Islanders, Kyle Palmieri agree to two-year deal
Kyle Palmieri. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Smithtown’s Kyle Palmieri is remaining on Long Island.
That’s because, one day later, new Islanders general manager/executive director Mathieu Darche proved he does like the team’s core group of players.
The Islanders announced on Friday that Palmieri, a pending unrestricted free agent, had agreed to a two-year extension and depth defenseman Adam Boqvist, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, had agreed to a one-year deal.
“There’s a lot of good players on this team,” Darche said on Thursday during his introductory news conference at UBS Arena. “That core here has had success the last little while. It was a tougher year last year.”
The Islanders finished 35-35-12 in their first full season under coach Patrick Roy, whom Darche said on Thursday he is retaining, and missed the playoffs for the second time in four seasons. That prompted the Islanders to announce on April 22 that president/GM Lou Lamoriello would not have his contract renewed after seven seasons.
“I think this team could have been a playoff team,” Darche said. “Probably should have been a playoff team. Do we have work to do to improve it? Of course we do.”
Palmieri’s new contract carries an annual average value of $4.75 million and, according to PuckPedia.com, carries a no-trade clause in its first season and a modified no-trade clause for 2026-27. Boqvist will have a salary-cap charge of $850,000.
Palmieri, 34, acquired from the Devils on April 7, 2021, had 24 goals and 24 assists in 82 games last season — his second straight season playing all 82 games — as he completed a four-year, $20 million deal. After not dealing away Palmieri before the NHL trade deadline, Lamoriello said in March that he anticipated re-signing him.
“I’ve made it clear that I want to be here and I want to be part of the future here,” Palmieri said on April 19 during the Islanders’ breakup day.
“You can’t just replace someone like Kyle out of thin air,” captain Anders Lee said on Thursday after Darche spoke. “He knows what it takes to win, how to play the game. He can get dirty if he needs to and he puts the puck in the net.”
Palmieri wore an “A” as an alternate captain for home games after Brock Nelson was traded to the Avalanche on March 6.
“It’s a huge honor that’s certainly not lost on me,” Palmieri said on April 19.
Palmieri almost certainly gave the Islanders a hometown discount to re-sign rather than testing the free-agent market on July 1, given that the salary-cap ceiling is rising by $7.5 million to $95.5 million this coming season.
Boqvist, 24, had two goals and six assists in 17 games with the Islanders after being claimed off waivers from the Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Jan. 31. Chicago selected Boqvist eighth overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Mike Reilly and forwards Hudson Fasching and Matt Martin remain pending UFAs for the Islanders, though Martin is not expected to play next season. Defensemen Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov and Scott Perunovich and forwards Marc Gatcomb, Simon Holmstrom and Maxim Tsyplakov are the other RFAs with arbitration rights.
Darche said on Thursday that he’s “already in discussions” with the agents.
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.
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