Islanders 2024-25 Opening Roster: 22 will have to do

1 month ago  /  Lighthouse Hockey

Let’s see what you got (in limited minutes). | Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images


The non-Europe-based NHL season begins. We are by no means perfect at pr*j*cting around here (long live Kirill Petrov!), but we can read a damn salary cap sheet — even after the Capitals tried to take them away.
So for much of the late summer, and increasingly during training camp, one of the main topics around the Lighthouse Hockey commentariat — when not fighting over conspiracies spread by “patriots” — revolved around what significant moves the Islanders would have to do to get under the salary cap by opening night.
Certainly it’s nothing new under the Lou, with past summers being marked (of the beast) by trades of Devon Toews, Nick Leddy (plus shipping and handling) and the Shell of Andrew Ladd (plus more shipping and handling, and shame).
In pre-Lamoriello years, the concern ahead of releasing the 23-man roster was not the cap, but the 23-man limit itself — hence the conveniently timed “day to day” IR injuries of yore. But with the Isles exceeding the cap, regular IR doesn’t help them, and LTIR is not an option [insert Vegas/Tampa circumvention quips here]. Someone, and maybe even a couple someones, who makes more than the minimum was gonna have to go.
So on the eve of the season, with their opener against the Utah Tourism Bureau coming Thursday, we have our answer, twofold:
Pierre Engvall hits waivers, and the Isles will open with just 22 players on the roster. With a $3 million cap hit, Engvall presents the greatest cap savings (though $1.85M stays on the cap), but even with his presumed demotion after clearing waivers, the Isles don’t have enough room — like, $212,000 or so — for even a minimum salary to take up that 23rd slot. And with six years left to go on Engvall’s puzzling contract, that cap isn’t likely to go anywhere soon.
(And sure, Engvall reportedly did not have a great camp, so we can pretend like that’s the only factor here. But cutting any of the guys who beat him out would not have saved enough to get under the cap: Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom, Maxim Tsyplakov, Julien Gauthier all are $1 million (Wahlstrom) or less.)
Here then, are the 22 eligible players for Thursday vs. Utah:
Forwards
Anthony Duclair - Mathew Barzal - Bo HorvatMax Tsyplakov - Brock Nelson - Kyle PalmieriAnders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Simon HolmstromOliver Wahlstrom - Casey Cizikas - Kyle MacLeanJulien Gauthier
Defensemen
Alexander Romanov - Noah Dobson Adam Pelech - Ryan PulockMike Reilly - Scott MayfieldDennis Cholowski
Goalies
Semyon VarlamovIlya Sorokin
Islanders News

For now, Engvall gets assigned to Bridgeport. Boy, I bet he didn’t imagine that a couple of summers ago. [Newsday]
Dan and Mike covered the permutations in their 300th(!!!) episode of Islanders Anxiety. [LHH]
The Isles are one of a few teams reportedly courting another mid-twenties Russian. [Post]
Yesterday in Isles history: Where it all began. [Isles]

Elsewhere

The 2024-25 season — at least the Western Hemisphere part — really begins tonight with a handful of games, including Utah’s first.
A rather in-depth discussion in moving a winger like William Nylander to center at the NHL level. [Sportsnet]

A surprisingly active waiver wire, with five players claimed:

Goalie James Reimer, 36, claimed from Buffalo by the Anaheim Ducks.
Zach Aston-Reese was claimed off Vegas by the Blue Jackets.
The Canucks claimed goalie Jiri Patera back from the Bruins.
Vegas claimed centre Raphael Lavoie from the Oilers and winger Cole Schwindt from the Calgary Flames.
Despite missing all of camp, the now-signed Jeremy Swayman is a “candidate” to start the Bruins opener. [NHL]
For the Canucks, both Thatcher Demko (knee) and Dakota Joshua (testicular cancer) begin the season on the injured non-roster list. [TSN]
Before visiting Long Island, the Utah Tetris Shapes have big plans for their franchise opener. [NHL]
Now behind the Kraken bench, Dan Bylsma is psyched to be back. [NHL]
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