Islanders Sign Anatolii Golyshev to One-Year Deal

Anatolii Golyshev is on his way.

The New York Islanders Russian prospect was signed to a one-year, two-way deal by the Islanders on Friday, the team announced. Golyshev terminated his contract with his KHL club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg earlier this week.

The 26-year-old forward was Avtomobilist’s all-time leading goal scorer with 109 goals and the franchise points leader with 220 in 403 games with the KHL club. Anatolii Golyshev was drafted by the Islanders 95th overall during the 2016 NHL Draft.

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello hinted that Golyshev could be coming over to Long Island during a media conference call on Tuesday. Lamoriello did express that getting Golyshev over to the United States could be a process considering the current state of the world.

“You always want to get (a deal) done as quick as you possibly can,” Lamoriello said on Tuesday. “This is certainly a different era as far as a year goes in regards to quarantine and types of protocol and COVID. So there are lots of extenuating circumstances that will go into any and every decision that is made.”

The Islanders will have the option to have Golyshev play in the AHL once he clears all the quarantine protocols to enter North America. It would not be a surprise either if the Russian forward found himself in the NHL lineup at some point this year.