Goaltender Kevin Poulin has been claimed by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Poulin was waived on Saturday by the Islanders. The 25-year-old played 5 seasons with the Islanders compiling a 18-25-3 record, 3.07 GAA and a .899 save percentage.
Poulin is not an NHL goaltender. We have seen enough of him to determine that. It was surprising that the Islanders even qualified him this offseason. Poulin's fate was basically sealed when the Islanders acquired Chris Gibson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Michael Grabner deal.Tampa is desperate for a backup goaltender. Andrei Vasilevskiy is out indefinitely following blood clot-related surgery. Kristers Gudlevskis is their other goalie with just one NHL game under his belt.
The Islanders sent forward Justin Vaive, and defensemen Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield back to Bridgeport Sunday. The Isles now have 8 defensemen remaining in camp with Ryan Pulock and Brian Strait battling for the last spot. If Zidicky is the 6th defenseman it would make sense for the Isles to send Pulock back to Bridgeport to play 20-25 minutes a game.
There are 19 forwards and 3 goaltenders left in camp. The 7 players who were waived yesterday all cleared and will report to Bridgeport