couldn’t tell you right now. Will he miss the first day? Maybe the first couple of days. But I’m going to leave that up to the trainers. We’re not going to take any chances.”
Asked specifically if he is worried that Sorokin will miss the start of the season — the Islanders open against Utah on Oct. 10 at UBS Arena — Lamoriello replied, “Not at this point.”
Lamoriello added that longtime fourth-liner Matt Martin will attend training camp on a professional tryout offer.
Martin, 35, has played 12 of his 14 NHL seasons with the Islanders — he dressed for Lamoriello’s Maple Leafs from 2016-18 — and had four goals, four assists and 43 penalty minutes in 57 games last season. Lamoriello said Martin’s longtime linemate, Cal Clutterbuck, who remains an unrestricted free agent, will not return.
“He’s a legitimate candidate,” Lamoriello said of Martin. “He’s trained. He wants to play. We’ll have to get through training camp and make the best decision we can make at that time.”
Lamoriello said 57 players will be on the training camp roster. Teams must cut down to a maximum of 23 by the start of the season.
The Islanders not only hope Sorokin will be on the initial roster but are counting on him to return to the elite form he showed in 2022-23, when he finished second in the Vezina Trophy balloting.
Sorokin, 29, went 25-19-12 with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage last season as Semyon Varlamov, 36, started four of the Islanders’ five playoff games. Sorokin was pulled from his lone start in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Hurricanes after allowing three goals on 14 shots.
Lamoriello said Sorokin’s injury did not hinder his offseason preparation.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “This is someone who’s extremely comfortable in his own skin. Mentally tough. Like Varly, players love to play in front of him. I have no reservations whatsoever of what we expect out of him, who he is, what he expects out of himself.”
Still, Lamoriello acknowledged there was a lack of organizational depth in net last season. Toward that end, the Islanders signed Marcus Hogberg, 29, who last played in the NHL for the Senators in 2021, and brought in Farmingville’s Keith Kinkaid, 35, who started his career with Lamoriello’s Devils and also has played for the Rangers, on a PTO.
Kinkaid has played 169 NHL games but only three since 2021, one each for the Rangers, Bruins and Avalanche.
“You never feel that sense of security,” said Kinkaid, who still resides on Long Island. “But it’s also good because you’ve got to prove yourself. That’s what I’m coming here to do, prove myself.
“I just want to do anything I can to turn heads. I’ve still got a lot left in the tank.”
Henrik Tikkanen, a seventh-round pick in 2020, and Tristan Lennox, a third-round pick in 2021, are the other goalies at prospect camp, though Lennox left Friday’s practice for an undisclosed reason. Jakub Skarek, a third-round pick in 2018, will attend training camp after struggling to a 7-22-6 mark, a 3.23 GAA and an .888 save percentage with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport last season.
Notes & quotes: Forwards Daylan Kuefler, a sixth-round pick in 2022, and Jesse Nurmi, taken in the fourth round in 2023, have yet to participate in prospect camp because of injury issues . . . The Islanders and the Clark Gillies Foundation have partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities New York Metro, which operates a facility in New Hyde Park, to build a hockey-themed room for children and their families while facing a medical issue. Construction is expected to begin next month.