Islanders Mailbag Part Two: Trade Options & Next Year’s Lineup

The potential summer of change for the New York Islanders continues to roll on rather quietly. With 13 days until the NHL Draft, the Islanders are slowly making big decisions surrounding the franchise.

What they are, we can’t be fully certain of just yet. Recent reports indicate teams are asking to see if Jean-Gabriel Pageau is available for trade. As the draft comes closer, answers will become clearer.

Speaking of answers, I cracked open the mailbag. Yesterday, you may have missed me going over the latest on James Hagens and the Islanders’ bid to trade up, Chris Lamoriello’s future, beards, and more.

Today, more pointed questions on the team’s future were asked. Let’s dive right in.

NEW GM said we are going to get younger and faster on the team (not prospects that are years away). How will he do so specifically, besides Ritchie?? – Gary (Facebook)

One of the very few things Mathieu Darche promised at his press conference was to make the team faster and younger. So far, he’s only re-signed Kyle Palmieri and Adam Boqvist.

What Darche may look to do is shake up the blue line, moving slower veteran skaters such as Ryan Pulock or Scott Mayfield, allowing for a bigger role for Boqvist, a speedy blueliner.

On the left side, Adam Pelech could be traded, but it sure seems likelier the Islanders will bring back Pelech. After presumably drafting Matthew Schaefer, he’s expected to at least get a nine-game trial run before a full decision gets made.

If Schaefer’s ready, right there, you will have a fresh 18-year-old. Isaiah George, 21, will have a real chance at making the team out of training camp.

Up top, Calum Ritchie, 20, will have a spot on the Islanders next year. If the Islanders shock the world and trade up to draft James Hagens, he would arrive in the spring and infuse youth.

There are also options on the trade market, including JJ Peterka. There is one other name of note for the Islanders.

Have you heard if the Islanders are involved in the Isaac Howard sweepstakes? – NY647764 (X, fka Twitter)

As if you could read my mind, this X question cuts to who should be a top target for the Islanders this summer.

Isaac Howard, 21, is one of the top prospects in the hockey world. He’s NHL-ready, but will be remaining in college, thanks to broken-down negotiations with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts are forced to trade the promising youngster, but it’s unknown if they’d rather package him for a bigger piece, or sell him off alone.

You asked specifically what I’ve heard, and well, I’ve heard the Islanders are absolutely interested. Whether they can be more involved comes down to whether or not Howard would sign with the Islanders. Tampa Bay won’t grant him the ability to speak with other teams yet, so it truly is hard to gauge where exactly the Islanders fall in the sweepstakes.

If the Islanders can and get his word, it’d be very shocking if they weren’t right in the thick of this. It helps Darche would be quite familiar with Howard, the Hobey Baker Award (top NCAA player) Winner.

Varlomov seems to be a huge question mark, and we cannot ride Sorokin as hard as we did down the stretch last year. Are we confident that Hogberg can step into the role, and more so, will Patrick Roy actually put him in? – LawnGuyland Guy

One of the quieter but pivotal stories of this summer will be Semyon Varlamov‘s health as he continues to recover from mid-season surgery.

Varlamov went onto the injured reserve in November, then never came back off of it. He suffered setbacks, and questions arose surrounding his future. After the season, he spoke to the media and told us that he will be going all-out to be healthy for September.

If he’s not, then Marcus Hogberg will be forced into a permanent backup role. The way the Islanders have their organization set up, it sure seems like they expect Varlamov to be ready.

In Bridgeport, there are three youngsters – Tristan Lennox, TJ Semptimphelter, and Henrik Tikkanen.

Semptimphelter just signed out of college, while Tikkanen struggled mightily in 2024-25. Lennox overcame a major injury and returned. That doesn’t seem like an ideal setup, even if you believe in all three goalies.

By about July 5, the Islanders may have signed another backup, AHL-level goalie available. If they do, then that would indicate the Islanders don’t believe Varlamov will be healthy.

As for belief in Hogberg, by the end of the season, he had overcome an injury that adversely affected his play. The franchise still has belief in him and might even be comfortable with him as a backup, playing 25 or so games. If Varlamov isn’t ready, they’ll need to sign another goalie around that level anyway.

Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work out, and you flip Hogberg down to Bridgeport for whoever you signed, or vice versa.

As much as we all love Casey, he isn’t an L3 center on a “competitive” team. Shifting to wing isn’t an option. Where does he fit into the plan for 2025-26? And if he goes, who is L3C? When looking at our top 6, it’s not convincing. If L1 is 27 14 13, does that mean line 2 is 10 44 21? What if we trade 44? Is Ritchie up to the task for L2C minutes & expectations? – LawnGuyland Guy

You’ve gotten right to the heart of another matter, LawnGuyland Guy.

The Islanders have a big glut at center. The issue is, none exactly fit the perfect role. While I disagree and think Casey Cizikas performed admirably at 3C down the stretch, it’s hard to argue with your point about potential team strength.

As mentioned earlier in this piece, teams are calling on Pageau, and they are also calling a bit on Cizikas. One may be dealt away, making room for Ritchie.

If Cizikas returns, Patrick Roy pretty adamantly said back in March that he appreciates Cizikas’ confidence rebound upon returning to center. Roy said, “Casey’s a good hockey player. He can play the wing, center, any position.”

If Roy thinks Cizikas can be an effective winger, he will likely kick to the right on the third line, replacing the pending-UFA Hudson Fasching. Ritchie could become the third-line center, while Maxim Tsyplakov, Pierre Engvall, or Anthony Duclair could start on the left.

It’s hard to forecast exactly what may happen with the top six, so I’m going to defer for now. If I had to guess, Roy expressed interest in returning Barzal to center.

I think that’s a much stronger possibility than people realize. The wingers would rotate throughout training camp in an attempt to figure out the best possible matchups for each.