Two Questions for the Islanders Ahead of Training Camp

The 2024-25 NHL season is fast approaching, and the New York Islanders roster is all but set. You can feel it in the air in New York, with football season ending its first week and both the Jets and Giants leaving New York fans unhappy.

The team has no salary cap space remaining and will have to make some roster decisions for players on the bubble. Assuming there are no more major fireworks, the Islanders have three burning questions.

Question One: What is Ilya Sorokin’s Status?

Just before last weekend, Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb in his 32 Thoughts: The Podcast when he revealed his (very reliable) sources indicated that Ilya Sorokin is “battling something.” Almost a week later, Sorokin and the Islanders are still radio silent, not that anyone should expect anything different.

If Sorokin is hurt, it’s the worst-case scenario to open up the season for the Islanders. Sorokin came off a bad end to the 2023-24 season, but the team is still heavily counting on him to rebound into form, especially after his new contract kicks in this season.

While Semyon Varlamov is more than capable in case of an injury, the Islanders can’t afford to be without Sorokin for an extended period. The entire Metropolitan Division has serious playoff aspirations, but the Islanders’ huge edge over every team other than the New York Rangers is in the net.

Outside of Shesterkin and Sorokin, there’s Charlie Lindgren in Washington, who had a career year, but it’s hard to envision him duplicating that level of success. The Devils improved in net, but Markstrom is not at the level of Sorokin. The Penguins still plan to trot out Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic.

It cannot be overstated how important Sorokin is to the Islanders. His status is the number one issue and question surrounding this team heading into training camp.

Question Two: Are Duclair and Tsyplakov Enough Added Scoring?

The Islanders entered this offseason having played Casey Cizikas on the top line down the stretch and for the entire five-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes. President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello knew the team needed more upfront, so he went out and added two forwards.

The first was Maxim Tsyplakov, a 25-year-old Russian who scored 31 goals in the KHL last year. Tsyplakov has yet to skate in a single game in North America, so his presence is contingent on making the roster outright. With that, he faces an uphill climb, as the team is over the salary cap by $950,000. Conveniently, that’s his exact cap hit. He’s also the only forward not requiring waivers on the Islanders.

If Tsyplakov makes the roster, he’s the heir apparent to the hole on line two with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. Anders Lee will likely begin the year on line two if he doesn’t.

July 1 brought in Anthony Duclair, a 29-year-old forward who plays with an element the Islanders have lacked. His style is more speed and skill, as opposed to a whole of jam and grease. Duclair admitted in his presser that he was heavily recruited by Patrick Roy, his former coach in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts.

His skill and extremely team-friendly deal for the minutes he’s expected to play could turn into the steal of this past free agency class. Duclair can keep up with skill plays, as evidenced by his time riding shotgun to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point after arriving in Tampa this past trade deadline.

The Islanders need more offense. Duclair and Tsyplakov are the only major additions to this roster so far. The team relied on Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, Nelson, and Palmieri to do all the scoring nightly.

Duclair and Tsyplakov need to lighten that burden and help those top guys out even more. Whether or not they will is another question.