The Islanders have agreed to a three-year entry level contract with forward Mathew Barzal. The Isles traded 2012 first rounder Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for the 16th and 33rd overall picks in the 2015 draft and select Barzal at 16.
The 18-year-old scored 57 points (12 goals, 45 assists) in 44 games last season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. Barzal won gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and won bronze with Canada at the 2014 and 2015 World Under-18 Championships. He was named a Top-3 Player on Team Canada at the 2015 Under-18 World Junior Championships.
It's salary floor no more for the Isles as they are going to need at least 2 of their 4 first rounders from the past 2 drafts to make a contribution in the next couple of years. Having Barzal, along with Michael Dal Colle, Joshua Ho-Sang and Anthony Beauvillier contribute on entry level contracts is key. Brock Nelson will hopefully sign before camp opens and Ryan Strome will get paid next season. That's probably 8 to 9 million there.