The summer has been slow and quiet for the Islanders. But when there’s been any news, it’s always been loud and reverberated the notion that their general manager Lou Lamoriello is on another level.
Lamoriello was at it again, continuing to put on a masterclass, after settling all the “family business” this morning with the announced signings of Casey Cizikas, Anthony Beauvillier, Kyle Palmieri and Ilya Sorokin.
Cizikas’ contract is six years at $2.5M AAV per year. Beauvillier’s is a three-year agreement worth $12.3M. Sorokin’s deal is three years worth $12M. And Palmieri’s is four years, $5M AAV.
Each deal comes with excellent value and was done with the future of the organization particularly in mind. Cizikas’s cap hit comes in $1M lower than his previous deal from 2017, plus the Isles keep the player considered the heart and soul of the team with how he plays during the window they have to win.
“I’m going to die an Islander,” Cizikas told the media. “That’s how you can put it.”
What’s more encouraging is the latter years of Cizikas’ contract, the Isles will have more flexibility with the league’s projected salary cap expected to be much higher than it is now.
Beauvillier’s latest contract takes away a year of him being an unrestricted free agent, as The Athletic’s Arthur Staple pointed out. It’s also a solid compromise between the team and player, as Beauvillier was looking for close to $4.5M while the Isles were more inclined to offer more term.
By the time Beauvillier’s contract is set to expire, he’ll be 27. This means the Quebec native wouldn’t have even reached the prime years of his career yet. If Beauvillier turns into the consistent offensive performer many are hoping through the duration of the contract, that hit will look even more in the Islanders’ favor.
Sorokin and Palmieri’s commitments both come at a very fair price as well and put them in a spot to live up or exceed what they are being paid. Just like Beauvillier, the Russian goaltender’s deal will take him up till age 29, where he will be entering his prime and will most likely be the presumed franchise goalie. Sorokin shared the net with fellow countrymen Semyon Varlamov in his rookie year last season and was solid. He is only expected to get better in 2021-22 and not long thereafter take the starter role from Varlamov. The latter’s deal with the organization ends in two years.
Palmieri is projected to be on Mathew Barzal’s wing this season and does have potential to be a solid scoring threat. He showed in the postseason how impactful of a player he can be when the games matter. “The goal of our team is no secret, We want to win a Stanley Cup,” said Palmieri.
With today’s barrage of signings and the Adam Pelech extension a month ago, the Islanders are now near completion from a roster standpoint now with these transactions complete. All that’s left is the formal announcement and contract of forward Zach Parise (a deal has been in place for sometime now) and the possibility of another d-man with Nick Leddy traded to Detroit prior to the expansion draft. That could also be coming soon.
Now, if Lamoriello is able to get those two tasks done the same way he was able to navigate the difficult waters this offseason, Islander fans will be very happy. That said, they should be ectastic about the developments from today. All the business that needed to get done is. The pieces that need to be in place for another run towards a Stanley Cup are here for the long haul.