The New York Islanders have some serious cap space issues. And they have to resign Mat Barzal relatively soon. Islander fans can finally take the anvil off their foot. Incarcerated Bob has tweeted that someone is either retiring or being put on LTIR. He also stated that he’s trying to get full details on this to see if this will actually happen soon. That disclaimer is for you, Bob, now you don’t have to worry about “false information.” Let’s say hypothetically that someone on the Islanders is retiring or being put on LTIR soon. What impact would this have on their cap space? And who are the candidates for this fate?
Andrew Ladd
Andrew Ladd has had a long 16 year NHL career. After only playing 30 NHL games within the last 2 years due to injury, the skates might finally be hung up. If Ladd retires, he has nothing in his career that he wished he could do better. He was a great captain for the Atlanta Thrashers. Ladd was a two time Stanley Cup Champion. He’ll end up with just short of 1000 pro Hockey games played and over 500 points recorded. There would be no shame if Ladd hangs the skates up. This would also open up $5.5 million in cap space for the Islanders, which would solve almost all of their problems. Ladd is the most likely candidate.
Johnny Boychuk
Johnny Boychuk is still an NHL caliber defenseman, which is why it hurts me to say that he might retire. Boychuk has been hurt 3 times every season for the last 3 years. And when you get up there in age, after a long successful career, calling it quits isn’t unlikely. The Islanders have also stated that they would offer Boychuk a behind the scenes role with the team if he retired. This retirement wouldn’t open a ton of cap space, but it would still be enough to resign Mat Barzal.