Mathew Barzal is in town, but not yet signed to a deal with Islanders
Mathew Barzal of the Islanders handles the puck on his way to scoring a goal against the Flyers during the second period in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on Sept. 3 in Toronto. Credit: Getty Images/Elsa
Mathew Barzal is not yet signed to a new contract, but the Islanders’ top player is in town, quarantining and working with the team to get a deal done so he can be on the ice when training camp opens Sunday, according to Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello.
When asked if it is crucial to have Barzal practicing with the team on the first day, Lamoriello said on a Zoom call Thursday: "We still have a few days to training camp, so I don’t want to get into any hypotheticals. It is our intention [and] his intention to be there. And hopefully that will happen.’’
Barzal, 23, who led the team in scoring last season with 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games, is a restricted free agent. Figuring out what his worth is in an NHL landscape greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is no simple task.
With the league and all of its teams having lost money because of the effects of the pandemic, and with the salary cap remaining flat at $81.5 million for at least the next two seasons, Barzal most likely will sign some kind of short-term bridge deal. That would buy time for both sides with the idea that the 6-foot, 187-pounder can cash in a couple of years down the road, when both sides hope the league’s finances will be in a better place.
A potential comparable negotiation ended Thursday when the Columbus Blue Jackets and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, 22, agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal that the team said calls for salaries of $3.35 million in the first year and $6.65 million in the second year.
Dubois has 65 goals and 158 points in 234 career games with Columbus. Barzal has 59 goals and 207 points in 234 games with the Islanders.
In speaking to a group of local media, Lamoriello did confirm that the team has agreed to contracts that bring back free-agent forward Matt Martin and defenseman Andy Greene, plus a deal to bring in goaltender Cory Schneider. Details of those deals were not immediately available.
Greene and Schneider are former New Jersey Devils who played for Lamoriello there. Greene was acquired at the trade deadline in February and was a solid performer for the Isles in their playoff run to the Eastern Conference finals. Schneider, who replaced Martin Brodeur as the Devils’ top goalie, will provide veteran depth behind Semyon Varlamov and rookie Ilya Sorokin.
The Islanders will be counting on Sorokin, 25, a third-round pick in 2014 from Russia, to step right into the NHL and have a major impact in goal. The team will need him to be solid as he replaces popular Thomas Greiss, who signed as a free agent with the Red Wings in the offseason.
Sorokin was signed to a two-year contract by the team before the NHL season’s restart in August, but he was ineligible to play in the 2020 postseason. He did go with the team to Toronto and Edmonton and was able to practice and work with the team’s goalie coaching staff.
Lamoriello said he has been working to prepare himself for the jump from the KHL to the NHL.
"He’s been here in town for a month-and-a-half now, working on his English and certainly skating with the [Islanders’ other] players on their own,’’ Lamoriello said. "He’s a talented young man, a quality individual.’’
Lamoriello acknowledged that Sorokin will need to adjust to the smaller rinks in the NHL and called it "unfortunate’’ that the 6-2, 176-pounder won’t be able to get any preseason games to help with the adjustment.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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