The New York Islanders re-signed forward Casey Cizikas last week, as one of four signings announced by the team.
Cizikas is 30 years old and has spent his entire career with the Islanders, playing in 590 career games with the team. This past season, he scored seven goals and 14 points in 56 games, a pace of 10 goals and 21 points per 82 games. His extension is for six years and will carry a $2.5 million cap hit.
I briefly spoke about the deal back when the details of the rumoured extension were first reported, but it's safe to say the Islanders were willing to give extra term here, in order to keep the cap hit lower. It’s a move that makes sense, given that the team is looking to contend right now and needed to maintain as much cap flexibility as possible.
In terms of the cap hit, $2.5 million is a pretty great price for Cizikas. The forward was reportedly asking for $5 million from other teams, so in comparison, that’s a pretty huge discount. Obviously, Cizikas isn’t worth that much money, but after seeing contracts for the likes of Barclay Goodrow, Cizikas likely could’ve gotten $3.5 million per year or more elsewhere.
Cizikas may not post huge numbers, but all factors considered, he’s actually relatively productive. Playing mostly with Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, he doesn’t have much help offensively, but the fourth line’s role isn’t to score goals. Regardless, Cizikas is probably one of the most skilled fourth-line forwards around the league and is strong in every area of the ice.
As for the term on the contract, it’s not ideal but I think it's a fair trade-off for the low cap hit. While Cizikas is around the age where his performance could begin to decline in a few years, the cap hit on his deal is low enough that the Islanders should be able to work around it. The salary cap should be increasing throughout the majority of the contract as well and as it does, Cizikas’ cap hit will begin to look even less significant.
Overall, this was a solid deal for the Islanders to give more term and keep the cap hit down. Cizikas provides key depth for the forward group and should continue to be a factor in the team’s success going forward.
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