Here’s a bet that might actually be safer than Aleksander Barkov winning a second-straight Selke Trophy: The Islanders won’t carry nine defensemen on their roster to start next season.
Which means that Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, when five of their six blue liners in the season finale were pending free agents, was almost assuredly the swan song for part of the group that includes Noah Dobson, Scott Perunovich, Mike Reilly, Tony DeAngelo and Adam Boqvist.
Other than Dobson, who’s very much a known commodity, the match against the Blue Jackets amounted to a final audition for that group, with Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock being held out of a meaningless Game 82 and Alexander Romanov out with illness for a second straight game.
Romanov is a pending restricted free agent, too, and even Scott Mayfield — the only defenseman in the Islanders’ lineup Thursday who is not on an expiring deal, with five seasons left on his contract — cannot be treated as 100 percent safe after frequent healthy scratches down the stretch, which could lead the Islanders to consider a buyout.
And, because all of that isn’t enough, there’s also Isaiah George to consider.
The 21-year-old was sent down at the end of January after playing 33 games for the Isles, but showed more than enough to believe he’ll have a good shot to make the roster out of camp next season.
Of the trio that was brought in when a glut of injuries hit the Islanders at the end of January — DeAngelo, Boqvist and Perunovich — DeAngelo, a pending UFA, has the best case to return next season. He’s the only one who has stayed in the lineup every night and has been on the top pair for most of that span, averaging 23:26 while accumulating 19 points in 36 games.
That was enough to put DeAngelo in a tie with Dobson for the Islanders’ highest-scoring defenseman this season on a per-game basis, and it would be no surprise for player and team to commit to each other for another season after the Islanders pulled DeAngelo back from Russia in a show of faith in the defenseman’s character that has, so far, paid off.
Dobson and Romanov, both pending RFAs, should be back as well and on long-term deals, though a setback of a season for Dobson combined with what could be a summer environment conducive to offer sheets creates at least a small degree of doubt there.
Since Boqvist and Perunovich are both restricted as well, the Islanders have some control over those situations, but could run out of spots fast.
Pulock and Pelech, their two highest-paid defensemen, both have no-trade clauses and long-term deals in hand, so it’s hard to see them going anywhere. And while going in another direction from Dobson and Romanov is possible, it wouldn’t make much sense to walk away from two 25-year-old defensemen who should be in the Islanders’ top four — if not their top pair — for years to come.
Throw George and DeAngelo into the mix as well and all of a sudden, the Islanders have six slots of seven filled.
On the ice from Long Island
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If the Islanders buy out Mayfield (or find a trade for him, though that would likely require attaching an asset and he has a full no-trade clause,) it could open up a spot for one of Reilly, Boqvist or Perunovich, or allow the team to look elsewhere in free agency.
The Islanders often used Boqvist as a power-play specialist, but his presence did little to impact a five-on-four unit that was terrible all season regardless of personnel. If the pending restricted free agent wants to stay as a seventh defenseman, that could make sense, but it’s hard to see him being an every-night player.
Perunovich, who played the season’s final two games after having been a healthy scratch since a minus-4 performance against the Rangers on Feb. 25, is likely out the door.
Ditto for Reilly, who was an inspiring story this season after returning from heart surgery but couldn’t stick in the lineup and whose offense-first role was more or less filled by DeAngelo.
