Ilya Sorokin’s Back Surgery Potential Fallout

Yesterday, Patrick Roy accidentally announced to the media that goaltender Ilya Sorokin underwent back surgery during the summer. While we don’t yet know the severity of the injury and its consequences, we do know that Sorokin is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp.

When Lou Lamoriello spoke to the media, he mentioned that Sorokin was already skating. That is extremely good news, as it means he could be ready by the start of the year. The Islanders can only go as far as their superstar goaltender can take them, and if he’s out for an extended period of time, that could be a potentially crippling blow to the season.

Who Can Be Varlamov’s Backup?

Marcus Hogberg and Jakub Skarek are both under contract as potential backup options to Semyon Varlamov in the event that Sorokin is not ready for the start of the season. Skarek has never appeared in an NHL game, while Hogberg hasn’t appeared in a game in the NHL since the 2020-21 season.

In addition to Hogberg and Skarek, Keith Kinkaid has the most recent NHL experience and will be at camp on a PTO. Kinkaid specifically wants to earn a job and feels he has gas left in the tank, and this could be his last-best opportunity to do so.

How Serious is the Injury?

We also don’t know the severity of Sorokin’s injury or specifically when it occurred. Lamoriello said it happened during offseason training, but it very easily could’ve happened during the latter part of the season, leading to the much-documented struggles for Sorokin.

The Islanders’ season starts on October 10. That gives Sorokin almost an entire month to be ready to go. If he isn’t ready, the season’s first back-to-back isn’t until October 25 and 26th against the Devils and the Panthers.

Given that Lamoriello said Sorokin is already skating, it seems they performed the surgery quite early in the offseason to ensure that Sorokin is ready to go. Sorokin went 25-19-12 last year with a 3.01 GAA and a .909 save percentage.

His career numbers had consistently hovered around .925 SV% and 2.35 GAA, but his numbers dipped across the board after a challenging campaign.

Andrei Vasilevksiy underwent back surgery during last year’s offseason for the Lightning and struggled to find his form. He didn’t play until November, either. Different circumstances also came into play, as he reportedly had a far more significant injury than it seems Sorokin does.

Conclusion?

All things considered, I don’t think much has changed about Sorokin’s overall status. Lamoriello would always be cagey about his status. Had Roy not accidentally revealed the news, we’d all be none the wiser.

You shouldn’t expect to see Sorokin joining the group until this time next week at the very earliest, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t join team practices into October. The Islanders should be as patient as humanly possible. There’s no scenario where rushing Sorokin back makes any sense.

He is the franchise goaltender. He is just starting his eight-year extension. The absolute worst-case scenario is he comes back too soon, re-aggravates the injury, and is out long-term. If he isn’t ready, let Hogberg, Skarek, or Kinkaid go out on the road trip to Dallas, Colorado, and St. Louis. Let Sorokin stay at the team’s facilities and be fully confident when he returns.

Varlamov has proven he can handle the load when given to him on every occasion, so there’s all the more reason to let Sorokin take his time.